HOUSTON — The ACLU of Texas is excited to announce the recent election of two new members to its Board of Directors — Dr. Froswa' Booker-Drew and Royce Brooks — following a vote by the organization’s members. In addition, the Board of Directors appointed Feliz Abelos and David Henderson to vacated positions in April 2022.
The ACLU of Texas elects directors to its Board through an annual election in which all members may participate. The Board also votes to appoint new directors if and when vacancies arise. Each Board member is either elected to a three-year term or, if appointed, completes the remainder of the vacated three-year term.
Other members of the Board of Directors are listed here.
Feliz Abelos
Feliz Abalos is an attorney born and raised in Odessa, Texas. After law school at Ohio Northern University, she quickly returned to the Permian Basin to begin her career in 2006.
Abalos is dedicated to serving her community through numerous boards, committees, and volunteer positions. Notably, she has served as Chair of the Ector County Democratic Party and Chair of what was Planned Parenthood of West Texas. She also works to further causes important to the Mexican American and Latinx population through her work with LULAC and Hispanic Heritage of Odessa.
As part of her efforts to help make knowledge and learning accessible to all, Abalos is active on the ConnEctor committee which is attempting to bring high-speed internet to all in the area, especially to those who are underserved. She is also on the advisory committee for the Ector County Library. Abalos is a proud member of the Odessa East Rotary club where she has twice served as President and is a double Paul Harris Fellow, awarded to members who donate to the Rotary Foundation which funds charities throughout the world. For her dedication to community service, Abalos has been awarded the Woman of Distinction award from the Girl Scouts of the Southwest, the Community Statesman award from the Heritage of Odessa Foundation, and the Odessa American and Attorney of the Year 2021 from Legal Aid of Northwest Texas.
Professionally, Abalos spent almost four years as an Assistant County Attorney in Ector County and from 2014-2019 served as the Police Legal Advisor for the Odessa Police Department. She currently represents clients from all backgrounds in family and criminal matters.
Dr. Froswa' Booker-Drew
Froswa' Booker-Drew, Ph.D. has an extensive background in nonprofit management, partnership development, training, and education. She is the co-founder of Power in Action-Dallas, HERitage Giving Circle, the first African American Women’s Giving Circle in Texas and the South Dallas Employment Project. She owns Soulstice Consultancy LLC, an agency that provides leadership development and guidance to institutions on their philanthropic investments and community engagement with clients across the United States. As the former vice president of community affairs / strategic alliances of the State Fair of Texas, the largest fair in the United States, she managed all community initiatives, educational programming, partnership development, and philanthropy on behalf of the organization.
Dr. Booker-Drew is a board member of Amegy Bank-Dallas, Buckner International, Soul Rep Theater Company, Mayor’s Star Council, For Oak Cliff, and the Real Estate Council Community Board. She has also served as a board member of the Association of Persons Affected by Addiction, the Texas Christian Community Development Network, the Texas Nonprofit Council, the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations, and Girls Inc—Tarrant County as a member of the Director’s Circle.
Dr. Booker-Drew received her bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Arlington, master’s degree in liberal arts and humanities from Oklahoma City University, and doctoral degree in leadership and change from Antioch University.
Royce Brooks
Royce Brooks has extensive governmental experience, including having worked in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the City of Atlanta. She has worked closely with members of the Texas Legislature, city and county officials from across Texas, and state and local officials from across the country. In addition, she has experience in strategic planning, organizational management, and cultural change. As the executive director of Annie’s List, she undertook a deliberate project of inclusion, resulting in BIPOC leadership at every level of the organization. Before that, as the chief equity officer for the City of Atlanta, she was responsible for instilling a new set of organizational values with a focus on equity and inclusion among the mayor’s senior team and cabinet.
Brooks has served on multiple non-profit boards, most recently serving on the board of directors at Leadership Austin and Texas Black Civic Fund.
Brooks has a law degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in English and Policy Studies from Rice University, in addition to being a member of the State Bar of Texas and the District of Columbia Bar. As a sixth-generation Texan, she has always known the necessity of public service and community commitment.
David Henderson
David Henderson is a civil rights attorney, communications consultant, and CNBC contributor.
Henderson has more than two decades of experience in high-profile communication-based roles, including 20 years as a trial attorney during which he has tried over 70 jury cases to a verdict, ranging from capital murder to human trafficking to civil cases. He has also helped devise courtroom strategies for hundreds of proceedings. Previously, he served as an associate at Vinson & Elkins, LLP, an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers worldwide, and then as a prosecutor in the Special Crimes Division of the Bexar County’s District Attorney’s office. Currently, he serves as a civil rights attorney at Ellwanger Henderson LLLP and is the Managing Partner of the firm’s Dallas office. Henderson is also a speaker and communications expert with Spoken with Authority, a Washington D.C.-based presentation skills consultancy.
Due in large part to his exceptional communication skills, Henderson was invited by the Texas District and County Attorney’s Association (TDCAA) to provide continuing education courses for thousands of attorneys across the state and served as faculty at TDCAA’s semi-annual Trial Skills Course, which is essentially boot camp for all Texas prosecutors. He also joined Toastmasters International in 2007, and in 2010 he was named World Champion of Public Speaking in a competition of more than 30,000 elite speakers from 113 countries.
As part of his longstanding commitment to ending systemic injustice, Henderson has written op-eds regarding anti-riot laws and qualified immunity, which have been published by the Washington Post and Newsweek. He also frequently provides legal analyses on CNBC and other NBC networks. Henderson holds a B.A. in Plan II Honors from the University of Texas, and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.