Board of Trustees Bios

Cassandra Hatfield

Cassandra Hatfield

Background and Education
Mrs. Hatfield grew up in Texas public schools and graduated from Rockwall High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Texas teaching certification in 4th – 8th grade mathematics from Texas A&M University – Commerce. Later in her educational career she went on to earn an M.Ed. in Leadership of Learning with a K-12 Principal certification, an ESL certification, and a specialization in conflict resolution. Additionally, she has taken additional coursework to round out a Kinder - 4th grade master math teacher certification, with an emphasis in coaching.

Public Service
Mrs. Hatfield was elected to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees in May 2021. During the 2022-2023 school year, Mrs. Hatfield earned the designation of Master Trustee through the completion of Leadership TASB. Prior to the 88th Legislative Session, Mrs. Hatfield also served on the TASB Legislative Advisory Council. Before serving as a Trustee, she served on the District Improvement Council and a Campus Improvement Committee. Additionally, she has served roles on her children’s school PTA.  Outside of the district, Mrs. Hatfield has served on the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas STEM Advisory Board and was a Girl Scout Troop Cookie Manager for six years. 

Professional and Personal
Mrs. Hatfield is currently serving a dual role as the Director of Operations and Senior Research Project Manager for a research unit at Southern Methodist University. In her role she has managed more than a dozen corporate, state, and federal STEM education research grants focused on student interventions, assessment development or teacher and leader training. Additionally, she supports entry level project managers in honing their leadership skills. Prior to SMU, Mrs. Hatfield spent 8 years in public education in various roles, including teaching elementary and middle school mathematics. She was also an elementary mathematics specialist and three of her years in this role were spent in CFBISD.

Cassandra and her husband, Scott, have two active children who have engaged in the CFBISD Dual Language program. Their oldest attends Blalack Middle School and is active in theater and Girl Scouts. Their youngest attends Stark Elementary and enjoys multiple sports. 

Tara Hrbacek

Tara Hrbacek

Background and Education 
Tara Hrbacek grew up in Corpus Christi, TX, and moved to Carrollton in 2001. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering Technology from the College of Engineering at Texas Tech University.

Public Service
Tara was elected to the Board of Trustees in May 2017. Before serving on the Board, she was active in the District through multiple roles at local campus PTAs and for the CFB Council PTA.  She has served on Campus Improvement Committees at the elementary and middle school level and has also served as a parent liaison on the District Improvement Council.  Tara was also part of the inaugural class of CFB Ambassadors.

Professional and Personal
Tara is the Operations Director for the Program Management / Construction Management group with a national engineering firm.  Tara is married to a CFBISD graduate and together, they have one son, a 2022 graduate of CFBISD who is now a Sophomore in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University studying Engineering.

Sally Derrick

Sally Derrick

Background and Education
Sally is a lifelong resident of CFB, having grown up in Carrollton before moving to Farmers Branch over 20 years ago. She received an Associate’s Degree of Nursing from Brookhaven College in 2001 and then went on to receive her Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2003, where she graduated Cum Laude.

Public Service
Before serving on the School Board, Sally served for over a decade on multiple Farmers Branch Boards and Commissions. She served as the Chair of the Family Advisory Board and also served as an active member on the Library Board, Community Watch Committee and the Charter Review Committee. 

Sally became involved in our schools through PTA where she first began serving in 2009. She has served as the PTA President at Janie Stark Elementary, Vivian Field Middle School and Newman Smith High School. She also served the CFB Council PTA as Chair of the Gently Used Book Sale and 1st VP of Leadership Development. 

Professional and Personal
Sally is a Registered Nurse and works at Children’s Health in Dallas. She has always had a love and passion for children and knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse. In 2018, Sally received the D Magazine Excellence in Nursing Award and most recently was a recipient of the DAISY Award®.

Sally and her husband, Tony, have two daughters. Their oldest is a 2022 Newman Smith High School graduate who now attends Texas A&M University. Their youngest daughter currently attends R. L. Turner High School proudly following in her father’s footsteps.

Carolyn Benavides

Carolyn Benavides

Background and Education
Carolyn Benavides is a 4th generation Texan who grew up in South Carrollton. A CFBISD Alumni, she attended Central Elementary, Dewitt Perry Middle School and earned her diploma from R.L. Turner in 1983. She has earned numerous business and accounting related certifications during her career.

Public Service
As a long-standing philanthropist, she has served the Carrollton-Farmers Branch community, as well as Denton, Navarro, and Fairfield Counties, for many years. 

She has served as the treasurer for eight years for the Farmers Branch Little League and ten years with the CFB Soccer Association. She has also served on the CFBISD Educational Foundation board for ten years and five years on the Metrocrest Hospital Authority board.

Carolyn is the Chief Officer for the Benavides Family Charity, serving twenty-four years as an advocate for children, seniors, veterans, and refugees. She is a respected leader and coordinator in the community, bringing together several civic, community, and religious organizations to serve those in need.

Professional and Personal
Carolyn is the Owner/Operator of Joe's Pizza in South Carrollton and a bookkeeper for American TTS, Inc.

Concurrently she serves as the Chief Officer for the Benavides Family Charity organization. Her former roles include President, LBJ Trucking Co., Inc., and bookkeeper for Ramirez Trucking.

She is the proud wife of forty years to her high school sweetheart and a mother of four sons and grandmother.

Kim Brady

Kim Brady

Background and Education
Kim Brady has been an active member of the CFBISD community for over ten years and a resident for twenty years. She graduated from Texas Christian University with bachelor's and master's degrees in special education.

Public Service
Since becoming a mom in 2006, Kim has been highly involved in the CFB community while working as a Special Education & 504 Advocate for students in public school. As a PTA member for over ten years, she has served on several PTA boards in various roles and was twice awarded the PTA Life Member Award.

Ms. Brady serves on several CFB committees, including the Bond Committee, District Improvement Committee, the Student Health Advisory Committee, and more. She is an active volunteer at many events throughout the district.

Professional and Personal
Ms. Brady has served as a middle school special education teacher and  a special education coordinator. During her time as a classroom teacher, she was awarded Teacher of the Year.

Kim and her husband Neil were married in 2002 and have two children, Scotty and Casey. Scotty is a Newman Smith High School trojan, and Casey is a Creekview High School mustang. Since kindergarten, the Brady kids have thrived in CFBISD through academics, sports, and the fine arts. The Brady family are very active members at Christ United Methodist Church in Farmers Branch.

Ileana Garza-Rojas

Ileana Garza-Rojas

Background and Education
Ileana Garza-Rojas is a 1st generation born and raised in Texas. She graduated from Garland High School and then attended community college at Dallas College before attending Texas Woman's University. She earned her degree in Government with an emphasis in legal studies. Upon graduation, she and her wife moved to Farmers Branch, Texas, to set their roots.

Public Service
Prior to serving on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees, Ileana served on the Equity and Equality Task Force Committee and was the co-chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee. She has also served on her child's school PTA as a chair for Movie Night and was a homeroom parent and grade level parent. Ileana also was co-manager for Destination Imagination.

Additionally, Ileana has been a Dallas CASA advocate for over ten years, working with children in the foster system. She is one of the lead committee members for Rainbow Roundup in Dallas County and has hosted National Night Out within her neighborhood as a community liaison.

Professional and Personal
Ileana has pressed her way forward in the legal field. In 2005, she started as a file clerk in a small law firm. Since then, her strong work ethic has allowed her to advance through several positions within the legal field with various companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. In 2018, Ileana started her own freelance paralegal business specializing in insurance defense, personal injury and contracts.

Ileana is an actively involved parent. She encourages her children to explore and learn inside and outside a traditional classroom setting. Ileana loves to travel, read self-empowerment books, volunteering and spending time with family and friends.

Randy Schakmann

Randy Schackmann

Background and Education
Randy Schackmann is a native Oregonian with strong Texas roots (his Mom and Grandparents were “Lone Star staters”). He grew up and attended school in Portland, except for two years when his Mom, a teacher, took a one-year assignment in Hawaii and later Taipei, Taiwan. After high school, Randy was recruited to a small, private, Christian college in Portland on a combined academic and athletic scholarship. He earned both an A.A. and B.A. degree with double majors in Liberal Arts and Religion. He later went to Pepperdine University on a full presidential scholarship to do his M.S. in ministry.

Public Service
Randy has always been very active in his community, public education, and church. Over the years, his involvement includes time on several chambers of commerce, including tenure on their boards of directors. In addition, he filled a term on the Farmers Branch Employees Salary and Retirement review committee, directed the Dallas area Dash-For-Dignity 5K (supporting adults with disabilities) for two years, and was a member of the Governor’s School Earthquake Safety review committee. He has been active in local PTAs and volunteered as a board member on multiple campuses. He served on both campus and district-level advisory committees and has been involved in numerous school booster groups. In addition to serving as a CFBISD elected trustee (in his 9th year), he is currently a member of the Board of Regents for NationsUniversity, and he is an active fundraising advisor for several local nonprofits.

An ordained preacher, Randy spent the first fifteen years after college working at a local church in Glendale, California, where he became the senior minister for eight years. He maintains his ministerial license and does some fill-in preaching for area churches and occasional weddings or funerals.

Professional and Personal
A midlife career shift found Randy working in church relations and fundraising for a California, faith-based senior-care facility. This change led to a growing nonprofit management role as a fundraising account executive, a senior vice president at Caswell Zachry, Grizzard, a national firm, and the owner of his own boutique consulting firm, Schackmann Philanthropy Support, LLC. In 2007, he moved to North Texas. While doing nonprofit work, he went back to school to receive an industry certification at Indiana University’s School of Philanthropy and a charitable estate planning credential from the National Planned Giving Institute through the Law School at William & Mary. Additionally, He also earned the prestigious CFRE professional certification. His consulting work helped raise nearly $400,000,000 for numerous organizations, including multiple Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (homeless care facilities), Salvation Army, Hospice, Food Banks, Red Cross, MD Anderson, and more. He has helped train boards and staff alike at some 200 successful nonprofits throughout the country. Randy sold his consulting firm in 2017 and is officially, happily, retired.