TEXAS DELEGATION CONTACTS

Transcription

1 TEXAS DELEGATION CONTACTS AUGUST 2013 CANADA State of Texas Mr. John Steen Texas Secretary of State P.O. Box Austin, Texas O: (512) Texas Economic Development Corporation Mr. J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. Chairman & President P.O. Box Austin, Texas O: (512) C: (210) Office of the Governor Mr. Clint Harp Director of Business Development, EDT Division P.O. Box Austin, Texas O: (512) C: (512) /35 Economic Development Alliance Mr. Mike Meek President/CEO, Seguin (10/35 EDA partner) 390 Seguin Avenue New Braunfels, Texas O: (866) C: (830) Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Mr. Ashton Allison Director, Marketing & Communications 801 S. Fillmore Suite 205 Amarillo, Texas O: (806) C: (806) CenterPoint Energy Mr. Dudley Van Ness State Economic Development Manager 1111 Louisiana Houston, Texas O: (713) C: (713) Greater Conroe Economic Development Council Mr. Larry Calhoun Executive Director P.O. Box 3066 Conroe, Texas O: (936) C: (281) Greater Houston Partnership Mr. Javier Jativa Director for the Americas 1200 Smith, Suite 700 Houston, Texas O: (713) C: (713) McKinney Economic Development Corporation Ms. Abby Liu Vice President 5900 South Lake Forest Drive, Suite 110 McKinney, Texas O: (972) x 105 C: (972) liu@mckinneyedc.com Midland Development Corporation Ms. Pamela Welch Executive Director 109 North Main, Midland, Texas O: (432) C: (432) pwelch@midlandtxedc.com San Antonio Economic Development Foundation Mr. Tom Long Executive Vice President of Business Recruitment 602 East Commerce Street San Antonio, Texas O: (210) C: (210) tlong@sanantonioedf.com Yates Construction Mr. Shane Hesters Executive Vice President of Business Recruitment 900 Arion Parkway, Bld D, Ste 110 San Antonio, Texas O: (210) C: (210) shesters@wgyates.com

2 TEXAS DELEGATION CONTACTS AUGUST 2013 CANADA Secretary of State, John Steen State of Texas John Steen is Texas 108th secretary of state and one of six state officials in the State of Texas executive department. He is an attorney and most recently served as the Texas Department of Public Safety commissioner. Steen is a former gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Commission on Economy and Efficiency in State Government, as well as the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, where he served 10 years, the last six as chairman. He is vice chairman of The University of Texas at San Antonio Development Board, trustee of the Texas State History Museum Foundation, and a member of the Distinguished Leaders Council and past chairman of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. He is a member of the executive committee of the UT System Chancellor s Council, a San Antonio Bar Foundation fellow, and a Texas Bar Foundation life fellow. Steen graduated with honors from Princeton University and received his law degree from The University of Texas. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, is an honor graduate of the Army s Military Police School, received the Commander s Award for Public Service from the Department of the Army twice, and was named an honorary Texas Ranger Captain. Mr. J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. Chairman & President Texas Economic Development Corporation J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. serves as a senior advisor to Texas Governor Rick Perry on the State of Texas economic development strategies and initiatives. In addition to his role with the Texas Economic Development Corporation, Bugg is chairman and CEO of Southwest Bancshares, Inc.; Bandera First State Bancshares, Inc.; San Antonio Capital & Trust Holdings, L.L.C.; and Argyle Investment Co., L.L.C. He is also chairman and trustee of The Tobin Endowment, a private charitable foundation, in San Antonio and chairman and president of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation. He also serves on the board of trustees for St. Mary s Hall and on the board of directors of The Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. Bugg previously served on the board of trustees for the McNay Art Museum and board of directors of Humanities Texas, as well as a former board of governors chairman for the Cancer Therapy & Research Center and former officer and trustee for the Texas Research and Technology Foundation. Bugg received a Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University and is a member of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Clint Harp Director of Business Development Office of the Governor - Economic Development and Tourism Division Clint Harp oversees a global team of trade and location specialists and is responsible for program areas that include the Texas Enterprise Fund, the State of Texas North American Free Trade Agreement Office, domestic expansion and recruitment, business research, business marketing, and international business recruitment. Prior to his current role, Harp was as a special advisor to the governor. Harp previously worked on Governor Perry s presidential campaign staff. Prior to that, he worked in the governor s office as an executive aide and on the advance team. Harp received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pepperdine University in California.

