HOUSTON - September 7, 2016 - Citizen Schools Texas is pleased to announce Laurence “Larry” Payne, Vice President of The Desir Group, as Chairman of Citizen Schools Texas Advisory Board.  Citizen Schools is a national non-profit that partners with middle schools in six states to provide an expanded learning day for students in lower income communities to help bridge the opportunity gap which exists between them and their more affluent peers.

“Larry will be a tremendous leader for our board,” said Greg Meyers, Executive Director of Citizen Schools Texas. “The knowledge, passion and experience he brings through his years of leadership and service within the public, educational, religious and nonprofit sectors, will be invaluable to the Board of Directors.”

Payne has over 40 years experience in public service, education and not-for-profit and religious leadership.  He has held various positions at the city, state and congressional levels, and previously served as President and CEO of Houston Habitat for Humanity.  He currently serves as Vice President of The Desir Group, a human capital management, education, training and consulting firm based in Houston. At Citizen Schools Texas, Payne was a founding member of the board, and has been active in supporting the children and efforts of Citizen Schools Texas in that capacity for more than five years. Payne appears weekly on the public affairs show “Dialogue Houston,” which, in it’s 21st year, airs on HCC-TV and KUBE-TV, and on talk radio show “Interchange” on KYND-AM.

“To create the Houston we want to be known by we must stop new problems from becoming old problems and old problems from getting older,” said Larry Payne.  “We must act now as citizens and become engaged in our children’s future.”

Media Contact:

Whitney Buckley whitneybuckley@citizenschools.org | 617-699-1373

About Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities. Citizen Schools mobilizes a team of AmeriCorps educators and volunteer “Citizen Teachers” to teach real-world learning projects and provide academic support in order to help all students discover and achieve their dreams. For more information, please visit http://www.citizenschools.org/