Trinity River Mission (TRM) was legally launched in 1988. But that’s not when it really started.
According to Diana Marquis, who joined TRM late last year as Chief Development Officer, “Trinity River Mission was started by one woman, Donna Graham, in the mid-60’s to minister to the Native Americans who had relocated to West Dallas. About ten years later, in the mid-70’s Ms. Graham asked Lovers Lane UMC [United Methodist Church] to take over the mission because the need was more than she and her volunteers could meet and there was also a shift in the population from Native American to Hispanic.
“In 1978, TRM became a mission of Lovers Lane UMC and in 1988 TRM filed the necessary paperwork to become an independent 501(c)(3) organization.”
During the past three decades, TRM has had only four CEOs. The most recent has been Dolores Sosa Green, who celebrated her 13th anniversary at TRM this past month. As CEO, Dolores has seen the program grow in so many ways including a success rate of 97% of “our Believe And Achieve students graduating high school annually and 92% enrolling in post-secondary education.”
It was just announced that Dolores is leaving her position to “focus on her family.” Immediately replacing Dolores is TRM Chief Program Officer Gloria Lopez, who “attended TRM as a young student” 33 years ago.
Diana explained that “Gloria first started going to TRM in the mid-80;s when the organization was still under the wings of LLUMC.”
In addition to being the first member of her family to graduate from college, Gloria is pursuing her master’s degree in Public Leadership at the University of North Texas at Dallas.
TRM Board Chair Ken McDonald summed up the change of the guard this way: “I am so proud to have had the opportunity to work with such strong leaders as Dolores and Gloria. They know firsthand the difficulties faced by the TRM students and families.”
* Photo provided by Trinity River Mission
Diana Marquis says
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