Dianne Borreson was the Chief Technology Officer at Hays CISD for 21 years.  Prior to that, she served in various other educational and instructional technology roles, for a total of 36 years in education. She graduated from Texas State with a B.A in elementary education and  a M.A in curriculum and instruction, minoring in instructional technology and special education.

Dianne has been active in TETL since its inception in 2001. She has served as an officer and chaired many different committees during that time. She has also served on the Texas Education Agency Information Task Force (ITF Advisory Committee), the TEA LRPT Committee and the Texas Education Data Security Task Force.  She brings extensive experience working with state and local organizations to provide technology audits, leadership training, bond planning and strategic alignment.  Dianne is passionate about building leadership capacity in others.  She is excited to have the opportunity to help this organization grow.

Dr. Karla Burkholder began her career as a business education teacher, and quickly discovered a passion for teaching and learning with technology. With over 30 years as a Texas educator, she has served as a teacher, instructional technologist, instructional technology coordinator and director, adjunct professor at Baylor University, and recently retired as the Director of Technology in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD. Throughout her career, Dr. Burkholder has led award winning technology and digital learning initiatives recognized at both the state and national levels.  She has a strong background in both the instructional and technical sides of educational technology and works to ensure that technology initiatives are aligned with district priorities. Dr. Burkholder is a past president of TCEA serving on the Board of Directors for eight years, and she currently serves as the Chair of the Learning Counsel’s User Interface Group. She is a recipient of the ISTE Making IT Happen Award, the Texas Council of Women School Executives Bravo Award for Innovation and was named to the EdTech Digest 2019 Top 100 Influencers in EdTech.  

Dr. Burkholder holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of North Texas in Business Administration and Computer Education and Cognitive Systems, respectively, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.  

Dr. Kari Murphy is a Certified Technology Leader with over 30 years of experience in educational technology. She is an Apple Learning Coach, a certified WHY coach, and recently retired as the Chief Technology Officer for Deer Park Independent School District. In 2026, she was named the Withrow CTO of the year. In 2019, she was awarded the TCEA Lifetime Achievement for the Advancement of Technology in Education. In 2016, she was honored as one of two 2015-2016 Texas recipients of the International Society for Technology in Education's Making IT Happen award. In 2007, she was recognized as one of the Top Women in Computing for the Houston area by the AWC due to her leadership in K-12 educational technology.

Mel Forehand, CEM, CMP is an event management professional with over 25 years of experience.  She is a certified exposition manager and certified meeting professional. She is an active member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events and Meeting Professionals International.  Mel planned, coordinated and executed the largest foodservice exposition in the Southwest and the second largest in the nation for over 20 years. This event was named one of the Top 250 Tradeshows in the U.S. by Trade Show News Network.  Mel has extensive experience and background in event planning and has received numerous awards for her work.  Her motto is Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.

Estela Andersen brings a significant amount of professional experience to the TETL team. She has 45 years’ experience supporting various areas of school district administration. For the past 25 years, she has worked in the Hays CISD Technology Department. Her duties have included asset management, budgeting, vendor liaison, technology purchasing and workflow coordination. Mrs. Andersen’s work ethic and extensive experience are a great asset to the organization. 

Anne Halsey is the Communications Coordinator for the Texas K12 CTO Council, the state chapter of the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), which supports school district technology leaders throughout Texas. She received her BA from Macalester College and her MFA from New York University. She previously worked as the director of consumer advertising for the Bravo Cable Network and director of media for the Poetry Foundation. She currently serves as a school board trustee in San Marcos, Texas.