The Cedar Hill Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to promote Executive Director of Finance Carla Settle to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) on Monday night.

“I’m absolutely excited about where we’re taking the Business Office,” Settle said. “I’m most proud of the relationships we’re building with the departments and campuses. The goal is to keep building that.”

Settle celebrated her two year anniversary with Cedar Hill ISD last Saturday and worked as Finance Director in Grand Prairie ISD prior to that. A native of Kingsville, Texas, Settle earned a Business Degree at Texas Tech University and worked as a Finance Director for the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock, and also worked for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis.

Settle grew up in a family of educators and education administrators. Her sister, Audrey Ambridge, is the CFO of Waller ISD, in the Houston area.

Settle and her husband, Cory, are the parents of three daughters and a son. They live in Mansfield.

Tierney Tinnin joined Cedar Hill ISD as Chief of Communications and Marketing in 2019. Tinnin received her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Langston University and spent eight years in broadcasting as a reporter for KAVU-TV, the weekend anchor for KXXV-TV and morning anchor at KOCO-TV. 

Tinnin left the broadcasting field after accepting the media relations manager position for Oklahoma City Public Schools. While with OKCPS, Tinnin was promoted to Strategic Communications Director and developed the district’s community relations department which managed district partnerships, tutors, mentors and volunteers. She also led the public relations campaign to rename the district’s high school mascot from Redskins to Redwolves. 

After eight years with OKCPS, Tinnin joined the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, where she served as the policy advisor, communications director and lobbyist for the state agency.  In 2017 Tinnin returned to her home state of Texas to lead the communications department with Irving ISD, while there she implemented the district’s first marketing showcase, redesigned its website and developed its digital marketing strategy.

Tinnin has been named Top Under 35 in School Public Relations, School Communicators to Watch and the winner of a Gold Medallion, the National School Public Relations highest honor. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and Koinonia Christian Church.

James Hawthorne is Cedar Hill ISD’s chief of police. Hawthorne previously served as the assistant police chief with the Arlington Police Department, retiring after 28 years of service. He was chairman of the Joint Information Center during Super Bowl XLV, coordinated communication strategies for public safety during two World Series events and the NBA All-Star game in Arlington.

Chief Hawthorne teaches a police intelligence course at Southern Methodist University and a criminal justice research class for the Upward Bound Program at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has lectured on a state, regional, and national level on media relations and crisis communications.     

Hawthorne received his bachelor's and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and the Senior Management Institute of Policing sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Millner-Williams most recently served as the Interim Superintendent for Lancaster ISD. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington and has her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. Dr. Millner-Williams has also served as the Chief Academic Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for Lancaster ISD. She also has principal and school leadership experience and worked for Region 18 Educational Service Center.

Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Administration, Tellauance L. Graham is a native of Keithville, Louisiana and has served Cedar Hill ISD since 2018.  As Assistant Superintendent of Student Services he coordinates services for at-risk, 504 and special education students, oversees federal grants, the counseling department and family and community engagement.

In 2002 Mr. Graham received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and became certified as a teacher leader in 2009.  He graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a master’s degree in educational leadership in 2010 and has earned his National Institute of School Leadership certificate.

Before joining Cedar Hill ISD he worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal with Caddo Parish Public Schools. During his time as principal of the Caddo Middle Career Technology School (CMCTS) he was able to transform a historically failing school to a top gains school.  His major focus was changing culture and climate then promoting high academic rigor in the classroom. Enrollment grew during his time at CMCTS and Huntington. Also, students gained more access to technology and the community perception of the schools changed. The schools earned numerous grants and awards.

Hallema Jackson previously served as a Principal in Arlington ISD and Irving ISD, respectively, and as an Assistant Principal in Duncanville ISD. Jackson is completing a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Texas A&M University-Commerce and has a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas at Arlington. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of California at Los Angeles. Prior to becoming Assistant Superintendent of HR, she served as Cedar Hill ISD's Executive Director of Human Resources.