Former Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade has been tapped to lead the nonprofit that oversees the historical Alamo landmark after the group’s former CEO stepped down following backlash over her views on how the Alamo’s history should be presented.
Andrade, 76, who has served on the Alamo Trust, Inc. (ATI) and Remember the Alamo Foundation (RTAF) Boards since 2015, will relinquish her volunteer board positions to lead the nonprofit, which oversees daily operations at the historic site where, in 1836, Mexican forces overran Texas defenders, inspiring the state’s rallying cry “Remember the Alamo.”
She will replace Kate Rogers, the former president and CEO, who was replaced Oct. 24 after Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for Rogers to resign or be removed over a 2023 academic paper she wrote for her doctorate from the University of Southern California.
In the May 2023 paper, Rogers critiqued the Texas Legislature’s “conservative agenda” in 2023, including bills limiting teachings on race and slavery. “Philosophically, I do not believe it is the role of politicians to determine what professional educators can or should teach in the classroom,” she wrote.
Rogers’ paper also referenced the 2021 book Forget the Alamo, which argues that Anglo settlers’ desire to maintain slavery — after Mexico largely abolished it — was a central cause of Texas’ 1836 fight for independence. Rogers also noted a city advisory council’s push to tell the site’s “full story,” including its history of indigenous peoples, and expressed a desire for the Alamo to be “a place that brings people together versus tearing them apart.”
The paper concluded that her goals “politically … may not be possible at this time.”
Calling the paper “shocking,” Patrick accused Rogers of holding “a totally different view of how the history of the Alamo should be told.”
“I believe her judgment is now placed in serious question,” Patrick wrote. “We must ensure that future generations never forget the sacrifice for freedom that was made. I will continue to defend the Alamo today against a rewrite of history.”
Following Patrick’s letter, Rogers announced her departure in a statement.
“It was with mixed emotions that I resigned my post as President and CEO at the Alamo Trust yesterday,” Rogers said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. “It became evident through recent events that it was time for me to move on.”
Known as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty,” the Alamo was originally a Spanish mission church in the mid-to-late 18th century and still draws more than 1.6 million visitors each year, according to site officials.
Andrade’s hiring comes as the Alamo, which operates under a contract with the Texas General Land Office, is set for a $400 million Alamo Plan renovation effort, including a new museum and visitor center scheduled to debut in 2027.
