By Bishop Tracey Breashears Schultz
Our synod’s TLU Corporation Board Members (not pictured: Pastors Bookover, Otto, & Lake).
I learned in December that all three ELCA bishops in Texas are members of the TLU Corporation Board. I attended my first board meeting on the TLU campus on January 31, 2026. The purpose of the Corporation Board is to hear from the university president, approve the previous year’s audit, and appoint new members to the Board of Regents. Besides myself, our synod’s TLU Corporation Board representatives are John Roalson (Christ the King-Houston), Opie Otterstad (Living Word-Katy), Ashley Bergeron (Living Word-Katy), Kathy Toensing (St Paul-La Grange), Pastor George Bookover (Christ the King-Houston), Pastor Chris Lake (Tree of Life-Conroe), and Pastor Brad Otto (Messiah-Cypress). Kathy serves as board secretary.
After the meeting, we were invited to stay for lunch, and I’m so glad I did. Current students, who are endowment fund recipients, were seated at each of the tables, so no matter where we sat, we’d meet a student. Of the three I met, one knew her whole life she’d be attending TLU, but the other two initially only considered attending for scholarship opportunities and have since found a home there. One of them told me she would not be a college student were it not for the financial help. Wow!
I was so moved by the good work of the school, the compelling report of the president, and the witness of the students, that I was happy, upon my return home, to make a contribution to the Corporation Board’s endowed scholarship.
Left to right: Upbring CEO Michael Loo, LCMS TX District President Jon Braunersreuther, me, Bishop Sue Briner (SWTX), Bishop Erik Gronberg (NTNL)
Although it isn’t a formal board, I also learned that I, along with the other two ELCA bishops and the LCMS District President in Texas, have an annual meeting with the CEO and staff of Upbring at their headquarters in Austin. I attended my first of these meetings on February 17, 2026. With multiple locations covering Texas, Upbring calls itself “the largest non-profit you’ve probably never heard of.” They are committed to changing this and better telling their story. Part of that story is their focus on child wellness, from head start to foster care to children’s (community) centers.
One of the programs that most impressed me is Upbring’s dedication to “prevention through precision,” meaning using technology, they can pinpoint down to the city block where abuse is happening and where children are at risk of removal. By building up services in that area, which they’re calling “child wellbeing zones,” Upbring hopes to eradicate the need for foster care, one neighborhood at a time.
Isn’t that remarkable? Their “business” is foster care, and they will know they have been successful when they have put themselves out of business. I love how countercultural this is and how much it speaks to the gospel.
So, as a bishop, I am expected to attend meetings, but I’m privileged to serve, and as a result, I’ve learned even more about the incredible Lutheran witness in Texas and beyond.