Key Staff

Adrian Vega ED.D

Executive Director

Dr. Adrian Vega is the Executive Director for the Education Partnership of the Permian Basin. Before becoming Executive Director, Dr. Vega served in various school districts across the state of Texas and Arizona for 20 years. Dr. Vega began his career in the Dallas Independent School District as a bilingual teacher, elementary school assistant principal, instructional coach, and professional developer. Dr. Vega also served as a middle school principal in the Tyler Independent School District, where he brought Project Based Learning and Project Lead the Way to Boulter Middle School. While serving in the Ector County ISD, Dr. Vega was the founding principal of New Tech Odessa High School, an all-academic, college-prep, project-based learning high school. After serving in ECISD, Dr. Vega became the Deputy Superintendent for the Tucson Unified School District in Tucson, Arizona. Returning to Texas, Dr. Vega served as the Superintendent of Schools of the San Benito CISD in San Benito, Texas. Dr. Vega has been married to Kathryn Vega since 1999. He and his wife are the proud parents of their son Avery, a current student at The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, and their daughter Della, a Senior at UTPB STEM Academy.

Sara Saleem

PBIZ Director

Pakistani Immigrant. Advocate. Educator. My greatest passion is empowering others and creating pathways for all community members to receive equitable access to opportunities. To this end, I have worked in education for over a decade as a teacher, department leader, and instructional coach. In addition to my primary job functions, I was recognized for my commitment to education by being awarded Midland High School PTA Teacher of the Year, Student-Choice Teacher of the Year for 5 years, and the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment.

My educational background includes a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of the Permian Basin and a postgraduate degree in Education Leadership from Lamar University. I spend my spare time enjoying time with my daughter, traveling, and building furniture.

I am extremely excited to embark on this new adventure as Director of PBIZ and work with the community to ensure all students have equitable access to opportunities that will not only propel them towards successful and sustaining futures but also bolster the local economies and communities.

Advisory Board

Mason Kyle

Superintendent, Buena Vista ISD

Mr. Mason Kyle is the proud Superintendent of Buena Vista ISD. Before coming to Buena Vista in June of 2022, Mr. Kyle served in various districts as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and campus principal; he has served districts in East, South, and West Texas. Mr. Kyle has been involved in planning and execution of two Early College High Schools and has advocated for Texas rural schools during state legislative sessions. He and his wife Samantha are very proud of their three children. His son Danny serves in the United States Marine Corps, and his daughters Serina and RaeLynn are both students at Buena Vista ISD.

Michael Valencia

Superintendent, McCamey ISD

Mr. Michael Valencia is the Superintendent of McCamey Independent School District. Mr. Valencia has served in various positions throughout his 22-year educational career. Mr. Valencia began his career with Pecos Barstow Toyah ISD as a teacher and coach. Mr. Valencia continues his teaching and coaching career with Brady ISD and Alpine ISD. Mr. Valencia began his administrative career with Alpine ISD serving as Alpine High School Dean of Students. Mr. Valencia then moved to Monahans Wickett Pyote ISD as Sudderth Elementary Principal. Prior to becoming McCamey ISD Superintendent, Mr. Valencia served as McCamey High School Principal. Mr. Valencia has been instrumental in growing the relationships between school and communities to continue to increase learning opportunities for all students. Mr. Valencia is married to his wife Ashley Valencia. Together, they share six wonderful children. Together they have three sons, Ethan, is a senior at Texas State University and plans to begin his career in education next year, Bodhi, age 8, and Reece, age 8, as well as three daughters, Bella, 16, Kendal, 14, and Ava, 11.

Bryan Hernandez

Superintendent, Grandfalls-Royalty ISD

Mr. Bryan Hernandez is the Superintendent for Grandfalls-Royalty ISD. He is new to West Texas and is serving his second year. Mr. Hernandez was born and raised in Uvalde. He is a graduate of Sul Ross-RGV in Uvalde where he obtained his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Spanish. He served ten years at Uvalde CISD as a high school math teacher, an elementary assistant principal, a junior high assistant principal and the coordinator of DAEP. Mr. Hernandez also served as the principal of Utopia ISD for three years where he also coached baseball.

