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Governor Greg Abbott has appointed eight individuals to the Public Sector Artificial Intelligence Systems Advisory Board, with terms ending September 1, 2027. The appointees include professionals from various Texas state agencies and the private sector.
The board members are Heather Hall, Ph.D., Sylvia Hernandez Kauffman, Tina McLeod, Anh Selissen, Ronald Steffa, David Bolduc, Jaclyn Beerens, and Josh Chacona.
Heather Hall is the chief information officer at the Texas Workforce Commission. She leads the Texas Association for Strategic Solutions and Collaboration in Computing (TASSCC) and participates in several other professional organizations. Hall holds degrees from Baylor University, The University of Texas at Austin, and the University of North Texas.
Sylvia Hernandez Kauffman serves as chief information officer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She previously worked as Inspector General for HHS and held leadership roles within the agency. Before joining public service, she was a software development leader at Exxon Company, USA. Kauffman earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a master's from Harvard University.
Tina McLeod is chief information officer for the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Her previous roles include deputy director of IT applications at Texas Health and Human Services and advisory board member for Austin Women in Technology. She graduated from UT Austin with a degree in computer science.
Anh Selissen is chief information officer for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). She has led TxDOT’s IT division since 2019 and was formerly deputy CIO at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Selissen studied geology at Baylor University and geoscience at Michigan Technological University.
Ronald Steffa serves as chief financial officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). He previously held positions as deputy CFO and director of contracts at TDCJ. Steffa is also active in his church community in Huntsville. He holds business degrees from Sam Houston State University.
David Bolduc heads the Office of Public Insurance Counsel as agency head and public counsel. His career includes roles with multiple state agencies over nearly five decades as an attorney in government service and private practice. Bolduc studied government at Bowdoin College before earning his law degree from UT School of Law.
Jaclyn Beerens is vice president of consulting services at CGI. She has served on advisory boards including TASSCC and Healthier Texas. Beerens graduated with a management degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Josh Chacona works as regional vice president of solution engineering at Snowflake, with prior experience at Oracle, National Instruments, and Scapa North America. He holds an engineering degree from California State University.
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