Sandy Kress Elected Life Member of Texas Business and Education Coalition

(Austin, Texas) – Sandy Kress, a partner in the public law and policy practice group of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in Austin, has been elected a life member of the Texas Business and Education Coalition board of directors. Mr. Kress is only the second individual to be recognized with this honor since the coalition’s founding in 1989.

Formed to bring business and education leaders together in a long-term effort to improve the performance of the Texas public school system, the Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC) has become a significant force for the improvement of Texas public schools. TBEC has influenced the direction of state education policy and stimulated community-based school improvement activities because of the active involvement and volunteer efforts of its many business and education supporters.

Mr. Kress most recently served as senior advisor to President George W. Bush on Education with respect to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. He previously served as president of the board of trustees of the Dallas Public Schools. He has served on two statewide committees to recommend improvements to Texas public education. Appointed in 1998 by then-Governor Bush, Mr. Kress currently serves on the Education Commission of the States. Mr. Kress was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock to the Educational Economic Policy Center and was later asked to chair its Accountability Committee. This committee produced the public school accountability system that was later adopted into Texas state law and recognized as one of the most advanced accountability systems in the nation. Mr. Kress was also appointed by Lieutenant Governor Bullock to serve on the Interim Committee to study the Texas Education Agency.

Mr. Kress is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California and received his law degree from the University of Texas.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers 950 lawyers with offices in Albany, Austin, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Riverside, Riyadh (affiliate), San Antonio, San Francisco and Washington. The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust; banking and financial institutions; capital markets; communications; corporate and securities; employee benefits; energy, land use and environment; entertainment; estate planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property; international; investment management; labor and employment; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; privatization; project development and finance; public law and policy; real estate and finance; taxation; and technology.

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