Mr. Hernandez is currently working on his doctorate in Educational Leadership through the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is the father of 6 children. Ian, Aaron, and Paisley attend Grandfalls-Royalty ISD, two older children are attending college and the eldest is a business owner where he utilizes the skills he has learned in construction.

Dave Lewis

Superintendent, Crane ISD

Dave Lewis is a veteran Texas educator. He was named Crane ISD Superintendent in April 2023. Before coming to Crane, Mr. Lewis was the superintendent of Rochelle ISD. Recognized as an innovative educator, he was named the 2021 Texas Association of School Boards Region 15 Superintendent of the Year. Mr. Lewis previously served as the middle school principal for San Saba ISD prior to his work as superintendent in Rochelle iSD.

Jonathan Fuentes Ph.D.

Vice President for Academic Partnerships, Odessa College

Dr. Jonathan J. Fuentes serves as the Vice President for Academic Partnerships at Odessa College. He recently served as the Assistant Superintendent of Business and Support Services for his hometown school district, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD. Before his current position, Dr. Fuentes held previous positions at Odessa College, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, the University of Michigan, Reeves County, and within state and local government He received his B.A. from Harvard and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His degrees are all in political science with an emphasis in public policy. He previously served as an elected official on the Reeves County Hospital Board of Trustees (Vice-President), president of the Pecos Downtown Lions Club, and director on the board of directors for the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce. Both in his professional work and as his personal passion, Dr. Fuentes spends much of his time thinking about college and career readiness for PK-20 students. He lives in Pecos with his wife, Alma, and his two young children.

Jennifer Myers

Associate Vice President of Workforce Education, Midland College

Dr. Jennifer Myers spent 7 years as a Crime Scene Technician with the Odessa Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit and spent another two years working with the US Attorney’s Office, FBI, DEA, TABC, and the Secret Service to assist prosecution of federal crimes. Dr. Myers began her career in higher education in January 2012 at Odessa College, where she served as a Department Chair of Criminal Justice. In August 2015, Dr. Myers became an Associate Dean over career and workforce education. In June 2018, Dr. Myers was promoted to a dean position that oversaw the School of Business & Industry. Dr. Myers is passionate about workforce education and the opportunities it provides to all individuals. She has been at Midland College for just over 2 years and serves as the Associate Vice President for Workforce Education, where she currently oversees the college’s Adult Basic Education and Literacy programming, all Continuing Education programming, and the Criminal Justice, Paralegal, and Cosmetology programs.

Amanda Griswold

Director of Nursing, McCamey Hospital

Amanda Griswold is the Director of Nursing (DON) for McCamey Convalescent Center of McCamey, TX. Before becoming DON, Amanda was the Chief Nursing Officer of McCamey County Hospital District for 3 years. Amanda has worked in many specialties throughout her career as a nurse primarily specializing in Interventional Cardiology as a charge nurse and Emergency Care. Amanda started working as a housekeeper at a nursing home in 2009 where she decided to further advance her career becoming a CNA. Amanda then obtained her LVN and her RN from Cisco College in Abilene and continued her education at Texas Tech Health Sciences for her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Nursing Administration. She has always been very passionate about education and never misses an opportunity to teach or learn. Amanda is the proud parent of two daughters ages 14 and 15 and has been married for 15 years.

Adrian Carrasco

Owner, Premier Energy Services

Adrian Carrasco is an experienced entrepreneur. As the owner of Premier Energy Services, Mr. Carrasco has a demonstrated history of hard work and customer service in the oil & energy industry.

He earned his Bachelor of Applied Science degree with an emphasis in Political Science and Government from The University of Texas at San Antonio. He also earned an associate’s degree from Midland College, where he was a member of the Latin American Student Society.

Brian Stubbs

Board Member, Education Partnership of the Permian Basin

Brian Stubbs is the owner and president of Air Compressors Solutions based in Odessa. Brian was a board member of Educate Midland when they merged with the Education Partnership of the Permian Basin (EPPB). Brian has been in the role of Secretary of EPPB since the combination of the two organizations.

Born and raised in Southeast New Mexico, Brian pursues his passion for helping bring education to everyone by serving on a few boards in the Permian Basin in addition to EPPB, including Communities in Schools of the Permian Basin and REACH School Board. He is actively involved in his two son’s activities, including church, Boy Scouts, swimming, and soccer.