The State Fair of Texas Board of Directors consists of a long line of distinguished community leaders who have provided governance for the State Fair of Texas since it was originally chartered in 1886.
Gilbert Gerst
Board Chair
Gilbert Gerst has been dedicated to the State Fair of Texas and its mission for more than 15 years. He joined the Chairman’s Task Force in 2008 and was elected to the board of directors in 2018. Gilbert previously served as the Fair’s chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and as a member of the Fair’s Chairman’s Task Force and Advisory Board.
Gilbert holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of North Texas and a master’s degree in commercial real estate from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is currently the Senior Vice President, Manager of Community Development Banking for BOK Financial (BOKF). Gilbert joined BOKF in June 2011 after more than 25 years with JPMorgan Chase. He has corporate-wide responsibility for the bank’s community development lending and investment activities and is a key partner in the bank’s CRA compliance and examination process.
Gilbert is actively involved in the community and currently serves on multiple boards and committees including Chairman Emeritus of the Dallas Black Dance Theater, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation; Past President – Dallas Development Fund, a NMTC Community Development Entity; The Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers; Vice Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee for the Dallas Economic Development Corporation; Roundtable Member – Texas Association of Community Development Corporations.
Gilbert’s other board membership and participation include the AT&T Performing Arts Center; The Texas Mezzanine Fund; Board Member – DFW Regional Housing Consortium; The Real Estate Council Community Loan Fund; Board Member and Treasurer – Forest Forward; Board Member – University of North Texas Foundation; Lifetime Member and Board Member of the UNT Alumni Association.
Bobby Abtahi
Vice Board Chair, Finance & Audit Committee Chair, and Advisory Board President
Robert (Bobby) Abtahi is a lawyer with a passion for civic service in his hometown of Dallas. He started his public service work in 2008 as a Dallas Assistant City Attorney and was designated as the South Oak Cliff Community Prosecutor. In 2012, the White House awarded him the President’s Volunteer Service award for his work in Southern Dallas. He served three terms on the Dallas City Plan Commission and held the title of Vice Chairman for his final two terms.
In early 2017, past Mayor Mike Rawlings asked him to serve as President of the Dallas Park & Recreation Board, becoming the youngest person to serve as Park Board President. Established in 1905, the Dallas Park Board oversees one of the largest municipal parks systems in the nation with an annual budget of over $100 million and over 23,464 parkland acres, which encompass seven lakes, 145 developed trail miles, 382 parks, 4,658 surface acres of water, and over 1200 employees.
He has previously served as the Chairman of the Friends of Fair Park, on the board of the Trinity Commons Foundation, and the Methodist Dallas Hospital Board of Advisors. He currently serves on the boards of the Dallas Zoo, the State Fair of Texas, and the Trust For Public Land.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and his juris doctorate from SMU Dedman School of Law.
He has been published in international law and has written numerous columns for the Dallas Morning News and other publications. He and his wife, Tiffany, are both Dallas natives. They have two children and spend their free time traveling as a family as much as they can.
Board of Directors
Gilbert Gerst
Robert Abtahi
Sean Allen
Cheryl Amerine
Heath Cheek
John de la Garza III
Ruben E. Esquivel
Lois Finkelman
Brian P. Foley
John Harkey
Wendy Lopez
Felix J. Lozano III
Steven Mancillas
Alyssa G. Martin
Warren E. Mayberry
Frank Mihalopoulos
Gina Norris
James C. Roberts
George Shafer
Bruce A. Sifford
Robert B. Smith
Mary Suhm
Alan Walne
Advisory Board
Joe Alcantar
Monica R. Alonzo
Marissa R. Anchia
Lance Andrews
Alex Arellano
Norm P. Bagwell
Bob W. Best
Jan Hart Black
Billy Bos
Richie Butler
John W. Carpenter, III
Terry R. Dallas
Paul Dyer
Matrice Ellis-Kirk
Randy R. Engstrom
Robert (Bob) Estrada
Rob Farrell
Lupe Garcia
Gary Griffith
Donna Halstead
Doug Hawthorne
Vonciel Jones Hill
Jim Hitzelberger
Chip Huffman
Brenda Jackson
Tom Lazo
J. Michael Lewis
Alex D. Madrazo
Dr. Stephen Mansfield
Todd C. Meier
Merry Munson Wyatt
Alice Murray
Donnie Nelson
William J. (Bill) O’Dwyer
David Osborne
Martin Peck
Evan Pounds
Ray F. Quintanilla
Rob Ramage
Elizabeth Reich
Robert Rhoads
Michael Rideau
Robin Robinson
Deirdre Ruckman
Christa Sanford
John Scovell
King Scovell
Pastor Chris Simmons
Blake Taylor
John L. Taylor, Jr.
Doug Thompson
John P. Thompson, Jr.
Nina Vaca
Kelvin Walker
Les Ware
Buck Wharton
Joel T. Williams, III
Joe Willoughby
Trisha Windham
Craig Woodcook
Reverend S. M. Wright II