LeadershipOUTLOOK 2026

Mayor Parker

Reelected in 2023 with 70% of the vote, Mattie Parker has served as the 45th Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas since 2021. Mayor Parker is focused on building a safer and stronger Fort Worth, nurturing thriving families, and fostering the highest quality of life in every ZIP code of the nation’s 12th largest city.  Her next-generation leadership includes key efforts and community partnerships to bolster Fort Worth’s development to compete in a global economy, improve public safety, expand access to education and workforce opportunities, and preserve the city’s rich heritage with a pioneering spirit and determination to leave things better than she found them.   
Mayor Parker is a licensed attorney, with more than 18 years of experience in national, state, and local public affairs, including her service as the chief of staff for Mayor and the Fort Worth City Council. She was the founding CEO of Fort Worth Cradle to Career and the Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership. She and her husband David are the proud parents of one daughter and two sons.

Mayor Price

Elected to office in 2011 and re-elected to a second two-year term in 2013. In addition to promoting jobs, strengthening education, fighting crime, and improving mobility, we’ve focused on making Fort Worth a healthy, engaged and fiscally responsible city.

We helped organize FitWorth, a citywide initiative, to encourage active lifestyles and healthy habits in children and adults. We’ve also championed public engagement initiatives like SteerFW, walking and rolling town halls and YourFortWorth.org, an online public forum for Fort Worth residents. Working with my colleagues on the City Council, we’re aiming to make Fort Worth an international city.

Prior to being elected major, I served 11 years as Tarrant County’s tax assessor. I’m grateful for the honors I’ve received over the years, including the Presidential Award from the Tax Assessor-Collectors Association of Texas, the Distinguished Alumni award from the University of Texas at Arlington, the Altrusa Civic Award for professional and volunteer contributions to the community and the Texas Medical Association Foundation Health Leader Award. But the greatest reward and honor is serving the citizens I love and making a positive difference in our community.

I have been married to Tom, an insurance agent, for more than 40 years and we have three adult children. In my spare time, I’m an avid cyclist and I enjoy spending quality time with my three grandsons.

Mayor Moncrief

Michael is a life-long resident of Fort Worth.  He was first elected as Mayor on May 3, 2003, serving Fort Worth Tarrant County until July 12, 2011.  Under his leadership he worked through public / private partnerships to develop and implement Directions Home, a ten-year program to address chronic homelessness.  As Mayor a promise to the city of Fort Worth became a reality with the building and dedication of the Fort Worth Police and Fire Fighter’s Memorial located in Trinity Park.  

First Lady Rosie Moncrief and her husband served on the Host Committee for Super Bowl XLV.  Mayor Mike was also a member of the Executive Committee for Super Bowl XLV. Vital partnerships were established by them with Fort Worth key leaders to host ESPN during the biggest weekend in American sports.  In 2011 Fort Worth was named one of the National Civic League’s All-America Cities, as well as one of the nation’s top 10 safest and fastest growing major cities in America.    
Moncrief’s career began when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1971. Then Representative Moncrief served on five major committees, including the Appropriations Committee.  As Representative he secured passage of the drug legislation and is responsible for a bill that authorized the construction of the Fort Worth State School.  At the end of his legislative term, he was voted legislator of the Year by his fellow members.  
After two years’ service in the House of Representatives he was elected as Tarrant County Judge in 1974 where he served for 12 years representing the county.  As Judge, he worked closely with the leadership of Fort Worth and Tarrant County in construction of the Fort Worth / Tarrant County jail.  Working with family court judges, the District Attorney’s Office, and adult probation officers, then County Judge Moncrief set up the county’s Restitution Enforcement Program, and partnered with the historic preservation community to pass a bond program that financed the renovation of the historic Tarrant County Courthouse.  
Elected to the Texas State Senate in 1991 he served twelve years.  During his tenure as State Senator, he was recognized nationally for authoring the Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), assuring hundreds of thousands of Texas Children anopportunity to receive medical services.  In 2001, then Senator Moncrief was appointed President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate.  Within this capacity, he presided over the affairs of Texas as Governor, with the responsibility to make critical decisions,when the Governor and Lieutenant Governor were out of state.  
A graduate of Tarleton State University, Moncrief served as president of the student body and was named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.  He and Rosie were also honored by the Tarleton Alumni Association as distinguished alumnus and in May, 2013 they received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Tarleton State.
After retiring as Mayor of Fort Worth, Moncrief oversees his oil/gas business and investments, doing some private consulting, spending more time with family and on the golf course.  He and his wife Rosie have two sons, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mayor Barr

Kenneth Barr is a public affairs and governmental relations consultant.  He was elected Mayor of Fort Worth four times, serving from 1996 until retiringfrom office in 2003. Prior to being elected Mayor, he represented District 9 on the City Council for three years.

Since May of 2019, Kenneth has served as an elected member of the Board of Trustees of the Tarrant County College.  He is vice president of the board.

From 2008 to 2019 he was a member and Chairman of the Board of the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) which operates toll roads across North Texas.

Currently, he is Chairman of the board of Medical City Fort Worth Hospital; and he is the immediate past chairman of the board of the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth.

Kenneth is a former member of the board of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, past chairman of the North Texas Commission and Fort Worth Sister Cities International; he has served as president of the Exchange Club of Fort Worth and the Rotary Club of Fort Worth.

Jennifer Cowley, Ph.D.

Jennifer Cowley is the first female president of The University of Texas at Arlington and the 10th overall. She is also a professor of public affairs and planning in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs.

Dr. Cowley is an advocate for public higher education and passionate about UTA’s role in developing the Dallas-Fort Worth economy, society, and culture by preparing the next generation of talent.

Cowley has dedicated her career to public service through leadership roles at national research universities, where she championed student success, engaged communities, created strategic collaborations, and advanced innovation.

Before joining UT Arlington in 2022, she served as the provost and vice president for academic affairs for five years at the University of North Texas and 16 years at Ohio State University in a variety of capacities, including vice provost for capital planning and regional campuses, associate dean of the College of Engineering, head of city and regional planning, and a professor.

Prior to entering academia, Cowley worked in city government in Amarillo and College Station. She earned a Ph.D. in urban and regional science, master’s degree in urban planning, and bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University and master’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies and public administration from UNT. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administrators.

An Arlington native, Cowley and her husband, Jon, have a son Nathan who is in college.