Lissa Walls, Chief Executive Officer

Lissa Walls, CEO, has been in the newspaper business since 1980. She began her career as a reporter for the Rosenberg (Texas) Herald Coaster owned by Hartman Newspapers Inc. and became COO of SNI in 1985. She was elected CEO in March 2014. She serves on the board of PAGE Cooperative and is president of the Carmage and Martha Ann Walls Foundation. She is a past board member of The Associated Press, Mutual Insurance Company, Southern Newspapers Publishers Association, Southern Newspapers Publishers Association Foundation and UTMB Development Board. She is a trustee emerita of Trinity University. She was born in Guntersville, Alabama, and moved to the Houston, Texas, area with her family in 1973. She is a 1980 graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Dolph Tillotson, Chairman of the Board

Dolph Tillotson, chairman of the board, has been in the newspaper business since 1969. He began his career in news, and he has served as general manager, publisher and president for two community newspaper companies – Southern and Boone Newspapers, Inc. He is a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a 1972 graduate of the University of Alabama. Tillotson lives in Galveston, Texas, with his wife, Teri. He came to work for Southern in 1987 as publisher of The Galveston County Daily News. He was named president of SNI in March 2014 and chairman in January 2020.

Leonard Woolsey, President

With more than 30 years in the newspaper industry, Woolsey joined Southern Newspapers in 2014 after working 20 years with Paxton Media Group serving as publisher and eventually group publisher. Besides serving in smaller communities, Woolsey's experiences also include managing properties in metro markets, including St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Atlanta. Woolsey is also a longtime Rotarian, board member for America’s Newspapers, Texas Press Association as well as local organizations including the Boys & Girls Club, and The Salvation Army. Woolsey is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, and is married to his college sweetheart, Maryrine Woolsey. They have two adult children. In his spare time, he likes to read, write, travel, surf, and plink on a piano.

Ruby Barrow, Director of Accounting

Ruby Barrow, director of accounting/treasurer and secretary, has been in the newspaper business since 1992. Barrow began her career as a data entry clerk for Southern Newspapers, Inc. and has served as data entry supervisor, payroll manager, general ledger supervisor and accounting manager. She was elected secretary in March 2014. She serves on the boards of the Southern Newspapers Inc. Medical and 401(k) Plans. She was born in El Campo, Texas, and moved to the Houston area with her family in 1969. Barrow lives in Houston with her husband, Bart Barrow, and their three children.