People on the Move
Some school voucher supporters are calling Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a “RINO,” Patrick is teaming up with the Republican Party of Texas to blast one of the most conservative members of the Texas House , the Texas GOP is also spending campaign cash against Speaker Dade Phelan in his district, and there’s a proxy war between Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott over the redesign of the electricity grid. It is only week number two of the session. More on all that in the days to come. Meantime, power players are making power moves in this town. Lobby shops are staffing up, some staffers are on the move and a former statewide officeholder has entered the next phase of his career. Your moves – big or small – are all welcome to appear in the pages of Quorum Report. Just send the news to ksbraddock@gmail.com and we’ll get it done. Oh, and use POTM in the subject line for quickest service. Thanks so much. Here’s the latest edition of People on the Move.
Staff
Writer
Some school voucher supporters are calling Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick a “RINO,” Patrick is teaming up with the Republican Party of Texas to blast one of the most conservative members of the Texas House , the Texas GOP is also spending campaign cash against Speaker Dade Phelan in his district, and there’s a proxy war between Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott over the redesign of the electricity grid.
It is only week number two of the session.
More on all that in the days to come.
Meantime, power players are making power moves in this town. Lobby shops are staffing up, some staffers are on the move and a former statewide officeholder has entered the next phase of his career. Your moves – big or small – are all welcome to appear in the pages of Quorum Report. Just send the news to ksbraddock@gmail.com
and we’ll get it done. Oh, and use POTM in the subject line for quickest service. Thanks so much.
Here’s the latest edition of People on the Move.
Jackson Walker is expanding the firm’s legislative team in Austin with the addition of governmental affairs consultant LaRessa Quintana and a strategic relationship with Mia Garza McCord , President of government and public affairs consulting firm Hourglass Strategies, LLC .
Prior to Jackson Walker, LaRessa worked at The Bingham Group, LLC . She also has legislative experience as a past fellow of the 2019 Moreno/Rangel Legislative Leadership Program sponsored by the Mexican American Legislative Leadership Foundation . Mia brings almost 20 years of experience in Texas public policy, campaigns, and government relations to complement the work of the Jackson Walker team. She is a past President and senior advisor of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute (TCCRI), and a past Executive Director of Coalition Por/For Texas .
Denise Rose , chair of Jackson Walker’s Government Relations & Public Policy practice, said “At Jackson Walker, we recognize that our work at the Texas Capitol is about building relationships and trust— Kathy Hutto set the tone and bar for us for decades. We are excited to work with these two phenomenal women. In a field that is historically dominated by men, it is wonderful to see more women in all places in the Capitol, proving our strong work ethic and bringing a personal touch that is so important to growing relationships.” Nice work, ladies.
Blackridge is thrilled to announce the addition of Susan Turner Nold to our governmental affairs practice. “Susan brings seventeen years of experience working in and around the Texas Legislature to the Blackridge team,” per the announcement. Susan was recently Senior Vice President of Policy and External Affairs at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and as the Executive Director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas at Austin.
Former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has joined the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP as a Partner and Michael Best Strategies LLC (Strategies) as a Principal .
Samantha Durand Pisik recently moved from the Legislative Budget Board as a Federal Funds Analyst to now working for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault as a Policy Advisor. Ashley Kaden McConkey is now at Texas Instruments as the Director of Government Relations. She joins Virginia Martinez Schaefer , who was promoted to the Head of U.S. State and Local Government Relations.
Bryan Hadley is now the Communications Director for the Texas Construction Association .
Jenny LaCoste -Caputo is stepping down after more than five years as Chief of Public Affairs and Communications for Round Rock ISD . She’s heading to the City of Austin where she’ll be Deputy Director for the Office of Communications and Public Information. Prior to Round Rock, Jenny was Executive Director of Media Relations and External Communications for The University of Texas System . She also worked for the Texas Association of School Administrators and spent six years as a reporter and later editor at The San Antonio Express-News . And Amanda Wheeler is now at Philip Morris International . Wheeler was co-founder and president of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association . She’ll now beat PMI as regional director of external affairs for the Southwest region, including Texas. Have a great weekend, y'all.