TECEC Staff

Kara Johnson, President and CEO, kjohnson@tecec.org
Kara Johnson joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) more than five years ago and now serves as its President and Chief Operating Officer. Her leadership has contributed to TECEC being regarded as a premiere child advocacy organization both in Texas and at the national level.  She is one of the authors of Edition 2 of The Texas Plan, a ten-year public policy agenda dedicated to early childhood education and development in Texas. 

Prior to working for the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition, Kara interned with the Center for Public Policy Priorities to conduct extensive research on poverty in Texas, leading to the publication of  “Tough Choices.” Between 1999 and 2001, Kara worked as a Campus Manager for Communities In Schools in Dallas where she worked directly with school administrators, counselors, school psychologists, and teachers in order to meet the needs of children and families.  
 
She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Texas and her Masters Degree from the University of Texas School of Social Work with a focus in Administration and Planning. In addition, she received her Diversity Certification from the University of North Texas.

Don Titcombe, Director of Communications and Outreach,   dtitcombe@tecec.org
Don Titcombe serves as the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC), where he manages community and media outreach.  Don also coordinates membership recruitment efforts.

His efforts have contributed to more than 15 opinion-editorials being placed statewide, as well as scores of articles placed related to early childhood education. In 2009, he led the largest early childhood advocacy event at the Texas Capitol with over one thousand indivuduals gathering from across Texas in order to advocate for high quality early childhood education. In 2008, he coordinated a statewide satellite broadcast event in 37 communities where hundreds of stakeholders gathered to learn more about effective advocacy strategies.

Don launched the TECEC “Year of the Parent” campaign in 2008 in order to ensure parents understand how to select safe and high quality early childhood education settings. He has traveled statewide and even recruited parents to come to Austin for a half day training at the Texas Capitol. 

Don earned his Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin, where he emphasized community building, policy analysis, and non-profit leadership in his studies.  He complemented his graduate career with a diverse experience in social research in such areas as disability, domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Don also received a Bachelors of Arts in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and was awarded the Hibbs Scholarship for scholastic achievement.  He has participated in community organizing and collaborative efforts for change at all levels of his education.

Sarah Willcox, Intern, sarah.tecec@gmail.com
Sarah Willcox recently joined the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC) as an Intern, where she assists with developing reports on public policy issues, presentations, and events planning.

Sarah graduated with honors from Texas Christian University in May, with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Child Development and History. She was very involved with The Institute of Child Development at TCU, and was selected to aide her professors with several major research projects studying early attachment behaviors, and learning styles in preschool children.

Before joining the TECEC team, Sarah worked as a Teacher’s Assistant at a Montessori school in Fort Worth where she created daily lesson plans for each class and trained all new employees on teaching techniques. She also served as the Camps and Events Coordinator for the Good Samaritan Center in San Antonio, and has volunteered for three years at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth.