Since its founding in 1962, the T.L.L. Temple Foundation has invested more than $440 million, primarily to strengthen communities in Deep East Texas.
Mission
The T.L.L. Temple Foundation works alongside families and communities to build a thriving Deep East Texas and to alleviate poverty, creating access and opportunities for all.
Values
The work of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation is informed by our values. These values stem from our founding by Georgie Munz in 1962 and are shared by the Temple family today. The T.L.L. Temple Foundation believes:
- Systemic, multi-generational poverty affects too many people in Deep East Texas. We will work to remove the barriers which keep too many Deep East Texans locked into a cycle of poverty and prioritize support for those with the least access to the resources and opportunities needed to move out of poverty.
- We strive to be a good neighbor, giving back to the communities that built today’s Deep East Texas and building on the region’s many assets. We recognize the critical role of local residents and communities in identifying problems and solutions and embrace their participation and diverse perspectives.
- We are stewards of significant philanthropic resources for the public’s benefit in Deep East Texas. As such, we will operate ethically and with integrity.
- Information is critical to ensure that we are making effective use of our resources. We value learning and are committed to utilizing available knowledge and developing new knowledge to improve our work on an ongoing basis.
- We cannot do this work alone. We are committed to partnering with others to advance shared goals. We are reliant on strong public and private partners to fulfill our mission.
- We have many available tools to achieve our goals—including, but not limited to, financial assets. We will use our voice to elevate issues of importance, bring people together to address shared concerns, develop and share knowledge, and objectively advocate for our goals.
- We embrace our role in the region and recognize the challenges of rural isolation. We will utilize the full set of philanthropic roles and leadership to attract attention to the needs of rural Americans and bring resources to the rural communities of Deep East Texas.
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History
The T. L. L. Temple Foundation was established in 1962 by Georgie Temple Munz with an initial gift of 1,000 shares of Southern Pine Lumber Company stock worth $56,000. The foundation is named in memory and honor of her father, Thomas Lewis Latané Temple, who formed Southern Pine Lumber Company (later Temple Inland Inc.) in 1893.
Upon her death in 1982, Mrs. Munz left the balance of her estate to the foundation, whose assets have grown to more than $400 million. In creating the foundation, “Aunt Georgie” hoped to provide a perpetual source of funding to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Deep East Texas. Mrs. Munz was a lifelong resident of Deep East Texas, where the Temple family primarily operated its timber business.
Today, the Foundation is governed by a board composed of Temple family members and community leaders who share Mrs. Munz’s commitment to strengthening Deep East Texas. It has invested more than $440 million, primarily in Deep East Texas.
Board of Trustees
- Jack C. Sweeny
- W.Temple Webber, III
- H.J. (Jay) Shands, III
- Charlotte Temple
- Thomas P. Darmstadter
- William “Spence” Spencer
- David F. Webber
- Hannah Temple
- Ellen Temple
Foundation Staff
Kelly Follie
North Lufkin Community Office Assistant
Email: kfollie (at) tlltemple.foundation
Kelly Follie, Community Office Assistant in the foundation’s North Lufkin facility, grew up in Silsbee, Texas. A mother of two, she is active in her church. She has plans to attend Angelina College to pursue a degree in human services. Ultimately, she would like to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work.
Kellie said she enjoys working for the Foundation. She actually discovered her passion for helping and serving others while working as a medical assistant. She began volunteering at Impact Lufkin in March 2016 and that lead to her joining the organization.
Emily Gay
Program Officer
Email: egay (at) tlltf.org
Emily has a master’s degree in social work from Stephen F. Austin State University. She has received several awards including the Social Work Leadership Award in undergraduate and graduate school at SFASU and the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program scholarship. She also was placed in Quito, Ecuador for her senior year of high school.
Emily has been involved with nonprofits, volunteering, and service to others. She is very involved in international volunteer work and travel and she thrives on using her second language, Spanish.
Emily found her passion for community development and education by working in a rural, impoverished area in Quito, Ecuador. That profound moment led her into her career as a Master Level Social Worker. By working for the non-profit sector, she has the opportunity to continue to fulfill her passion by serving and helping others obtain his/her well-being through macro-level practice.
Sylvia A. Leal, Ed.D.
Senior Program Officer–Education & Economic Development
email: sylvialeal (at) tlltemple.foundation
Sylvia A. Leal is a Senior Program Officer responsible for leading the Foundation’s Education and Economic Development initiatives. She received an Associate in Arts Degree from Texas Southmost College in Brownsville, a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in School Administration from the University of Texas Pan American, and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Houston.
Sylvia’s career spans more than 30 years with experience in K-12 education as a bilingual teacher and as a curriculum specialist at Region One Education Service Center. At Region One, she assisted educators across 38 school districts improve the teaching and learning capacity of students across South Texas as an Inclusion Specialist, a Science Specialist, and a GEAR UP Coordinator. She has administrative experience at the university level where she served as Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and as Vice President of Enrollment at the University of Texas Brownsville and as Associate Vice President for Student Educational Outreach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In that capacity she supervised various P-16 pre-college initiatives, federal grants, testing, and other student support services that supported first generation minority students to enter and succeed in higher education.
