
Council
member Cara Mendelsohn was elected in May 2019 to represent District 12. Cara
is an accomplished volunteer leader and non-profit executive with a passion for
building stronger communities.
Cara grew
up in Far North Dallas and graduated from JJ Pearce High School. She earned her
BBA from the University of Texas at Austin, married her childhood sweetheart,
Barry, and they bought their first home in the Collin County section of District
12. Today, Cara and Barry have 3 hilarious sons and live in the Dallas County
section of District 12. Their oldest son graduated from Texas A&M, their
middle son graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and their youngest
son is a student at JJ Pearce High School. Cara’s brothers and sisters also
live in District 12.
Cara
has an extensive record of volunteer service to the community. She has served
as PTA president at the elementary, high school and PTA Council levels as well
as many PTA board positions. She’s served on a National PTA Committee, was an
advisory board member for Salvation Army, founding member and treasurer for
Women’s Auxiliary to Children’s Medical Center at Legacy, served on the Plano
Symphony Advisory Board, Plano ISD District Based Improvement Committee, as
well as many other PISD committees. She was a Scout Den leader and committee
chair and has served a variety of positions in Young Men’s Service League. She
is the past board president of Jewish Family Service of Dallas, one of Dallas’
largest mental health and social service organizations. Cara served as Vice
Chair of the 2010 Complete Count Census Committee. She also served as chairman
of the Collin County Homeless Coalition and as part of the Dallas Continuum of Care
Steering Committee.
Cara
has served the City of Dallas on several task forces, commissions and
committees. She was appointed to serve as the Vice Chair of the Citizen’s
Homelessness Commission, the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness, the 2017 Bond
Committee on Housing and Economic Development and has served on two Housing
Policy Task Force committees.
Cara has
been recognized with many civic awards, including ”Volunteer of the Year” for
Collin County from Volunteer Center of North Texas, two Life Member awards from
PTA, the Service Learning Partnership Award from Collin College, the Homeless
Advocate Award from the Baron and Blue Foundation, the Community Impact Award
from Plano ISD, the Environmental Education Award from the City of Plano, the
Shofar Award from Boy Scouts of America’s National Committee on Jewish
Scouting, and the Board Leadership Award and a 15-year Board Service Award from
Jewish Family Service of Dallas.
Professionally,
Cara was most recently the Executive Director of Rebuilding Together North
Texas. Rebuilding Together, a national non-profit, helps low-income seniors,
veterans, and people with disabilities live in safe, healthy and decent housing
by providing free home repair. Cara has also worked as a director of Visiting
Nurse Association of Texas/Meals on Wheels of Dallas County and as a director
of The Samaritan Inn homeless shelter in McKinney, Texas. Prior to having
children, Cara had a career in human resource management in the banking and
insurance industries.
Current Council appointments:
*Government Performance and Financial Management, Vice Chair
*Public Safety
*Housing and Homeless Solutions
*COVID-19 Ad Hoc
*Legislative Ad Hoc, Vice Chair
*Regional Transportation Council
*City Council Representative to Texas Municipal League Policy Summit
Appointed member of Youth, Education, and Families Council, National League of Cities Member, Women in Municipal Government, National League of Cities