Stephanie Zapata Moore ’98 awarded highest honor by justice-focused nonprofit Texas Appleseed
Stephanie Zapata Moore ’98 has been selected to receive the 2026 J. Chrys Dougherty Good Apple award by the nonprofit policy and advocacy organization Texas Appleseed. The Good Apple is the organization’s highest honor, awarded to individuals with a record of serving their communities and inspiring others.
Moore was chosen as this year’s awardee in recognition of her work with organizations seeking to improve equity and boost access to resources for individuals and families in the Dallas, Texas area. For 10 years, she served as a director of Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas (GIMD), a nonprofit organization that empowers girls through programs that foster academic success and leadership skills. She continues to support GIMD as a director of the Girls Inc. Foundation, the organization’s fundraising and endowment arm.
Moore has also been a long-time advocate for Hispanic lawyers, law students and families. She is on the Advisory Council of PODER25, an initiative by the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) that assists HNBA members in gaining General Counsel roles at Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, she was the Honorary Chair of the Dallas Bar Association’s Equal Access to Justice Campaign, which raises funds to support the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s mission to provide free civil legal assistance and representation to low-income residents of Dallas County.
She has also served as an Honorary Co-Chair of the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation’s Amanecer Luncheon, the primary annual fundraiser supporting scholarships, grants and internships to support Hispanic students in the study of law, and as a member of the board of directors of AVANCE-North Texas, Inc., which works to advance early childhood readiness and parental economic empowerment for predominantly Latino families through parent-child education initiatives.
“It is incredibly meaningful and humbling to be recognized by an organization whose mission is to promote social, economic, and racial justice for Texas’s most vulnerable communities,” Moore said. “Receiving the Good Apple Award is a profound honor that strengthens my commitment to mentoring Hispanic and women attorneys and ensuring young girls have the educational opportunities they deserve.”
In addition to her many volunteer and service-based roles, Moore is the executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer at Vistra Corp. She oversees the company’s legal, compliance, corporate governance, and environmental, health, and safety functions and serves as a trusted advisor to the company’s leadership team and the board of directors.
Moore is also a member of the William & Mary Law School’s Dean’s Council, which recognizes her generosity to and support of her alma mater.
Texas Appleseed will honor Moore as a “champion for justice” at the 25th Good Apple Dinner on November 18, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
Through both her exemplary work on behalf of Vistra Corp. and her sincere dedication to members of her community, Moore perfectly embodies what it means to be a citizen lawyer.