Byron Sanders – TEDxKids@SMU 2012
Byron is the executive director of the Dallas Education Foundation, a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that benefits Dallas Independent School District. Founded in 2006, the Foundation has been a channel for the philanthropic, foundation and corporate communities to support initiatives and programs benefitting the students of the second largest public school district in Texas. Previously, Byron served as vice president of Group Excellence, a mentoring and tutoring organization that engages the energy and passion of college students and young professionals to help youth from at-risk environments unlock their academic potential. With the help of Byron’s leadership, Group Excellence grew to serve more than 50,000 students throughout the state of Texas and was recently named the country’s #5 fastest growing education company in Inc. Magazine’s “Inc. 500” list. Byron is the current chairman for the Young Leaders in Education, an education service and advocacy organization with the SMU Simmons School of Education. As a partner with Dallas Social Venture Partners and a member of Leadership Dallas, Leadership DISD, the Mayor’s Star Council and Greenhill Alumni Board, Byron is a relentless advocate for a students-first approach to education. Recently, Byron was recognized in the Dallas Business Journal’s 2012 Forty Under 40 list. Byron has BS/BA in marketing from the University of Tulsa and his greatest joy is his family: a wife and two young children.