Dallas Ft. Worth Federal Executive Board
Kelly Ann Anderson – Executive Director
The Executive Director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Executive Board (FEB) coordinates shared initiatives between the 178 federal offices and agencies located in the Dallas area, which represents approximately 55,000 Federal employees.
Ms. Anderson began her Federal Career in 1988 as a Telecommunications Specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, in Los Angeles, California. She transitioned to Law Enforcement in 1995 as an Immigration Inspector. Ms. Anderson was afforded the opportunity to reside and work in several foreign countries and the Caribbean.
Starting in March 2008 with the Department of Homeland Security, Ms. Anderson was the Assistant Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Academy Training Center, Immigration Officer BASIC Training Program, where she managed the throughput of over 2,000 newly minted Immigration Services Officers. While at the Academy Training Center, she also served as Acting Deputy Director, ensuring Continuity of Operations during the Government shut-down October, 2013. She served as Immigration Services Officer Trainer, at the USCIS Dallas District and Oklahoma City Offices. In this position, she managed all aspects of the District’s Training Program, and was instrumental in conducting Naturalization Ceremonies in partnership with local courts, schools, and organizations, effectively Naturalizing over 1,000 new United States Citizens. Ms. Anderson also trained several Community Based Organizations in Immigration Law, and was actively involved in championing USCIS goals and objectives.
Immediately before joining the Dallas Ft. Worth Federal Executive Board, December 2016, Ms. Anderson served as a Supervisory Immigration Services Officer at USCIS Texas Service Center, collaborating with and assisting internal and external federal agencies in identifying training needs to thwart possible threats to National Security and public safety.
Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology, and is currently pursuing a Juris Doctorate. She has earned certifications as Master Trainer and Professional Coach. Ms. Anderson has one daughter.
Ms. Anderson attributes much of her success, professionalism, and longevity to her mentors, Shirley Lyn Hickman, Kirt Thompson, and Chris Humphries. Ms. Anderson’s motto is….”just be lovely”.
Crystal M. Cherry – Deputy Director
Crystal M. Cherry is currently serving as the Deputy Director for the Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Executive Board (DFW FEB). Ms. Cherry began her government career in 2011, as a trained Emergency Medical Technician in the United States Air Force. During her transition from the Air Force, she joined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW) International Airport.
During her time at TSA, she served as a Transportation Security Officer conducting pre-board security screening of persons, carry-on luggage, and operated advanced security screening equipment to identify dangerous objects. Ms. Cherry went on to hold multiple detail positions in media to assist TSA and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. She quickly became the spokesperson for TSA News projects along with other creative communication accomplishments. For example, she produced and edited a video that broadcast daily on all monitors throughout the DFW airport allowing 60K passengers to better understand TSA’s divesting policy of enhancing checkpoint efficiency.
After serving locally with TSA DFW, Ms. Cherry began a virtual detail to TSA headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she excelled in building relationships and collaborating with airport officials to assist passenger inquiries. Ms. Cherry masters the art of social listening techniques on all social media platforms to track conversations related to TSA and TSA Precheck. Working as a Social Media Strategist, she developed social media content, engaged influencers, and monitored evolving trends as a front-line contributor to all TSAs social media accounts, and ensured up-to-date content demonstrating the ability to communicate effectively with social media industry professionals in other DHS components to create a strong reliable network. Ms. Cherry successfully produced, edited, and packaged the first-ever DFW FEB virtual Public Service Awards, (the FEBies) to recognize the best in Public Service during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ms. Cherry created and released the recorded program on the DFW FEB YouTube channel, August 2020.
Ms. Cherry graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of North Texas and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Digital Journalism. She is also a graduate of the Veteran Institute for Film & Media from the Dallas Film Society.