Canutillo Independent School District Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Master Trustee, Blanca Trout did not let the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic get in the way of her desire to serve the community and greater region over the past year. She has demonstrated multiple recent notable accomplishments to add to her roster of leadership and service roles.
Trout was appointed to serve the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) on the Rio Grande Citizens Forum (RGCF) Board for a second term, was elected vice president of the Far West Texas School Board Association representing Region 19 and was a proud class of 2021 graduate from the Texas Partners in Policymaking program.
Trout continued to serve on the RGCF as the sole representative for El Paso at the state level. The purpose of the RGCF is to promote the exchange of information between the USIBWC and the community about Commission projects and related activities along the Rio Grande between Percha Dam, NM and Fort Quitman, TX.
The USIBWC established the Rio Grande Citizens Forum in 1999 to facilitate the exchange of information regarding USIBWC activities in the greater El Paso, TX-Las Cruces, NM region. It is designed to bring together community members, enabling the early and continued two-way flow of information, concerns, values, and needs between USIBWC and the general public, environmentalists, irrigation districts, municipalities, and others interested in the Rio Grande.
In July 2021, Trout was also elected as vice president of the Far West Texas School Board Association Region 19. The role of the board is to identify current problems of concern to Far West Texas school districts; to disseminate information and analysis to members; promote the exchange of information and analysis among members; and provide a forum for the consideration of problems facing Far West Texas school districts.
In her role as vice president for the Far West Texas School Board Association, Trout will help promote quality education in the member school districts; growth opportunities to all regional school board members and potential school board members and provide a forum with state legislators and state school board members for the purpose of providing and receiving information and sharing educational concerns.
Additionally, this year Trout joined an impressive network of over 730 alumni who have graduated from the Texas Partners in Policymaking - an advanced leadership development training program for self-advocates and parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD). Graduates from the statewide program will become partners with policymakers in Texas and work to improve the lives of people with DD.
Trout took part to continue to advance her advocacy experience to best serve students, especially those with disabilities. Over the course of eight months, the cohort completed an advanced disability advocacy and leadership program. Participants honed their leadership skills, and each graduate completed a capstone project that created real and needed change in their communities. Trout worked on the Eagles Soar Project - an inclusive after school program for youth in El Paso with inclusive activities for children and support for families and caregivers.
“My passion is to help create, amend, and review policies that represent the rights of our individuals with disabilities in order to provide them fair accommodations,” Trout said.
Trout is a local business owner who holds multiple licenses and certifications from the National Aviation Authority of Civil Aeronautics in Mexico; adult, child and adolescent mental health; National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Alzheimer’s Association; El Paso Behavioral Health System and the University of Texas Health Science Center focusing on children with disabilities as well as geriatric patients. She is a Leadership TASB graduate, a program sponsored by the Texas Association of Schools, earning Master Trustee status, the highest designation recognized by TASB.
Trout is a recipient of the Patrick Henry Award in recognition for her superior service as a local official and civic leader, who in a position of great responsibility distinguished herself with outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard or National Guard Association of the United States. She is also a Girl Scout leader and Honor Guard Commander of the Girl Scouts of the Desert South West Council and is a certified teacher in folkloric dance from Bellas Artes.