Susan Holloway is the Director of Outreach & Attendance for Pearland Independent School District. She provides district leadership to the dropout prevention and recovery program, works with the district Homeless Liaison to provide resources and services, and works with the district Attendance Officers and Case Managers to provide truancy prevention and enforcement programs. She collaborates with parents, the district PEIMS data office, as well as the campus Registrars, Attendance Clerks, and Counselors.

Holloway also previously served as the district liaison for children in foster care as well as homeless and unaccompanied youth. She is a member of the Gulf Coast Homeless Coalition, Texas Homeless Network, Texas Association for Truancy & Dropout Prevention (TATDP) serving as President since 2017. Holloway holds a BSE degree in teaching from Arkansas State University, a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from Louisiana Tech University, and a Texas Principal Certification. She has served as a teacher, coach, counselor, and administrator for over 30 years and is committed to her belief that educators are servant-leaders. 

Anthony Vereen monitors student attendance, holds conferences with students prior to court, represents the district in court hearings, conducts home visits, works collaboratively with school staff and parents, conducts residency investigations and assists in dropout prevention and recovery. Vereen collaborates with both the Juvenile Probation Department and Brazoria County law enforcement agencies.

Vereen brings more than 35 years' experience to his position. He completed 13 years of state service in Louisiana, with his last assignment at Louisiana State University - Health Science Center as a training specialist. He then moved to Texas and worked five years with the Brazoria County Juvenile Probation Department serving as the supervisor of the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP). He joined Pearland ISD in 2008.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in social work from Southeastern Louisiana University, Vereen was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1981. He holds certifications in Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD), Community Service Specialist with the Adult Protective Services and Juvenile Probation Officer. He is a member of the Biloxi High School Hall of Fame and Southeastern Louisiana University College Hall of Fame (2009) and the Biloxi Mississippi Sports  Hall of Fame (2015).

Robert Galan has more than 20 years' of experience working with youth and parents. He began his career as a region coordinator for Houston Parks and Recreation, ensuring that families were provided a healthier lifestyle of physical activity through soccer. Galan also managed youth programs as a program coordinator for the Neighborhood Centers Inc. (Kirkland-Ripley Neighborhood Center) and Community Family Centers. During this time, he designed programs that gave youth alternative activities outside school. In addition, he worked with Communities In Schools of Houston as a project manager at Gallegos Elementary.

Galan has worked for Pearland ISD since 2010. His role includes student conferences, home visits and district representation on truancy cases. He also works with area social services and law enforcement to provide additional support for students and families. Galan believes fostering relationship building with families, along with mentoring youth, are essential to our strong district dropout prevention and recovery efforts.

Lavenda Malbrough joined the Outreach Team as the Pearland ISD  Homeless Liaison in 2013. Her primary focus is to ensure Pearland ISD is providing services to some of the district’s most vulnerable students, those identified as educationally homeless under the Federal McKinney-Vento Act. Mrs. Malbrough is responsible for communicating with parents, students, staff and community partners to increase awareness of the homeless and recognize the factors that contribute to their at-risk status. She helps students and families identify and receive services, as well as coordinates with other district programs to create a systematic support program for at-risk students. Mrs. Malbrough graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA with a BA in Psychology and has been involved with youth counseling and many volunteer organizations for more than 15 years.  She also spent five years working as a Lead Program Advisor for Texas’s largest alternative certification program for new teachers. Mrs. Malbrough believes the best way to reach children and make an impact in their lives is to first be empathetic to what they are dealing with and never minimize their feelings. 

Lisa Cisneros began her career as an Intervention Specialist for Association for Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA), implementing intervention prevention groups and individual session for at-risk substance abuse students.  She has 19 years of experience working in social services which include working in both the medical field and education.  Before coming to Pearland ISD as Truancy Prevention Case Manager in January of 2018, Cisneros worked as a District Student Case Worker in the Dropout Prevention Department with Houston ISD for 7 years working with students, families, and schools of all levels to improve attendance and recover student dropouts. 

In PISD, Cisneros’ prevention efforts include conducting home visits and providing case management and support services to increase school attendance with a primary focus to provide campus support by assisting in the implementation of the district’s truancy prevention plan.

Cisneros has a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Services with a Concentration in Addictions from The University of Texas Pan-American.  Her focus is to Encourage, Engage, and Empower our students so they can change the trajectory of their lives.

Nicole Evans joined the Outreach Team in January 2018 and serves in her role as a Student Outreach Case Manager. Her primary focus is to provide campus support by assisting in the implementation of the district’s truancy prevention plan. She collaborates with campus staff to identify at-risk students, determines factors contributing to truancy and provides intervention to students with continuous attendance issues. Evans’ dropout prevention efforts include providing direct services and case management to address and remove barriers that may impede high school completion. Conducting home visits and offering support services are often implemented to increase school attendance.

Evans has over 17 years of experience in social services. She began her career as a CPS Investigator for the Department of Family and Protective Services, investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect and taking necessary steps to protect children. Evans also worked as a CPS Specialist, providing transitional living services to youth aging out of foster care. After completing state service, Evans worked three years for the City of Houston Municipal Courts as a campus-based Juvenile Case Manager, in which she conducted assessments, developed case plans, and provided intervention to students with chronic absences.

Evans has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University and a master’s degree in Juvenile Justice from Prairie View A&M University. She is passionate about being an advocate to empower at-risk youth to enhance their own well-being by breaking barriers and building bridges.

After 15 years of teaching, Mandy Benedix joined the Communications Department in summer 2015 to create the district's RISE Mentoring program.

In addition to connecting students with caring adult mentors, Mandy coordinates the district’s Grit Initiative -- a program that encourages students to work hard and persevere rather than relying on natural talent alone.

Before joining Communications, she spent 11 years in the classroom at Rogers Middle School, where she won the Pearland ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year Award twice.

Mandy sees the best in every situation and every person she meets, and in her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her son and husband, shopping and encouraging people not just to follow their dreams but to chase them down.

Robin Russell joined the Outreach Team in 2011, bringing more than 20 years' experience to the table. She previously worked in Santa Fe ISD as a substitute teacher, P.E. aide, inclusion classroom aide, receptionist, attendance clerk and registrar. In 2007, she received the Paraprofessional of the Year Award for Barnett Intermediate School. Russell is responsible for managing day-to-day office operations, as well as providing valuable support to families and students in need.