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Omar Garcia Chief External Affairs Officer An experienced leader in the energy sector, Omar Garcia is the Chief External Affairs Officer for the Port of Corpus Christi – currently ranked the third largest export port for crude oil in the world as well as the leading North American export gateway for crude oil and liquefied natural gas. In his role, Garcia liaises between Port of Corpus Christi executive leadership and the public advocacy groups, local and national elected officials, business leaders, community members and regional stakeholders. He manages all external affairs for the Port, including International Business Development, Foreign Trade Zone #122, Government Affairs, Public Affairs, Communications, Community Relations and the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center. Garcia oversees more than $5 million of community giving annually and coordinates national media outreach campaigns for the Port of Corpus Christi. Prior to joining the Port of Corpus Christi in 2018, Garcia served as the Chief Executive Officer of the South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable (STEER), where he facilitated communication, education and public advocacy surrounding the production of energy resources in South Texas. Garcia is a former vice president of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation and has more than 15 years of economic development experience, including positions with the Texas Governor’s Office, TIP Strategies, Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development, and the City of San Antonio’s Economic Development Department. Garcia’s lengthy career also includes two years with Bank of America, where he served as Vice President of Business Development for the Treasury Management division. A native of Kingsville, Texas, Garcia is highly skilled in developing public and economic policy, having been appointed in 2010 to the Texas Economic Development Corporation by then Governor Rick Perry. In 2021, the prestigious Texas Lyceum swore in Garcia as a director. Garcia holds a degree in International Business and Spanish from St. Edwards University and is a certified economic development finance professional through the National Development Council. |
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Thomas J. Gleeson Chairman Thomas Gleeson was appointed Chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) by Gov. Greg Abbott on January 19, 2024. He previously served as the Executive Director of the PUCT, a position he held since December 2020. Thomas has worked for the PUCT for over 15 years in various roles, including chief operating officer, director of finance and administration, and as a fiscal project manager. Gleeson also worked as a legislative analyst for the Texas Senate and a budget analyst for the Legislative Budget Board. Gleeson is a graduate of the Governor's Executive Development Program at The University of Texas at Austin and served as the former chairman of both the City of Pflugerville Finance and Budget Committee and the First United Methodist Church of Round Rock Finance Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southwestern University and a Master of Public Administration from The Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University. Gleeson lives in Pflugerville with his wife, Elisa, and their three sons. |
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Alex Meade Member, Texas Transportation Commission Alex Meade is a member of the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation. He has served on the TxDOT Commission since March 21, 2023, when Governor Greg Abbott appointed him. He serves as Executive Vice President for Texas Regional Bank (TRB), where he manages their public policy strategy and economic development division. Meade is an alumnus of the Texas Lyceum and a former board of regent for Texas State Technical College System, and a former member of the Texas Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. |
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Evan Mintz Editor of Opinion and Community Engagement Evan Mintz is the editor of opinion and community engagement for the Houston Chronicle. Mintz previously served as deputy opinion editor at the Chronicle, where he was a 2017 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing for his contributions to a series on gun laws and violence. He graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Rice University. A licensed attorney, Mintz is married to Dr. Melissa Goldberg Mintz, a psychologist and author of Has Your Child Been Traumatized, has two children and in his free time enjoys gardening. |
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Ashley Morgan Ashley Morgan joined the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) on October 6, 2025. Prior to her service at the TWDB, Morgan served as an attorney at Erben & Yarbrough, an Austin-based legal and governmental affairs firm, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Railroad Commission of Texas, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Morgan is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the UT System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, and serves as a docent with the Docents of the Governor’s Mansion. An East Texas native, Morgan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1998 and obtained a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2007. |
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Matt Phillips Deputy General Manager Matt Phillips joined the Brazos River Authority in 2009, serving as Legislative and Government Affairs Manager for the organization for 15 years before being named Deputy General Manager in 2024. He joined the BRA after working for several years as a legislative aide for former State Senator Steve Ogden. Matt also served as an assistant clerk for the Senate Finance Committee under the chairmanship of former State Senator Rodney Ellis. Matt has a long history with the BRA. Before beginning his professional career, he grew up living on Lake Limestone, where he worked for the BRA as a part-time maintenance worker before college. He received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree in Government from The University of Texas. Matt and his wife, Kari, live in Liberty Hill with their children, Sadler, Parker and Whitton. |
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Chad V. Seely Senior Vice President, Regulatory Policy, General Counsel, Chad V. Seely is Senior Vice President, Regulatory Policy, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary for ERCOT (GC since 2016). He oversees state/federal policy, litigation strategy, and leads Compliance, Public Affairs, Corporate Communications, Client Services, and the ERCOT Reliability Monitor function. With ERCOT since 2005, he previously served as an attorney at the Texas Department of Insurance. Raised in Irving, he earned degrees in Political Science and French from Texas Tech University (1999) and a law degree from South Texas College of Law (2002). He has lived in Austin since 2002 with his wife and two daughters. |
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Rob Thomas Chief Program Manager Rob Thomas is the Chief Program Manager of the Gulf Coast Protection District. Rob oversees the technical and engineering of large-scale coastal resilience initiatives designed to protect Texas’s upper Gulf Coast from hurricane storm surge and flooding. Rob is responsible for managing the design, construction, and integration of critical infrastructure projects, including the Coastal Texas Project and the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Project. Career Highlights Professional Certifications Education Residence |
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Candace M. Wilson Candace M. Wilson, a Florida native, graduated from Texas Southern University with an Executive Master of Public Administration. Her capstone research analyzed how legal and political networks shape leadership pipelines and institutional power between PWIs and HBCUs. Wilson’s background is rooted in advocacy; her grandfather was a plaintiff in Blalock v. School Board of Lee County, challenging school segregation in Fort Myers, Florida. Drawing from this legacy, she examines how systems allocate access, influence, and authority. Wilson is pursuing a master’s in Administrative Law, preparing to become an attorney focused on reforming prison system and mental health policy. |