2021 Beyond ABC Symposium

As president of Children’s Medical Center Foundation, Brent Christopher leads the team focused on fundraising in support of the Children’s Health mission to make life better for children. The pediatric healthcare system works to keep kids healthy, to provide the best care when they need it, and to discover new ways to strengthen the health of kids around the world.

Brent joined Children’s in July 2016 after 11 years of service as president and chief executive officer of Communities Foundation of Texas, one of the largest community foundations in the country. He guided the foundation through unprecedented growth of its impact for good in the lives of people across the North Texas region and beyond, with its base of assets increasing from $647 million to $1.1 billion. In 2009, he led the creation of North Texas Giving Day, the nation’s largest single day of community-wide giving which has helped to encourage the growth of online giving days across the U.S.

A member of the board of trustees for Austin College, Brent also serves on the board of The Woodmark Group which promotes philanthropy to boost the health of children. He is a member of the Academic Research Cohort for Philanthropy Southwest. Brent also is a member of the Advisory Council of CNM Connect and the Simmons School of Education and Human Development Executive Board at SMU, along with serving as a board member and chapter chair of YPO Gold Dallas. Brent also has testified before Congress about the value of the charitable deduction and worked on national strategies to promote the power of philanthropy.

Andy Keller, PhD, is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, where he also holds the Linda Perryman Evans Presidential Chair. The Meadows Institute is a Texas-based nonprofit that provides nonpartisan policy and program research, development, and advice to national, state, and community leaders towards a single goal: improving mental health care delivery in Texas and the nation.

Andy is a licensed clinical and community psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in behavioral health policy, financing, and best practice implementation. His work has centered on helping state and local health systems implement evidence-based and innovative care, as well as helping local and state governments develop the regulatory and financial frameworks to support them. Prior to moving full time into policy work, Andy was a managing partner for 15 years at a national health and human services consulting firm where he focused on health financing and system transformation. Before that, he worked in Colorado with a leading Medicaid HMO and the local community mental health system, where he directed and led a range of community-based and care management programs.

Dr. Michael Hinojosa has served almost 27 years as a superintendent/CEO of six public education systems, including two of the 25 largest school systems in America, Dallas ISD in Texas and the Cobb County School District in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. His career in public education, from teacher and coach to superintendent/CEO, spans more than four decades.

With a firm belief that education and not environment is the key to a student’s success, he has led several school districts to improved student achievement. Dr. Hinojosa’s recognitions include being named 2002 Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards and 2005 Superintendent of the Year by the University of Texas at Austin. He was honored as Distinguished Alumnus by the College of Education at Texas Tech University and as the Outstanding Latino Educator by the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents in 2014.

In 2019, D Magazine named Dr. Hinojosa the “Best Public Official” in Dallas. The Council of the Great City Schools awarded him the Green-Garner Award, the highest honor in urban education, as the 2020 Urban Educator of the Year. Dr. Hinojosa is a recipient of the CoSN (Consortium for School Networking) and AASA (American Association of School Administrators) 2021 EmpowerED Digital Superintendent Award. He is also a past president of the Texas Association of School Administrators.

Dr. Hinojosa, a proud graduate of Dallas ISD, holds a doctorate in education from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Kitty, have two sons, graduates of Princeton University and Harvard University. He has a son from a previous marriage who graduated from Texas Tech University. All three attended Dallas ISD for a significant portion of their K-12 careers.

Jennifer Bartkowski is the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX). She has been with GSNETX since 2009 and previously served as Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Jennifer is a pioneer in the national Girl Scout STEM initiative built on the success of a $15M investment to develop the GSNETX STEM Center of Excellence in southwest Dallas. The 92-acre campus opened in 2018 and is a living laboratory for girls to explore science, technology, engineering, and math. Under Jennifer’s leadership, GSNETX has accelerated the rollout of a mental health initiative, and has re-strengthened its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

She holds a Master of Public Administration from Texas A&M University. She has worked with a variety of organizations including the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, American Lung Association of Texas, and as an independent consultant.

Jennifer is a graduate of Leadership Dallas, a member of the Leadership Dallas Alumnae Board, and serves on the board for Carson’s Village. Jennifer was the recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s 2017 Women in Business Award and was recognized alongside the organization as a recipient of the 2016 Nonprofit of the Year by the Center for Non-Profit Management.

Dr. Khandheria completed the joint MD/MBA program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She did her adult psychiatry residency at UTMB in Galveston and went to complete a child psychiatry fellowship at UT Southwestern. She has worked in a variety of settings since that time including community mental health, doing consultation with the integrated behavioral health program at Children’s Health, and doing telepsychiatry at various places throughout the state of Texas and most recently has joined UT Southwestern as the medical director for the state funded Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN) and Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine program since May 2020. She enjoys working with children, teens, and family systems. She believes that care collaboration amongst the disciplines helps to provide the best outcomes and that early intervention is the key to success.

Dr. Dawn D. Johnson is the Medical Director of Children’s Health Pediatric Group, where she ensures that every child has access to necessary medical care and families have the up-to-date information they need to stay safe and healthy. She started at Children’s Health and UT Southwestern as an intern 21 years ago, and since then, she has been working to make lives better for children.

Throughout her career at Children’s Health, Dr. Johnson has been the Medical Director for the Foster Clinic, Child Abuse Clinic, At Risk Medical Clinic, HIV Clinic and Primary Care Clinic. Most recently, she has been involved in the Children’s Health RedBird project, enabling her to stay connected to the communities she is so passionate about. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Johnson also played a critical role in shaping how Children's Health strategized and responded to the health care crisis, working with leaders across systems to develop protocols and educational materials to protect employees, patients and their families.

Dr. Johnson serves on various committees and boards including the Dallas Physician Medical Services for Children and she is part of the Editorial Committee for Pediatric Society of Greater Dallas. She regularly hosts a monthly lecture called “Practice to Practice” that is viewed by practitioners across Texas and in surrounding states.

Dr. Johnson is a graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science. She obtained her medical degree from The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. Her internship and residency focused on General Pediatrics and was completed at University of Texas and Southwestern Medical School. She is currently licensed by the Texas State of Medical Examiners and holds a board certification from the American Board of Pediatrics.