3 Mr. Michael G. Meek President & CEO Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (10/35 EDA partner) Michael Meek is the president and CEO of the Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce, Inc., a 10/35 Economic Development Alliance partner, and is the executive director of the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation. He has been with the chamber since 1988 in various capacities, assuming the CEO position in He has recruited dozens of new companies to the area creating over 7,000 jobs. Prior to moving to New Braunfels, he worked for firms such as Johnson & Johnson and Texas Instruments in national sales and marketing management. Meek is a past state chairman of the Texas Economic Development Council and served as state chairman of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives. He was named citizen of the year in 2002 for his leadership in founding the Central Texas Technology Center, and was inducted into the community s hall of honor in Meek received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and is a certified economic developer. He has been married for 39 years and has two children and four grandchildren. He is an elder and trustee of the New Braunfels Presbyterian Church and a member of several local civic clubs and organizations. Mr. Ashton Allison Director, Marketing & Communications Amarillo Economic Development Corporation Ashton Allison joined the Amarillo EDC in Allison brings more than 12 years of marketing and management experience, including seven years as an account manager with the Amarillo EDC s former marketing agency of record. Prior to joining the Amarillo EDC, Allison served as the Executive Director of a non-profit entrepreneur support organization. In this role, Allison was responsible for managing strategies to attract and develop aspiring and established entrepreneurs in the 26-county Texas High Plains region. In both roles, Allison was responsible for creating, launching and stewarding corporate brands and ensuring optimal returns on marketing investment. Allison received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University in marketing. Allison is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Amarillo & Canyon and was named a 2009 Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Top 20 Under 40 semifinalist. He currently serves on the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Council and is a founding board member of the Amarillo Young Professionals. Mr. Dudley Van Ness State Economic Development Manager CenterPoint Energy Dudley Van Ness has been with CenterPoint Energy for 43 years, holding management positions in several operating divisions. He also represented the company as an attorney for eight years and was the company s credit manager. Van Ness was appointed by former Gov. Ann Richards as executive director of the Texas Space Commission. He founded CenterPoint Energy s Economic Development organization in 1987 and was a part of the steering committee that coordinated the foundation of the Houston Economic Development Council (now Greater Houston Partnership). He also served on the Texas Industrial Development Council statewide board of directors, was the founding chairman of Team Texas, and in 2008, was designated a national Fellow of the Industrial Asset Management Council. Van Ness received a J.D. from the Bates School of Law at the University of Houston, and did his undergraduate work at Texas A&I University in Kingsville. He was raised in Corpus Christi and was the nation s youngest Eagle Scout at age 12. Mr. Larry Calhoun Executive Director Greater Conroe Economic Development Council Larry Calhoun is responsible for the development and marketing of The Deison Technology Park, all city transportation related issues, and all city real estate related issues. In 2006, Calhoun joined the City of Conroe staff as downtown manager in charge of downtown revitalization. Calhoun is a licensed Texas realtor and worked in the commercial real estate acquisition, disposition, development, leasing, and management business for 25 years. Calhoun is a voting member of The Transportation Policy Council at the Houston Galveston Area Council and the Conroe Convention and Visitor Center Tourist Council. He is also a member of the International Asset Management Council, the International Economic Development Corporation, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Texas Economic Development Corporation. He is an alumnus of Sam Houston State University and the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute, and a certified downtown manager under the Texas Historical Commission.

4 Mr. Javier Jativa Director for the Americas Greater Houston Partnership Javier Jativa joined the Greater Houston Partnership in February 2009 as director for the Americas. He previously served for seven years as senior commercial specialist of the U.S. Embassy/Commercial Service in Caracas, Venezuela, where he was responsible for monitoring the energy and engineering sectors of that country and for supervising a staff of commercial assistants. Jativa received a Meritorious Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State and a Certificate of Recognition from the U.S. Department of Commerce for his work on behalf of U.S. companies while in service with the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. A native of Venezuela, Jativa received a master s degree in mineral and energy economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a bachelor s degree in economics from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Ms. Abby Liu Vice President McKinney Economic Development Corporation Abby Liu joined the McKinney Economic Development Corporation in 2010 to spearhead burgeoning international economic development efforts in area. Her role has expanded to include business recruitment domestically and abroad, promoting McKinney as the premier city for business relocation and economic development. Liu has attracted national and international prospects for new business, initiated an international marketing campaign, and assisted with expansion plans of existing businesses. She successfully attracted the North America Division Headquarters of Wistron GreenTech Texas Corp., a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Taiwan, to McKinney in Prior to joining McKinney, Liu served as director of business development and retention for the Economic Development and Tourism department for the City of Farmers Branch for 18 years. Liu received a Master of Arts degree in international management studies from The University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the National Taiwan Normal University. She also is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute of University of Oklahoma and Leadership McKinney. Ms. Pam Welch Executive Director Midland Development Corporation Pam Welch, a native of Big Spring, Texas, began her career in economic development in 1981 with the Big Spring Economic Development Corporation as assistant director. In September 2006 she joined the Midland Development Corporation as director of business retention and expansion and became executive director in She is a board member of the Texas Economic Development Council and an active member and past chair of The High Ground of Texas. She is also a member of IEDC, SEDC, CoreNet Global, and a Fellow of the Industrial Asset Management Council. Welch is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute and a Certified Master Consultant in business retention and expansion. Mr. Tom Long Executive Vice President of Business Recruitment San Antonio Economic Development Foundation Tom Long has over 30 years experience in economic development and has worked in both the private and public sectors for local governments, utilities, chambers of commerce and private economic development organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Long joined the SAEDF in 2012 and manages the team that works to bring targeted new businesses into the San Antonio metropolitan area. His area of industry expertise includes manufacturing, aviation and aerospace, warehousing and distribution, cyber security, information technology, and data centers. Before joining SAEDF, Long was the senior manager for economic development at CPS Energy, San Antonio s municipally owned electric and natural gas company. Long received a master s degree in economic geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor s degree in geology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He earned the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer from the International Economic Development Council and currently serves on the Texas Economic Development Council Board.

5 Mr. Shane Hesters Business Development Managers Yates Construction Shane Hesters is responsible for overseeing all business development initiatives, community outreach efforts, and pre-construction, as well as support estimates and business intelligence for Yates Construction in the southwest U.S. He previously spent six years as a superintendent and project manager on high density urban projects located in downtown San Antonio and Austin. Hesters is active in his community and participates is Urban Land Institute, Association of Builders & Contractors, San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce, and the Real Estate Council of San Antonio. Upon completing his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Hesters received a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Texas A&M University San Antonio and a Bachelor of Science degree in construction science from Texas A&M University. For more information on doing business in Texas, visit us online /TexasWideOpen 07/31/13