An Odyssey of Leadership
An Odyssey of Leadership was the theme attributed to the conference that took place in 2019. In 2019 the conference had around 75 delegates and was comprised of only high school seniors and juniors for the second year. During that year the delegates took an assessment known as Clifton Strengths where they would find out their 5 top strengths.
The speakers who were at the 2019 conference were:​
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Ennis Rios
Justin Romack
Justin Romack works for Texas A&M University in the Disability Services Office. He is also a program coordinator. Justin has a degree in Journalism and Communications from Stephen F. Austin University. He has a love of storytelling and provides content strategy and development for brands, businesses and organizations. He also has a passion for music and spends some of his free time playing the drums. At one point in time he played the drums for Sharna Strange, a Christian singer/songwriter. He lives in College Station with his wife and children.
Tiana Sanford
Tiana Sanford serves as a Chief Prosecutor in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office where she has handled a variety of cases. She is currently assigned as the Chief of the Misdemeanor Division. In this role Tiana supervises the work of multiple court teams including attorneys, investigators and support staff and focuses on the education, training and development of newly appointed prosecutors. Tiana received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Texas A&M University and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. In addition to her traditional prosecutorial duties, Ms. Sanford has is a legislative liaison and the community liaison for the District Attorney's Office and coordinates the office's community based prosecution efforts. While at Texas A&M Tiana was part of MSC ALOT where she served as the Chair for the SLOT Conference one year. She currently serves on the Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Texas A&M University.
Dr. Henry Musoma
Dr. Musoma was born and raised in the Southern African nation of Zambia. He completed his high school education in Zambia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. In 1996, Dr. Musoma relocated to the United States to attend college, receiving both his Masters and Undergraduate degrees from Texas A&M University with a concentration in International Agricultural Development. Dr. Musoma completed his doctoral studies at Texas Christian University. He has served on the faculty at Texas A&M as a lecturer and academic advisor in the College of Agriculture. He also held the lectureship for
Texas A&M’s premier multi-disciplinary leadership program, the Academy for Future International Leaders. Dr. Musoma lectured in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M. He was also an adjunct professor in the George Bush School of Government and Public Service where he teaches a course in Leadership and Public Administration
in the Masters of International Affairs Program. Dr. Musoma currently teaches at Texas Christian University in their Management department.
Dr. Chad Nelson
Chad Nelson attended Lon Morris College where he competed in the 2009 NJCAA Cross Country National Qualifiers and was named a four-time NJCAA Academic All-American. After completing his associate’s degree, he then continued to complete his Bachelor Degree in Communication at Centenary College of Louisiana. Chad furthered his education at Texas A&M University and completed his Master’s Degree in Sport Management. While completing his master’s degree, he also obtained a Certificate of Nonprofit Management from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Dr. Nelson also has a Ph.D in Youth Development from Texas A&M which he received in 2019. He is currently an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Department.
Dr. James Olson
Professor Olson received his law degree from the University of Iowa in 1969. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Bush School, where he teaches courses on intelligence, national security, and international crisis management. He served for over 25 years in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly overseas in clandestine operations. In addition to several foreign assignments, he was Chief of
Counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Professor Olson has been awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit, the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Donovan Award, and several Distinguished Service Citations. He is the recipient of
awards from the Bush School and the Association of Former Students for excellence in teaching. Professor Olson is the author of Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, published by Potomac Books in 2006.
Susan Fox-Forrester
Susan Fox-Forrester received her BA in Organizational Communications from St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. She also received her M.Ed in Counseling from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. She came to the conference to speak about the Clifton Strengths program. Susan is on staff in the Student Life Studies as part of the Division of Student Affairs as the Assessment Coordinator.
