Gov. Greg Abbott has officially established the Public Sector Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems Advisory Board after appointing its inaugural eight members. All appointment terms are set to expire Sept. 1, 2027.
The board was founded as part of the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act, which was passed in June 2025. Chosen as members of the public with expertise in AI technologies and related areas, the board will be responsible for regulating the use of AI systems within state agencies.
Heather Hall currently serves as chief information officer (CIO) and IT at the Texas Workforce Commission. She has been with the commission for nine years, previously serving as deputy CIO of planning and development and director of technology business services. Among her 24 years of experience in the public sector, Hall has served in leadership roles with the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Texas Department of Human Services and other state agencies. Hall has earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Information Science from the University of North Texas and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin).
Sylvia Hernandez Kauffman is CIO of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHS). She has more than three decades of experience in executive and senior leadership roles in IT and state government. Kauffman has been with HHS since 2012, previously serving as inspector general, acting inspector general and principal deputy inspector general among other leadership roles. She also served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a business program manager for the IT division, portal project manager and senior IT policy analyst for nearly five years. She graduated from Harvard University with a Master of Public Policy degree and from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
Tina McLeod joins the AI Systems Advisory Board as she currently serves as CIO for the Texas Office of the Attorney General. With more than 12 years of state government experience under her belt, McLeod has previously served as division chief for IT Services and deputy IT director for the Attorney General’s Office as well as deputy director of IT applications for HHS. She has a computer science bachelor’s degree from UT-Austin.
Anh Selissen has served as CIO for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the past six years. Throughout her 27 years of public service, Selissen has served in IT-related leadership roles for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, UT-Austin and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). She has a master’s degree in geoscience from Michigan Technological University and a bachelor’s degree in geoscience from Baylor University.
Ronald Steffa works as the CIO for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), the latest of his roles with the department. Prior to his current position, he was deputy chief financial officer and director of contracts and procurement with the agency. He has been with TDCJ since 1992. Steffa has a Master and Bachelor of Business Administration from Sam Houston State University.
David Bolduc is the current agency head and public counsel at the Office of the Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC). He brings more than two decades of public sector leadership experience to the role, serving in various legal positions with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Texas Office of the Attorney General, Texas Department of Insurance and Texas Department of Agriculture. Bolduc earned his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in government from Bowdoin College.
Jaclyn Beerens has been working with an IT services and consulting company as a public liaison to various public sector agencies for the past four years. She currently serves as vice president of consulting services. Beerens formerly served as an advisory board member for the Texas Association for Strategic Solutions and Collaboration in Computing as well as Healthier Texas. She has a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Josh Chacona joins the AI Systems Advisory Board as he currently serves as regional vice president of solution engineering for a software company. Chacona brings 12 years of experience working in a variety of engineering capacities for multiple private companies. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from California State University.
Photo by Thelightang, Public domain, from Wikimedia Commons
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