Kathleen Hicks, City of Fort Worth – Councilmember District 8
In May 2005, Kathleen Hicks secured more than 90 percent of the votes against two opponents in District 8 to become the youngest woman ever elected to the Fort Worth City Council.In May 2006 just short of a year on the Council Hicks was unanimously elected by her council colleagues as Mayor Pro Tem. In 2007, she ran unopposed for re-election to the Council.Prior to her election, Hicks served as District 8 council aide.
She holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Nottingham University in Nottingham, England. She’s also studied at Oxford University in England. She has a bachelor’s in politics and honors in history from Mount Holyoke College.
During her time serving the residents of Fort Worth Hicks has made positive economic development a priority. She chairs the East Berry Renaissance Tax Increment District, a first for Southeast Fort Worth, which is projected to bring more than $20 million worth of improvements to the area. She also chairs the Housing Finance Corporation. Hicks successfully led efforts to create the Morningside Historic District, again a first for southeast Fort Worth and most recently, the Near Southeast Historic District. She serves on the National League of Cities Community, Economic Development Steering Committee and on the Board of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials. She serves on the Regional Transportation Council’s Transportation and Air Quality Subcommittee and Transit Authority Partnership Subcommittee.
In January 2008, Hicks was honored by Fort Worth South, Inc. with their highest award for her work to revitalize her district. In May 2004, The Fort Worth Business Press honored her with its 40 Leaders Under 40 Award. She was also honored as a young leader in 2002 by the Minority Leaders and Citizens Council. In 1997, she was one of eight participants to participate in the United Nations Youth Awareness Program at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kakuma, Kenya.She served as an executive committee member of the board of Fort Worth Sister Cities and, along with her mother, co-chaired the search for a new sister city in Africa.
Hicks is a member of Leadership Fort Worth and has served on the boards of Junior League of Fort Worth, Girl Scouts, Women’s Haven and chaired the Fort Worth Commission for Women. She currently serves on the board of the AIDS Outreach Center, Fort Worth-Dallas Birthing Project, All Church Home for Children, Presbyterian Night Shelter, Red Cross – Chisholm Trail Chapter, Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau, Fort Worth Symphony, American Diabetes Association, Huguley Memorial Medical Center of Directors and on the Texas Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. Hicksis a proud life member of the NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She also serves on the Mount Holyoke College Recruitment Committee in North Texas.
Kathleen Hicks comes from a family of dedicated grass-roots community trustees and is committed to a lifetime of community service. She serves as Executive Director of the Tarrant County Sickle Cell Disease Association.