Dr. Leal has served on a number of boards and in community leadership positions. She strongly believes that equitable quality education can transform the lives of students, their families, and their communities especially for diverse unrepresented students. Sylvia continues her lifetime work to seek and develop innovative initiatives that increase the number of first generation students that obtain postsecondary credentials with labor market value.
Sylvia enjoys cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Stacie Ratcliff
Accounting
Email: sratcliff (at) tlltf.org
Stacie Hodges, accounting for the Foundation, is a native of Woodville, Texas and attended both Angelina College and Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
Along with spending time with her grandchildren, family, and friends, Stacie enjoys photography, gardening, traveling.
Stacie chose to work at the Foundation because she wants to make a positive impact on the community. She said she is honored to be a part of the organization.
Tami Musick
Grants Manager
Email: tmusick (at) tlltf.org
Tami Musick works with the grants for the Foundation. Originally from Indiana, Tami enjoys water sports, gardening, and many other outdoor activities.
Tami said she loves working at the Foundation because it’s a job in which she can see she is making a difference in the lives of the people in the community. From funding education/scholarships to feeding the hungry, the Foundation is making a huge impact for all of us in East Texas.
Kathy Parish
Office Manager/Receptionist
Email: kathyparish(at) tlltemple.foundation
Wynn Rosser, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Email: wynnrosser (at) tlltemple.foundation
Wynn Rosser is President & CEO of the Foundation. Wynn earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University as well as an associate’s from Kilgore College.
Wynn has received several awards, including the H.S. Warwick Research Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in the area of Alumni Relations and Educational Advancement and the Distinguished Former Student of Texas A&M University’s Department of Agriculture Leadership Education and Communications. He also was awarded an honorary associate of arts degree from El Paso Community College.
He and his wife, Dr. Manda Rosser, are raising three children on a farm with more than 40 animals including alpaca, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, dogs and cats. He enjoys reading, running, cycling and he is active in his church.
Wynn is committed to collective impact and to improving education outcomes – especially for low income and rural students as well as to a regional approach to grant making and philanthropic leadership.
He is past chair of the Grantmakers for Education Board of Directors and is chair of the Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium (TEGAC). He is also a lecturer in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M.
Robert Sanders
Boggy Slough Conservation Area
Director of Forest & Wildlife Management
Email: rsanders (at) tlltf.org
Robert Sanders is the Director of Forest & Wildlife Management – Boggy Slough Conservation Area. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Forest/Wildlife Management from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Robert has received numerous awards, including the Eagle Scout – 1989; Lone Star Land Steward Award – Texas Parks & Wildlife – 2007; Leopold Conservation Award – Sand County Foundation and Texas Parks & Wildlife – 2011; Texas Big Game Awards – Statewide Landowner of the Year – Texas Wildlife Association – 2012; Land Steward Award – Texas Chapter – The Wildlife Society – 2014-2015; and the Statewide Friend of Conservation Award – Texas Soil and Water Conservation Districts – 2014
Robert enjoys all aspects of being outside, whether hunting, fishing, training Labrador retrievers, searching for shed antlers, exercising, or spending time with his two sons and wife Jenny. The family is very adventurous and loves the piney woods of East Texas as well as traveling together and experiencing God’s creations throughout our incredible state, country and beyond.
He said growing up and having deep roots in East Texas has allowed him to realize how fortunate we all are to live in such a diverse ecological area of the U.S. Because he spent the majority of his time outdoors growing up, he believes his life was transformed and molded into the person he is today through the outdoor experiences he was introduced to by his family and close mentors.
Robert said having the opportunity to work for the T.L.L. Temple Foundation allows him to manage the valuable forest, wildlife, and water resources while at the same time introducing a wide range of East Texans to the importance of conserving our natural resources through proven, up-to-date management strategies. Giving back to the people of his hometown area and helping them to experience what he has been so fortunate to have learned over the years is very rewarding.
Laura L. Squiers
Senior Program Officer
Health, Human Services, & Arts and Culture
Email: lsquiers (at) tlltf.org
Laura L. Squiers is a Senior Program Officer responsible for the Foundation’s health, human services, & arts and culture portfolio. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism with a Concentration in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin.
Serving and helping others is what motivates and inspires Laura. She believes strongly in the work of nonprofits and the benefits they provide to all societal stakeholders. Working in the field of philanthropy allows Laura to assist in the support of organizations whose mission it is to change lives.
She has served on the boards of many different nonprofits and managed one as Executive Director. Serving and helping others is what motivates and inspires her. She believes strongly in the work of nonprofits and the benefits they provide to all societal stakeholders. Working in the field of philanthropy allows Laura to assist in the support of organizations whose mission it is to change lives.
Laura enjoys reading, cross-stitching and traveling with her family.