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June 24, 2021 | 11:00AM – 12:00PM

The 87th Legislative Session – An Executive Briefing

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2021 YTexas VIrtual

The 87th Legislative Session – An Executive Briefing

The 87th Texas Legislature Regular Session adjourned on May 31 and our panel of Texas leaders are gearing up to share how the new legislation and budgeting will affect Texas businesses.

This executive briefing session features:

    • Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller
    • Carlton Schwab, President & CEO – Texas Economic Development Council
    • Phil Wilson, General Manager – Lower Colorado River Authority
    • Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Texas.
    • Holly Reed, Principal and Practice Leader, U.S. Advocacy – Ryan
    • Jeremiah Bentley, VP of Marketing and Community Affairs – Texas Mutual Insurance Company
    • Daniel Akwei, Student – YTexas Leadership Academy
    • Glenn Hamer, President & CEO – Texas Association of Business

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ITINERARY

11:00 AM - Opening Remarks

11:00 AM

Welcome Announcements

Ed Curtis

CEO
YTexas

Yana Kolmakova

Marketing Director
YTexas

11:05 AM - PANEL DISCUSSION

11:05 AM

Texas Infrastructure

Holly Reed

Principal and Practice Leader, U.S. Advocacy
Ryan LLC
(Moderator)

Phil Wilson

General Manager
Lower Colorado River Authority

Glenn Hegar

Comptroller of Public Accounts
State of Texas

11:25 AM - PANEL DISCUSSION

11:25 AM

Texas Economic Development

Holly Reed

Principal and Practice Leader, U.S. Advocacy
Ryan LLC
(Moderator)

Carlton Schwab

CEO
Texas Economic Development Council

Glenn Hegar

Comptroller of Public Accounts
State of Texas

11:40 - PANEL DISCUSSION

11:40 AM

Texas Education and Workforce Development

Jeremiah Bentley

VP of Marketing and Community Affairs
Texas Mutual Insurance Company

Harrison Keller

Commissioner
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Glenn Hegar

Comptroller of Public Accounts
State of Texas

Daniel Akwei

Student
YTexas Leadership Academy

11:55 AM - Closing Remarks

11:55 AM

Closing Remarks

Ed Curtis

CEO
YTexas

Yana Kolmakova

Marketing Director
YTexas

Glenn Hegar

Comptroller of Public Accounts
State of Texas

Glenn Hamer

President & CEO
Texas Association of Business

FEATURED PRESENTERS

Holly Reed

Principal and Practice Leader, U.S. Advocacy - Ryan LLC

Holly Reed is responsible for leading the Advocacy practice to represent the interests of Ryan and its clients at all levels of government and developing and executing strategies that align with business priorities.

Ms. Reed specializes in establishing positive working relationships with federal, state, and local government officials and their constituencies and leading and managing a nationwide team of service delivery advocates, attorneys, and internal and third-party lobbyists.

Ms. Reed served as spokesperson for a $20 billion project, giving hundreds of speeches to a diverse set of organizations and crowd sizes, including on the international stage. Additionally, she served as the point of contact for a global communications company into the community for state and local government affairs and outreach. Ms. Reed wrote speeches and regularly served as spokesperson regarding wireless, internet, entertainment, and construction issues.

As a result of her passion to give back and make communities better, Ms. Reed has extensive experience serving on numerous community and non-profit boards.

Glenn Hegar

Comptroller of Public Account, State of Texas

Glenn Hegar is Texas’ chief financial officer — the state’s treasurer, check writer, tax collector, procurement officer and revenue estimator – a job that is particularly important these days as the state recovers from the dual impacts of the COVID pandemic and energy market volatility. He has spent recent months helping guide lawmakers as they work to address the issues facing our state including pension reform, broadband access and the management of federal relief dollars.

As the CFO of the world’s 9th largest economy, Hegar is charged with maintaining the state’s fiscal health.  Having served in both the Texas House and Senate, Hegar has gained a reputation for customer service, transparency in government, and conservative fiscal management.

Hegar is a 1993 graduate of Texas A&M University and a graduate of St. Mary’s University, where he earned a Master of Arts and his law degree. At the University of Arkansas, he earned his Masters of Law.

Hegar is a sixth-generation Texan who grew up farming land that has been in his family since the mid-1800s. When not in Austin or traveling the state, Glenn lives in Katy with his wife Dara and his now TEENAGE children Claire, Julia and Jonah (He asks for your prayers as his oldest is now driving).

Carlton Schwab

President & CEO, Texas Economic Development Council

Carlton Schwab has been President/CEO of the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) since February 1st, 1999. During that time, the 880-member TEDC has developed into a recognized leader in the professional development of its members and a powerful voice for economic development policy in the state of Texas.

In his role as President/CEO of the TEDC, Mr. Schwab serves on numerous boards and commissions. In 2012, he was named by Governor Perry to the Select Committee on Economic Development – a committee created by the 83rd Texas Legislature to review economic development policy for the state of Texas. In 2015 and 2016 he was the Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Texas Legislative Conference. He is a past member of the Austin College Alumni Board and currently a member of the Austin College Athletics Association Board.

