Chad Isham is the Program Director for Cowgirl U. He is a native Texan, began showing horses as a child and moved into the competitive rodeo arena when he was 12. He has worked for and with numerous horse trainers and on many ranches across the state. During the eighties, Chad spent much time on the Mexican horse ranch, Ranchito de las Yeguas where he learned a great deal about horses and rope handling from the vaqueros.
Chad is also a professional artist having studied at both UNT and the Instituto Allende in San Miguel Allende, Mexico. He was honored by the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1997 for his work as a scenic artist.
chad@cowgirl.net
817-509-8969 office
Diana Vela, Ph.D. is the Director of Education at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame which sponsors Cowgirl U events. The Education department encompasses a variety of outreach efforts including symposiums about historical western women, presenting at panels and conferences, scholarship initiatives including development of the archives, publishing efforts and Hall of Fame Honoree initiatives. Diana has over 20 years' experience in the education field and is also a native Texan. She received her BS and MA locally at UNT and took her Ph.D. from TCU in early American Literature with a specialization in frontier women’s writing.
dvela@cowgirl.net
817-509-8961 office
Patty Pierce, Cowgirl U Events Coordinator
patty@cowgirl.net
817-509-8967 office