About Us
Choose to Succeed (CtS) is a nonprofit organization working to attract the nation’s top charter schools to the San Antonio, Texas area (Bexar County).
Choose to Succeed was created in 2012 when local foundations and community members joined together with the common goal of improving education outcomes for San Antonio’s students. Our mission is to ensure that every family has access to high-performing, tuition-free public education options regardless of their zip code.
The CtS portfolio of schools has grown from serving 881 students across three schools in the 2011-12 school year, to serving over 47,000 students across 20 charter school networks in the 2023-24 school year.
Choose to Succeed is excited to be working with nascent and growing charter networks including BASIS Schools, Celebrate Dyslexia Schools, Compass Rose Public Schools, Essence Preparatory Charter School, The Gathering Place, George Gervin Academy, Great Hearts Academies, Harmony Public Schools, Henry Ford Academy, IDEA Public Schools, KIPP Texas – San Antonio, Legacy Traditional Schools – Texas, New Frontiers Public Schools, Prelude Preparatory School, Promesa Academy Charter School, Royal Public Schools, School of Science and Technology, San Antonio Preparatory Community School, Somerset Academies of Texas, and Valor Education to expand the number of high-quality educational options for San Antonio students and their families.
Our Leadership
DAN FISHMAN, CEO
Dan serves as CEO of Choose to Succeed, where he works to support excellent educators as they build and grow quality schools for all of San Antonio’s children. Prior to this, Dan was Senior Vice President for Growth at IDEA Public Schools, where he helped lead one of the nation’s top-performing public charter school networks to add an additional 50,000 seats to serve students across 8 new regions and 3 additional states. Prior to IDEA, Dan served as Director of the K–12 Education program at The Philanthropy Roundtable, an association of nearly 700 individuals, foundations, and generous families. Dan began his career in education as a TFA corps member on the Zuni Indian Reservation in New Mexico, where he taught high school history and coached football. Afterwards, Dan taught English and Western culture at a university in Qingdao, China. Dan earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Berkeley Haas School of Business. He serves on the board of Pacific Charter School Development (PCSD) and Texas Charter School Development (TCSD).
STEVE C. LEWIS, BOARD CHAIRMAN
Steve C. Lewis is the former Chairman of the Board of Jefferson Bank and Jefferson Bancshares, Inc. Jefferson Bank is a community Bank with 13 locations in greater San Antonio and Austin. Steve serves as Chairman of the Ewing Halsell Foundation and Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation. He is a Director Emeritus of the Texas Wildlife Association Foundation, and a former Director of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and the Cibolo Nature Center. He is an Honorary Director of Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Steve was an active farm and ranch broker for many years. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and holds a law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Steve and his wife, Susan, have three sons.
CHRIS BARBIC, BOARD MEMBER
Chris Barbic serves as a partner at The City Fund, a national non-profit organization that supports local leaders in cities working to grow the number of great public school options. Chris began his career as a middle school English teacher in the Houston Independent School District (ISD) in 1993, as a corps member in Teach For America. In 1998, Chris founded YES Prep Public Schools, a Houston-based charter school network that exists to increase the number of students from underserved communities who graduate from college, and served as CEO for 13 years. In 2011, Chris became the founding superintendent of the Achievement School District (ASD) in Tennessee. Under Chris’ leadership, ASD schools grew faster than the Tennessee state average in Math and Science every year of operation at a time when Tennessee was the fastest improving state in the country.
WILL HARTE, BOARD MEMBER
Will Harte is a native Texan and active in ranching and the oil and gas business. For the past decade, Will has been actively involved in supporting education initiatives. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Choose to Succeed board. He is a former trustee of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and the Texas Wildlife Association.
HENRY B. GONZALEZ III, BOARD MEMBER
Henry Gonzalez is a native of San Antonio. A practicing lawyer, he has been involved in promoting high-performing charter schools since 2008. He currently serves as the Secretary for the board of Choose to Succeed. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from the Baylor University School of Law. Henry also serves as a Director of Jefferson Bank. He and his wife, Barbie, have three children.
VICTORIA B. RICO, BOARD MEMBER
Victoria is a native of San Antonio and the current Chairwoman and Trustee of the George W. Brackenridge Foundation. In 2009, she became a trustee for the Foundation and has been heavily involved in San Antonio’s education quality ever since. In 2011, she published A Proposed Strategy for San Antonio: High-Quality Charter Replication which was the foundation for Choose to Succeed and its efforts – which she founded and served as Chairwoman through 2014. In addition to her work with the Brackenridge Foundation, Victoria has served on the board of BASIS Schools and Great Hearts Academies, and is currently an IDEA Public Schools board member. She currently serves as the Treasurer for the Choose to Succeed board. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. She and her husband, Martin, live in San Antonio with their two children.
