People on the Move
The ice storm of 2023 is now in the history books and I hope you were all safe and warm throughout the week. Gov. Greg Abbott made sure to let us all know that any problems weren’t his fault. And Austin Mayor Kirk Watson hasn’t been in office long enough this time around for it to be his fault. But we do need to get serious about the way trees are managed in this city. If we can’t bury the power lines because it’s prohibitively expensive – which it is – then the lines and tree branches need to, you know, not touch each other so much. That would be great. Jeremy Wallace and I got into that and more on the latest Texas Take podcast, which will drop later today. Just search “Texas Take” on your favorite podcast app. Meantime the career news this week includes new leadership roles, cool gigs, and new business ventures. Feel free to let the Texas Capitol community know what’s up with you or someone else by sending the scoop to ksbraddock@gmail.com . If you could use POTM in the subject line, that would also be great. Thanks so much. Here’s the latest edition of People on the Move.
Staff
Writer
The ice storm of 2023 is now in the history books and I hope you were all safe and warm throughout the week.
Gov. Greg Abbott
made sure to let us all know that any problems weren’t his fault. And Austin Mayor
Kirk Watson hasn’t been in office long enough this time around for it to be his fault. But we do need to get serious about the way trees are managed in this city. If we can’t bury the power lines because it’s prohibitively expensive – which it is – then the lines and tree branches need to, you know, not touch each other so much. That would be great. Jeremy Wallace and I got into that and more on the latest Texas Take podcast, which will drop later today. Just search “Texas Take” on your favorite podcast app.
Meantime the career news this week includes new leadership roles, cool gigs, and new business ventures. Feel free to let the Texas Capitol community know what’s up with you or someone else by sending the scoop to ksbraddock@gmail.com . If you could use POTM in the subject line, that would also be great. Thanks so much.
Here’s the latest edition of People on the Move.
Starting now, Brian Francis , formerly the executive director of TDLR , is serving as acting director of the Sunset Commission until an official executive director is named. As we first reported, Jennifer Jones is now at the General Land Office .
Our friend Aaron DeLeon has launched new company, Leon Strategies , “focused on offering strategic counsel and general consulting to a variety of candidates, associations and political projects around the state.” His last day at the Associated Republicans of Texas was earlier this week.
“I am grateful for my five and a half years at ART. During that time, we successfully fought for common-sense Republican candidates, secured GOP control against an onslaught of Democrat money and made historic GOP gains in South Texas,” Aaron wrote in an email to friends. “I am thankful to the ART Board of Directors for their support and encouragement during my time at ART. It was an honor to work for such an esteemed board of statewide leaders. I’d be remiss if I did not express how thankful I am for ART President Jamie McWright . I appreciate her trust and giving me the opportunity to succeed under her leadership.” Crosswind Media and Public Relations this week announced that Mac Walker is now Vice President of Media Strategy. He’s been at Crosswind since 2021. Prior to that he was Deputy Press Secretary for Gov. Greg Abbott .
Also at Crosswind, Randall Whalin is the new Vice President of Creative Services.
Whalin has served as Chief Marketing Officer in collaboration and service to big brands including Walmart , Mack/Volvo Trucks , the National Football League , and Major League Baseball . Matt Burgin has joined ConocoPhillips as Director of State Government Relations. Matt spent the last eight-and-a-half years as Director of Government Relations at the Texas Food & Fuel Association . Matt brings experience working on House, Senate and Statewide campaigns as well as previous Capitol work in the office of Speaker Joe Straus .
Meantime, former Capitol staffer Desiree Castro joins the Texas Food and Fuel Association as the new Director of Government Relations. She was most recently working for the Texas Tax Consulting Group . Up in Fort Worth, Tracey Knight is now Chief of Staff to Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez .
Katy von Rosenberg , former Government Relations Specialist for Samsung Austin Semiconductor , has joined the Texas A&M State Relations team as Government Relations Officer. In the past she’s worked as a staffer to Sen. John Cornyn .
After a year and a half with Jolt Action , Jen Ramos stepped down from her role as Senior Policy Analyst. She’s going to be Director of Policy for the National Hispanic Media Coalition . And after several decades of service to the State of Texas, Patrick Francis is retiring from the University of Texas System. The Notre Dame and LBJ graduate spent almost four decades in Texas government, including stints with the House Research Organization , State Auditor’s Office , and the Texas Association of School Boards . Patrick served as Education Advisor for Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and, upon Bullock’s retirement, worked three Legislative Sessions at the Legislative Budget Board , serving as manager of the Public and Higher Education Teams before heading to UT System . After attending as many music festivals as possible, Patrick will hang around to Austin and see what’s next. Have a great weekend.