Title: Senior Associate Director of Housing and Transitional Services
Company: The University of Texas at San Antonio
Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States
La Donna Sewell, senior associate director of housing and transitional services at The University of Texas at San Antonio, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in education.
For nearly 15 years, Ms. Sewell has built a strong reputation for her work in education and student assistance, with a particular focus on marginalized populations, beginning as a special education assistant at Hardy Brown College Prep in 2011. Her professional contributions include time as an instructional student assistant at California State University, San Bernardino and an international tutor at Arrowhead Christian Academy. Ms. Sewell demonstrated her commitment to young students in the role of child protective services investigator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Following that, she gained experience as a site coordinator for Communities in Schools of San Antonio.
Ms. Sewell first joined The University of Texas at San Antonio as a housing coach and program manager for the foster care support program in 2021, showcasing her skill at working with youth who have experienced the foster care system. From there, she was promoted to associate director and then senior director of housing and transitional services, serving in the latter position since 2024. In her work with the housing and transitional services programs, Ms. Sewell advocates for the needs of students, especially those entering college for the first time and adapting to the changes. She is able to assist students as they encounter problems, including helping them acquire funding to secure housing when necessary.
In addition to those responsibilities, Ms. Sewell has recently taken over the supervised independent living program. For this system, she works directly with students receiving assistance from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, drawing upon her previous experience with the agency. Ms. Sewell has also revealed a strong capacity for adapting to challenges. When she first accepted her new role, the supervisor who would have overseen her left for a different position just three days later. Despite this unexpected roadblock, Ms. Sewell has successfully navigated on her own, determining how to achieve her goals and build institutional support without day-to-day guidance. She considers pushing for the creation of this role, earning the job and then defining its procedures from scratch to be the highlights of her career thus far.
Before working in the world of academia, Ms. Sewell set a strong foundation for herself in her own education, beginning with an associate degree in liberal arts with a concentration in biological and physical science from San Bernardino Valley College in 2011. After that, she completed coursework in psychology at The University of Texas at San Antonio before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from California State University, San Bernardino in 2015. Subsequently, Ms. Sewell earned a master’s degree in public administration and alternative dispute resolution from Wayland Baptist University in 2021.
Ms. Sewell’s dedication to helping others extends beyond her vocation and into the realm of civic advocacy. She has previously been affiliated with the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio. Passionate about aiding people without housing, Ms. Sewell chaired a youth homelessness subcommittee and contributed to an advisory council on a homeless response system for several years. She has volunteered as a math tutor through Resurrection Baptist Church since 2015.
Beyond her career, Ms. Sewell is also a devoted wife and a loving mother to two children. When not working, she finds joy in listening to audiobooks and music, singing, and attending concerts. As she plans for the future, Ms. Sewell is eager to spearhead new initiatives at The University of Texas at San Antonio that can meet the varied needs of underserved populations. She especially hopes to offer more resources, support and guidance to students who have experienced significant trauma in their lives—a further reflection of her commitment to aiding students who face unique struggles and may otherwise fall through the cracks.
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