Steve served as President – Verizon Communications Southwest Region. In this capacity, he was responsible for the Verizon Foundation donations in his states. At the time, adult literacy was the number one priority for the Foundation. This helped Steve come to deeply appreciate the very difficult challenge of addressing low literacy rates across the USA.
After retirement, he was given the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of Literacy Texas, starting in December of 2019. When the COVID pandemic hit, Literacy Texas was one of the first organizations to turn entirely to virtual symposia and annual conferences. This created new ways to reach nonprofit programs in need of adult literacy training.
Steve retired from the Literacy Texas Executive Director position in March of 2024. He is pleased to be supporting the mission of Literacy Texas in the new capacity of member of the Board.
TREASURER
Kay Carroll
Kay has 30 years of experience in the banking industry. She is known for developing and cultivating relationships with city, county and community leaders/staff and nonprofits through partnering, originating, and supporting Community Development Lending, Investment and Service – via lending, grants, investments, financial education, technical trainings and board/committee memberships.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Business with a minor in Real Estate from Texas A&M Commerce. Currently serving: Texas Association of Community Development Corporation Advisory Roundtable Board, Literacy Texas Board of Directors (Treasurer), United Way of Metropolitan Dallas – Financial Inclusion Roundtable (Affordable Housing Chair), and North Texas Regional Housing Consortium Board of Directors. Kay and her husband Mark reside in Combine, Texas close to Dallas.
SECRETARY
Gina Franke
Gina Franke was born in Orange, Texas but spent most of her “raising years” in Lake Charles, LA. Her parents both had strong Texas roots and wanted to make sure that, while their work had taken them to Louisiana, that they were true to their deep Texas roots by making sure Gina and her sister were born Texans.
Gina attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles and got a degree, with honors, from Howard College in San Angelo, Texas. She has been blessed with a varied career which took her from working at the Texas Medical Assn to counseling at the Austin Drug and Alcohol Abuse Program in Austin as well as counseling inmates at the IPTC Prison in Kyle, Texas.
She loves being civically involved, as illustrated by her having served on the Johnson City, Texas Independent School Board as well as chairperson for the Hays CISD District Leadership Team in Buda, Texas.
Gina understands and has a passion for the importance of literacy through her experiences in educational involvement as well as the knowledge gained through her work in both counseling and the criminal justice system.
MEMBERS
Dr. Kelly Coke has extensive experience in higher education and government, currently serving as Provost at a technical college. She has previously held roles as a faculty member, faculty chair, Vice President of Student Success, Senior Director of Workforce Policy, Off-Campus Program Director, East Texas Deputy Regional Director for the United States Senate, and Intern for Former First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush at The White House. Dr. Coke’s career spans a university, community college, state agency, and technical college, reinforcing her commitment to removing barriers for students seeking degree or certificate completion in urban and rural communities. She is also a published scholarly author.
A sixth-generation Texan from Titus County, Dr. Coke values her family’s deep roots in ranching, farming, and education. She strives to create educational pathways that align with workforce needs, ensuring a supportive environment for diverse learners and empowering others with the belief that knowledge is power. Dr. Coke is a proud graduate of Leadership Austin Essential, Texas Women Leadership, and Leadership Mount Pleasant, and she is the recipient of the 12 Under 12 Young Alumni Award from her undergraduate alma mater, Texas A&M University.
Yogashri Pradhan was most recently a Lead Production Engineer at Chevron. She’s had 10+ years of experience in unconventional asset development and production engineering in Midland and Delaware Basins for various Permian operators. She’s now taken this experience and founded IronLady Energy Advisors, a consulting firm focused on technical solutions for all forms of energy.
Most recently, she has been honored as a distinguished alumni from the University of Texas Petroleum Engineering Department and Hart Energy’s 40 Under 40. She is the recipient of the Regional Reservoir Engineering Dynamics and Description and the Regional Service Awards in 2020. She’s also the recipient of Houston Engineers Week Young Engineer of the Year representing SPE-Gulf Coast Section for 2018 and the International Young Member Outstanding Service Award from SPE in 2018.
Yogashri graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor’s in Petroleum Engineering in 2015 and received her Masters in Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University in 2020. In 2024, she earned her MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas and New Mexico.
Magda Salazar
Magda Salazar is a product management, journalism and communications, and event management professional with career experiences working for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Israel Ministry of Tourism, NBA All-Star Jam Session, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Currently, she is serving as president of Hispanic Communicators DFW, a chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Magda’s passion for literacy efforts is a result of her own experience growing up along the Texas border in El Paso and access to programs that supported reading development. Magda is a product of the Head Start program, and in school, she competed in poetry, prose, and debate.
For Magda, collaborating on literacy efforts is fundamental to improving access and creating opportunities for communities of color and underrepresented communities.
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Page reviewed/updated: 12/02/2025