Chance has previous professional experience working in the water resources field as a water treatment operator. During this time, Chance saw the age of facilities and infrastructure, with many utility departments and agencies operating with outdated equipment well past their useful lifespan. Since coming to LBJ, Chance’s has focused on climate adaptation, Texas Water policy and critical infrastructure security which if compromised can have long lasting impacts to public safety.

You can find Chance's presentation here.

2023 Fellows

Rebecca Nelson

Rebecca Nelson is a Master of Public Service and Administration candidate at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, concentrating in public management and state and local government.

Rebecca recently spent time building her professional experience interning for the City of San Antonio in the summer of 2022. She currently works as Graduate Assistant where she compiles, tracks, and publishes data surrounding military-affiliated students to enhance student success.

Rebecca is passionate about serving her community and seeks to build her career in local government where she feels she can directly make a positive impact.

You can find Rebecca's presentation here.

Tyson Thompson

Ty Thompson is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Texas Tech University. Ty received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech in 1997. In 2004, Ty received his commission in the United States Navy. He was deployed in 2005 and then in 2009.

Ty’s current role with the City of Fort Worth allows him to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Ty grew up in Houston before relocating to the DFW. He has been married to his college sweetheart for 21 years and a grateful father to his son Cade (9) and daughter Hayden (6).

You can find Tyson's presentation here.

2022 Fellows

Ellyn Anthony

Ellyn Anthony is a Master of Public Administration student at Texas Tech University with an interest in environmental administration, natural resource management, and environmental ethics and justice.

Ellyn received a B.S. in Biology from Texas Woman’s University, Denton, and spent two years teaching high school science in Aubrey, TX.  Motivated by this experience, Ellyn earned an M.S. in Environmental Studies from Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY. Her thesis work and position as a research and extension assistant in the organic agriculture group at Kentucky State focused on nutrient concentrations of subsoil water in an integrative, crop-livestock rotation under organic management. This work may be reviewed here.

Ellyn’s work at Texas Tech continues to motivate her passion for education and administrative leadership founded in science. The Texas Lyceum Fellowship provides her an opportunity to research and re-engage with West Texas communities, including that of her hometown, Plainview. 

To see more of Ellyn's work click here.

Rebekah Barfield

Rebekah Barfield is working toward her master's in public service and administration at the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University with a double major in political science and philosophy in 2019. She spent the following two years as an AmeriCorps member in San Jose, teaching elementary students and working as a team leader with City Year. She currently works as an academic mentor to Texas A&M student-athletes.

One of the morning sessions at The Texas Lyceum Public Conference (PubCon) meetings on Friday, April 1 in Frisco featured Bush School of Government and Public Service graduate student Rebekah Barfield. The theme of this year’s PubCon is “Texas in the 2020s: Prospects, Pathways, and Power.” Barfield’s presentation on infrastructure issues relating to the rapid growth of Texas’ exurb communities was very well received and came from work that was supported by a research fellowship from The Texas Lyceum and supervised by Dr. Mallory Compton of the Bush School.

Barfield’s research findings are also available in a research paper titled “Infrastructure Consequences of Exurb Growth in Texas” published in the Mosbacher Institute White Paper Series. In the article, she notes that Texas has the largest exurbanite population in the United States relative to its size and explores some of the infrastructure consequences of such fast growth, particularly in education, transportation, and flood management. Mosbacher Institute White Papers are publications of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy at the Bush School at Texas A&M University.

You can also read more about Barfield’s research about the impact of exurb growth on rural roads and highways and on traffic fatalities in her op-ed piece published on April 1 in The Dallas Morning News.

Ebony Sowells

Ebony Sowells is a master of public administration student at Texas Southern University and a high school English teacher. She earned a master of liberal studies degree from Rice University. 

She is focused on creating equitable access to education. As a teacher at an alternative school, she helped build an academic curriculum that addressed the intersections of trauma, special needs, and poverty as key gateways into the justice system. She also founded Pathways to Justice, a nonprofit that seeks to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Her research on education and economic development in Longview is an extension of her expertise on equity and justice issues. 

To see more of Ebony's work click HERE. 

2021 Fellowship Policy Brief

• The Opportunities and Obstacles of Aging: From Policy to Personal – Knowing the Facts---Sallie Sherman, Masters of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University
• Power Hungry: The Science, Economics, and Politics of Energy in Texas---KyLeigh Richardson, Masters of Public Administration, Texas Tech University