Journal of Texas Women School Executives; Volume 7, Issue 1

The Path Reveals Itself Dr. Dalane E. Bouillion, Chief Development Officer, VLK Architects Abstract As women in leadership, it is important to hear the stories and pathways of others. This helps to broaden our opportunities and consider alternatives to a traditional career path. My career path began as an educator, and the path revealed to me presented an option that built on my educational experiences in leadership, but led me to an entirely different vocation. However, the intersection of those two professions magically intertwine to create a powerful result in the design of schools.

The Path Reveals Itself I didn’t initially realize until I was asked repeatedly, “How did you get your job?” that nearly my entire career in education was preparing me to do this work. What is it that I do? I serve as the Chief Development Officer at VLK Architects, a design firm providing comprehensive solutions primarily to Texas public schools. My primary role is to lead strategic groups, serving as a catalyst for inspiring firm-wide improvement. I lead our firm’s educational planning approach where we intentionally use educational philosophy to inform our practice and facilitate meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, creating a foundation that serves as the common goal to steer the project’s design. My daily conversations within the firm are based on the connections that I have with clients to bridge educational philosophy, ideologies, methodologies, and practice to that of the built environment. Simply, we want to learn from our clients using an educational lens to create shared vocabulary about teaching and learning before we design a school. It makes a difference! But how did I get here?

I began my career in Galena Park ISD as a second-grade teacher at Jacinto City Elementary School, a school that my firm was blessed with designing the replacement campus in 2020. After four years in the classroom, each year teaching a different elementary level, with a stint exploring multi-age groupings, acquiring a specialization in Reading Recovery, and completing my Master of Education degree, I was hired as the Assistant Principal at North Shore Elementary School. It was there that I became more than familiar with construction meetings, as my Principal wanted to expose me to as much as possible in preparation for the principalship one day. At the peak of construction, we had an elementary school enrollment of almost 1,100 and were only utilizing half of our existing building. The campus, festooned at the time with an educational village of portables, prompted calls from the neighborhood homeowner’s association asserting that “trailers” were unacceptable. You get the idea; there was never a dull moment.

After three years as an assistant principal, I was appointed Principal of Purple Sage Elementary School. On my first day, I received a visit from the Facilities Department to inform me that we would be “under construction” very soon. I was excited because I felt I should be considered “a pro” after my construction meeting experiences. Rather than pass these responsibilities to my new Assistant Principal, I decided to take them on myself. I enjoyed the process, and felt empowered to make the decisions with the architects that would benefit students, support the learning 87 | J O U R N A L O F T E X A S S C H O O L W O M E N E X E C U T I V E S