Janis Kay Guerrero-Thompson Ph.D.

Janis Kay Guerrero-Thompson PhD Janis Kay Guerrero-Thompson PhD passed away June 7, 2011 at home surrounded by her loving family. Janis is survived by her mother Pauline, four brothers and a sister, husband Chuck, son Matthew and daughter-in-law Jessica, three granddaughters. A Rosary will be held at Harrell Funeral Home 4435 Frontier Trail Austin, TX June 9, 2011 7:00-7:30 p.m. Services will be held at St Mary Cathedral Austin, TX. June 10, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., Friday, June 10, 2011. Janis held three degrees from the University of Texas. She taught high school in Austin 17 years, before being asked to coordinate the central administrative office and school principals' efforts to implement state requirements for gifted and talented education in secondary schools. Janis then went to the University Of Texas College Of Business where she developed and executed programs for recruitment and retention of Hispanic and African American high school students. Janis went on to TEA where she managed a Texas Education Agency field study that implemented high-quality professional development and technical support at 17 middle school campuses across Texas. At the UT Dana Center Janis managed all communications and external relations for a university education research center, taking responsibility for the web presence, publications, and marketing communications. Janis became the Executive Director, Planning and Community Relations For AISD in 2003 and was the Senior executive responsible for strategic planning, community engagement, media relations, public relations, marketing, customer service, translation services, special projects, and ombudsman services for an urban school district serving 124 schools and more than 86,000 students. Janis was a native Austinite and an active volunteer for her community and church. She served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Central Texas Goodwill Industries, and served as President of the Board of Directors for Executive Women in Texas Government. She served as Chair of the City of Austin's Civil Service Commission, and on the Advisory Boards of the Seedling Foundation and the United Way Hispanic Community Initiative. She is an active volunteer in Chaplain Services at Brackenridge Hospital, and in the Ministry for the Homebound at St. Mary Cathedral. She regularly serves as a Eucharistic Minister and Lector for St. Mary Cathedral, and served on the Steering Committee for the Austin Diocese's Our Faith Our Legacy capital campaign. In June 2004, Hispanic Magazine recognized Janis as a "Top Latina in Community Service." In February 2008, La Voz de Austin, Austin Community College, and the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education honored Janis as one of "25 Most Influential Hispanics in Austin." A scholarship has been established in her honor. Contributions may be made to the Janis Guerrero-Thompson Scholarship Fund at the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium, 1107 S. Eighth St., Austin, TX 78704.