Board Members
Board Members
Ayotunde Esho, President
Ayotunde Esho moved to Midland, Texas from New York City in 2014 after completing his dental education and residency training at the New York University College of Dentistry and Mount Sinai Hospital respectively. He and his beautiful wife of fourteen years have since adopted the Permian Basin as their home, along with their set of twins who both currently attend Carver Center.
He was born and raised in Nigeria, where his appreciation for education was developed, and he has always been an advocate for providing a learning environment where every child can thrive and harness their unique talent.
In the course of his career, Ayotunde has held multiple leadership roles such as: Managing Clinical Director at Aspen Dental, Lead Dentist at Smile Brand and Dental Provider at the Midland County Jail. He is currently in the process of transitioning to his solo practice but remains actively involved in peer mentoring and has received multiple awards and accolades as a result.
He is a member of the American Dental Association, the Texas Dental Association and the Permian Basin Dental Association and is involved in several community outreach programs.
Leah Robertson, Secretary
Leah has been living and practicing law in Midland since 2007. She loves west Texas and is very involved in our community. Leah served in the U.S. Army as an Avionics Mechanic and while stationed in Germany was deployed briefly to Kosovo as part of an international peacekeeping effort. After her service in the U.S. Army, Leah completed her bachelors and law degree. During the first stages of her law career, she was a prosecutor for five years with the Midland County District Attorney's Office, where she became a trial team chief and led prosecutions of misdemeanors and felonies. After her time as an Assistant District Attorney, Leah transitioned to being the in-house attorney for Midland Independent School District, a position she held for six years. Leah also served as Of Counsel at Ward & Myers, where she focused on family law, estate planning, employment law and criminal law.
Currently, Leah is the Presiding Judge of the 385th District Court. Leah serves on the Safe Place of the Permian Basin board, the Midland Community Theatre board, the Midland County Library Advisory board and the Carver Center board. Leah was chosen as one of the top 20 Under 40 young professionals in 2016. Leah is also a graduate of Leadership Midland and Leadership Texas.
Ryan Lovell, Treasurer
Ryan Lovell is a native of Midland, Texas. He has worked in banking for over 20 years, joining Community National Bank in 2000, and is currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer. Ryan graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Texas Tech University and later earned his Master of Professional Accounting degree from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He received his Certified Fraud Examiner designation in October 2016 and is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Ryan has been married to Hillary for 21 years and they have two children, Katie and John, both attending school in MISD. Ryan currently serves on the board of the FBI Midland Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association and has previously served with Midland Need to Read, the UTPB Accounting Association, and the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society. He is also a graduate of Leadership Midland.
Elise Kail
Elise Kail served 35 years as a passionate teacher, coach, chairperson, and administrator in public education. After 32 years in Midland ISD, she retired in June 2021 as the Chief Transformation Officer. Elise is married to Shane Kail and both their children graduated from Midland High School. Samantha Kail Bronson (husband Luke) is a children’s and youth minister in Littleton, CO and Sloan Kail is a gunsmith in Brownfield, TX.
Letty Amalla
Lety Amalla is a Solution Tree Associate/Presenter specializing in Professional Learning Communities at Work and School Improvement. Lety has been in the education field for 29 years, serving as a bilingual teacher, educational diagnostician, assistant principal, principal and executive director. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Multicultural Education and Master of Arts in Special Education and Educational Leadership.
Lety has been married for 25 years to Bobby and has a daughter, Isabela who is a Carver Center alumni. Lety’s passion is school improvement for underprivileged populations as well as the exceptional learner.
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