Dr. Randal O’Brien has served as superintendent of Goose Creek CISD since the August 7, 2014 meeting of the Board of Trustees when he was named acting superintendent, and later that year was voted superintendent, becoming the 15th superintendent in the nearly one-hundred-year history of Goose Creek. He joined Goose Creek CISD in September 2013 as the deputy superintendent for administrative services.

O’Brien holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from East Texas Baptist University, where he played basketball and tennis on scholarship; a master’s of education in administration from Sam Houston State University and a doctorate from Lamar University. His experience includes more than 25 years in education along with another six in the business sector prior to entering education.

As deputy superintendent for administrative services, his areas of responsibility included Food Services, Athletics, Maintenance and Operations, as well as Transportation. He also served as over site for the planning, design and development of the three new elementary school campuses, which opened in August 2014. During his tenure as superintendent, O’Brien has continued to facilitate the nearly $300 million dollar 2013 Bond issue, including a facilities condition upgrade which includes mechanical improvements of all 28 campuses in the district, and is in the final completion of other bond projects, such as the new Transportation Center and the new Technology Center, as well as Career Technical renovations across the district which align with implementation of the newly expanded curriculum offerings at all secondary campuses including Project Lead the Way at all Junior High Schools and the Academy Concepts at the High Schools. The new IMPACT Early College High School, also under his supervision, opened in August 2015, and the new Stuart Career Tech Early College High School opened in August of 2017.

Prior to coming to Goose Creek, O’Brien served as superintendent of Hubbard ISD for four years. As superintendent, he was involved with a comprehensive bond project, including a new middle/high school and gymnasium complex and an agriculture complex. He also served as high school principal in Blooming Grove ISD for three years, middle school principal in Tarkington ISD for four years, intermediate school assistant principal in Willis ISD for three years and high school assistant principal in Montgomery ISD for two years. At Conroe ISD, he was the vocational marketing coordinator for two years, and he has taught marketing education, mathematics, science and physical education, along with coaching a variety of sports. Before becoming a teacher, O’Brien served in retail management at sporting goods and retail stores, including Academy Sports and Outdoors and Target. A native Houstonian, he also resided in Montgomery County and is a graduate of New Caney High School.

Among his accomplishments, O’Brien was nominated as Region 12 Superintendent of the Year by the Board of Trustees of Hubbard ISD in 2011-2012. He was also selected as Outstanding Administrator in the Region 4 Excellence in Education Awards in 2005 as a Middle School Principal. Chosen as a presenter at the SERA Conference in New Orleans in 2012, his topic was Commonalities that Exist Between High Performing Schools.

Affiliated with the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators, O’Brien has served as chairman of District UIL sports during his tenure as a leader in Education. Graduating from both the Region 4 and Region 12 Superintendent Academies, he now serves as a panelist for Region 4, as a measure of giving back to the development of leaders in education. He lives out his educational mantra of “continuous improvement in all that we do”, by continuing his own leadership development. He is a graduate of the Thompson Executive Leadership Academy and continues to sharpen his skills through the Harris County Department of Education’s executive leadership program, Focal Point, designed to examine historical leadership that may be applicable to current day leadership challenges and issues. He serves on the Region 4 Superintendent forum, who through collaboration, provides feedback each biennium to legislators in the development of educational law, influencing as many as possible to support public education.

He is a local Rotarian and participates in numerous service activities, including serving as a board member for the Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center, County Regional Cooperatives, the Chamber of Commerce and the Education Foundation among a few. O’Brien has served his community by coaching and officiating for the various Youth Sports Associations, as well as working with the local Boy Scouts of America. He attends numerous annual galas which serve to support philanthropic efforts to enrich lives within the community.

O’Brien and his wife Monica reside in Baytown where she also serves as a Language Arts Specialist, and their son Riley graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and is a student at Trinity University. They also have a son Tyler, a graduate of Baylor University who resides in Austin, and a daughter Kendal, a graduate of Texas Woman’s University and serves as a registered nurse. O’Brien enjoys community service events; participating in fun runs; attending district academic, fine arts and sporting events; and spending time with his family, including his grandsons, Adrian and Eli.