The Eanes Education Foundation, which raises funds for Eanes ISD, has a new leader.
Kathi Haralson started as executive director of the organization March 21, transitioning into the position after former Executive Director Wally Moore retired from the role he served in for seven years.
In 2015, EEF funded the salaries for 32 EISD teacher and staff positions for the 2015-16 school year, Haralson said. One hundred percent of the donations made from the community stay in the district and are allotted to each of the district’s nine schools based on campus enrollment, she said.
Haralson said she has several goals for the future of the foundation.
“We have been around for 25 years, and I’m looking forward to the next 25 years,” Haralson said. “We want to look at the big picture—keep class sizes down and get more teachers in the classroom. After all, teachers plus community working together equals change.”
Haralson previously served as the director of development for Partnerships for Children that provides local Child Protective Services caseworkers with the resources to better serve the community. During her first year as director, she said she grew fundraising by 20 to 30 percent and gained more than 100 new donors.
Although her numbers show she has been successful at fundraising, Haralson said it was not her first career path.
She said she worked as a dance team director at Austin High School for 10 years before deciding to stay home with her two young daughters. Her fundraising experience began with the Junior League of Austin, where she eventually served as its president. The group raises roughly $1 million annually to help the Austin community.
