Employee Veteran Profiles

Renee’ Green

Renee’ Green is a 15-year military veteran who has worked in higher education for over 10 years. This venture began at her local community college (Dallas College). While working there, she obtained her associate’s in science degree and received a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of North Texas, where her passions for teaching, professional development, and student development heightened as well as her goals of being of service not only for her community but for other students.

She began working for The University of Texas at Dallas just over five years ago as an admin in the Jindal School’s marketing department. While there, she obtained her master’s in information technology with a minor in project management. After finding an opportunity for advancement with University Recreation (UREC), she has now become a member of the McDermott Scholars family as an administrative services officer II.

Green is currently the president of the UTD Military & Veteran ERG. She is a prominent member of other groups like the BFSA and Women’s ERG and an executive member of the BFSA’s Oversight Committee. She won UTD’s CARE award in 2021. She continues to be service-oriented in every aspect of her daily life.

Don Proeschel

Don Proeschel has served as a director of corporate relations for the UTDesign Capstone program since 2018.  Prior to working at UT Dallas, he worked 20 years in the defense industry and 15 years in the telecom industry in various leadership roles. 

He is a West Point graduate with a degree in nuclear engineering and a former Army Captain as a Combat Signal Officer at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Bamberg, Germany during six years of active duty. Proeschel is also a UT Dallas alumnus, earning his MS degree in management and administrative sciences in 1985.  He serves on the Leadership Plano Advisory Board, and is past chairman of the Collin County Open Space Board and the City of Allen Parks Board.

He is passionate about organizational excellence and continual improvement, including leadership coaching and mentoring, as well as process engineering.  He has been affiliated with UT Dallas for many years, including six years on the Jonsson School Industrial Advisory Council, as well as UT Design Capstone project judging. 

Proeschel and his wife Lisa have four daughters, five grandchildren, and a sweet dog named Ginger. He loves reading, politics, running, riding the Plano bike trails, camping and hiking, and mentoring high school boys at Chase Oaks Church in Plano.  For the past 15 years, he has counseled and interviewed Plano high school students seeking admission to West Point.

Elaine M. Pearson, MBA, M.Ed.

Elaine Pearson has over 35 years of extensive experience and knowledge of higher education, strategic planning, finance, human resource management, and research administration and a broad framework of leading academic administration operations at public regional comprehensive and doctoral research universities.

Pearson’s progressive career began in research administration serving 16 years at the University of Houston (UH) and 17 years as the executive director for academic and student affairs at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), responsible for the division’s $100 million annual budget, governing policies, and compliance. In addition, she served as the associate vice president for academic affairs at Old Dominion University. She is currently the associate dean for the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. Pearson is committed to developing the next generation of organizational leaders.

Pearson joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in the enlisted rank and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) with 22 years of dedicated service. During her military career, LCDR Pearson participated in several operational exercises supporting of Operation Noble Eagle. She was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal (2nd star) and the Army Achievement Medal.

Pearson graduated from the University of Houston, where she earned a B.S. in information systems technology. She also holds an M.Ed. in educational technology and an MBA in management. She is a current board member of Texas Women in Higher Education (TWHE), executive sponsor for the Military and Veteran Employee Resource Group (ERG) at UT Dallas, and a life member of the National Naval Officers Association, Inc. (NNOA).

Jacqueline Reynolds

Jacqueline Reynolds is the administrative assistant for the Fraternity & Sorority Life department at UT Dallas. She assists the director and assistant director with budgeting, outreach, and student & staff relations.

Reynolds served in the Army as an Intelligence Analyst in the 2^nd Brigade, 1^st Armored division for five years and earned an Associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies. Following her time in the Army, Reynolds worked with the Rowlett Police Department and fostered her sense of community. She brings a sense of purpose and works to form a positive environment for those around her.

Her current and past outreach efforts include engaging in diverse communities and understanding their cultures, forming relationships with businesses and vendors, and reaching out to organizations who can better serve the student body. Occasionally, she volunteers with her HOA in large event planning.