Prior to his tenure at the TEDC, Mr. Schwab was Director of Development at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin (1996-1999). From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Schwab was a Director with Deloitte Consulting where he specialized in corporate site location analysis and economic development strategic planning. Mr. Schwab also spent time working in economic development at the local level, having served as Vice President of the Lubbock Board of City Development from 1986 to 1989.

Mr. Schwab holds a Master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor’s degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Phil Wilson

General Manager, Lower Colorado River Authority

Phil Wilson became LCRA’s 11th general manager on Feb. 3, 2014. LCRA’s general manager serves as the organization’s chief executive officer and carries out LCRA Board policy, manages LCRA’s relationships with its customers and stakeholders, appoints and directs executive staff, and oversees projects and operations that support LCRA’s public service mission.

Prior to joining LCRA, Wilson was executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. Under the direction of the Texas Transportation Commission, he managed, directed and implemented TxDOT policies, programs and operating strategies. He also represented TxDOT before the Texas Legislature and other entities. Before joining TxDOT in 2011, Wilson served as senior vice president of Public Affairs and as a corporate officer for Luminant, Texas’ largest electric generation company. In 2007, then-Gov. Rick Perry appointed Wilson as Texas’ 106th Secretary of State. In that position, he was the chief elections officer and the chief international protocol officer for Texas. Wilson also served as chair of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council and on the Texas Border Security Council.

Wilson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Large Public Power Council. He previously served as the Board chair of the Austin Chamber of Commerce and as the chair of the chamber’s Opportunity Austin initiative, in addition to having served on the chamber’s executive committee. Wilson has a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree from Hardin-Simmons University.

Harrison Keller

Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Texas

Dr. Harrison Keller is a sixth-generation Texan with more than two decades of experience in educational budget and policy, digital learning, senior university administration, management, fundraising, and building effective coalitions among school districts, community colleges, universities, systems, and policymakers.

Dr. Keller’s appointment as the sixth Commissioner of Higher Education and chief executive officer for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board was effective October 1, 2019.

Dr. Keller is a recognized innovator in policy and programs to improve college readiness and student success, especially for low-income and first-generation students. He is the founder and was Principal Investigator of the OnRamps dual enrollment initiative that provides college-level courses to tens of thousands of high school students across the state of Texas, and the Texas OnCourse initiative that works with Governor Greg Abbott’s Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative to improve secondary college and career advising across the state.

He came to the Coordinating Board from The University of Texas at Austin, where he was Deputy to the President for Strategy and Policy and a Professor of Practice. Dr. Keller also served at UT Austin as Vice Provost for Higher Education Policy and Research, and Executive Director of the Office of Educational Innovation and the Center for Teaching and Learning. Prior to coming to UT Austin, Dr. Keller was Director of Research for the Texas House of Representatives and Senior Education Advisor for the Speaker of the Texas House.

Dr. Keller has taught at Georgetown University, St. Edward’s University, and the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Georgetown University. He and his wife, Gena Nivens Keller, live in Austin with their three children.

Jeremiah Bentley

VP of Marketing and Community Affairs, Texas Mutual Insurance Company

Jeremiah Bentley is the vice president of Marketing & Community Affairs at Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance. He oversees the company’s marketing, public relations, advertising, community relations, digital media and customer outreach efforts. He previously worked in corporate communications and government affairs over his 20-year career with the company.

Jeremiah is on the executive committee of the Greater of Austin Chamber of Commerce and is member of the board of directors for Leadership Austin, United Way for Greater Austin, the Austin Ed Fund and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He also serves in a variety of other roles in community organizations throughout the Austin area. Jeremiah is a member of the Austin Area Research Organization and is a 2015 graduate of the Leadership Austin Essentials program.

He received a Volunteer of the Year Honor from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce in 2017 and the Comp Laude Award from WorkCompCentral in 2016. Jeremiah is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association, along with other insurance industry and communications organizations.

Jeremiah lives in northwest Austin with his wife Brandy and two young boys. He’s active in the local elementary school, local soccer community and at Bethany United Methodist Church. He’s a graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington with a BS in University Studies.

Glenn Hamer

President & CEO, Texas Association of Business

Glenn comes to TAB after 14 years as CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, where he led the state’s business community to numerous public policy victories helping Arizona have one of country’s most competitive economies.

In Arizona, Hamer played a central role in major tax, education, legal, and health care victories, and was a nationwide leader in the business community’s advocacy for the passage of the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the successor agreement to NAFTA. Recognizing the global race for talent to keep our economy strong, he is also a recognized champion for reforming our country’s broken immigration system. Mr. Hamer’s leadership on international issues makes him a sought-after participant in international trade missions. Hamer served on the Governor’s Arizona-Mexico Commission for five years. Along with critical trips to Mexico, he has joined international delegation with governors, mayors, and the U.S. Chamber in Canada, China, Taiwan, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

In 2018, Mr. Hamer led the founding of Chamber Business News, a news-gathering outlet that provides original reporting on business and political news, insights and analysis throughout the state.

Prior to the chamber Glenn served as chief of staff to Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, legislative assistant to Sen. Jon Kyl, and executive director of the Solar Energy Industries Association. He is a Graduate of Cornell University and Arizona State University’s College of Law. Hamer serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chairs its committee of 100, the group of top chambers in the country.

Glenn’s wife, Tali, is quadrilingual and their three daughters are bilingual (Hebrew).

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