AUSTIN - The Texas Lyceum will swear in Houston energy executive Castlen Kennedy as its 2021 president and welcome 16 new directors from across Texas during its annual Investiture ceremony on January 28 in Austin, Texas. The outgoing president - Austin’s Laura Dixon - will move into the role of Chair and Dallas public affairs executive and civic strategist Sarah Jackson will be formally named President-elect for 2022. The appointments of Dixon, Kennedy and Jackson will mark the first time The Texas Lyceum has been led by a trio of women.

“I am honored to lead this unique organization during a time when the ideals on which were founded and continue to operate are more important than ever,” said Kennedy. “Amidst the backdrop of unprecedented political division exacerbated by the ongoing global pandemic, The Texas Lyceum serves as a model for bringing together diverse and diverging viewpoints in an effort to collectively move Texas forward.”

Kennedy currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Apache Corporation, a Houston-based energy company. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with her Bachelor’s in Business Administration in 2001 and earned dual-Master’s in public affairs and energy and earth resources in 2011. 

The 96-member Texas Lyceum board acts as a catalyst to bring together diverse opinions and expertise to focus on national and state issues and seeks to emphasize constructive private sector, public sector and individual responses. The Lyceum selects new directors to fill the seats of outgoing directors annually through a rigorous application process that ensures the 96 directors represent the breadth of the diversity in Texas. The selection process ensures Lyceum directors are active and involved in their communities, have demonstrated leadership abilities and are eager to contribute their talents and time to the betterment of Texas. The Texans selected to serve as Directors in the Class of 2021 are: 

Austin
Cary Dupuy - Texas Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association (Texas Tech University, B.A., MPA)

Hon. Dustin M. Howell - 200th District Court Judge (University of Texas at Austin, B.A.; Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D.)

Canyon
Josh L. Winegarner - Director of Government Relations at Texas Cattle Feeders Association (McMurry University, Hardin-Simmons University)

Corpus Christi
Omar Garcia - Chief External Affairs Officer at Port Corpus Christi (St. Edward’s University, B.A.)

Dallas
Rachel G. Baughman - Senior Pastor at Oak Lawn United Methodist Church (Texas Wesleyan University; Drew Theological Seminary)

Jennifer L. Chandler - Managing Director, Market President at Bank of America (University of Texas at Austin, B.A.; University of Dallas, MBA)

El Paso
Mario A. Porras - Director of Binational Affairs at El Paso Community Foundation (University of Texas at El Paso, B.S.)

Angelica A. Rosales - Business Development Executive at Sundt Construction (University of Texas at Austin, B.S., University of Texas at El Paso, M.S.)

Houston
GeJuan Cole - Director of Tactical Projects at Williams (Morehouse College, Georgia Tech, B.S.; University of Houston, MBA)

Elizabeth A. McGee - Director of Innovation and Engagement at Intel (University of Washington, B.S.; Northwestern University, MBA) 

Lila Ontiveros - Strategic Accounts at Palantir Technologies (Cornell University, B.S.)

Hon. Ravi K. Sandill - 127th District Court Judge (University of Texas at Austin, B.A.; University of Houston Law Center, J.D.)

Lubbock
Dr. Nathaniel S. Wright - Director of the Masters in Public Administration Program at Texas Tech University (Binghamton University, B.A., MPA; University of Kansas, Ph.D)

San Antonio
Jordan Ghawi - Director of Strategic Initiatives at Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) (The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, B.S.; Rutgers University - Newark, MPA)

Bret Piatt - Chairman at Porthcawl Holdings (California State University, Chico, B.S.; Quantic School of Business and Technology, EMBA)

Waco
Jessica Attas - Vice President of Public Policy, Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce (Baylor University, B.A, M.A.) 

The Texas Lyceum is the only nonprofit, nonpartisan, stateside leadership organization focused on identifying the state’s next generation of leaders and providing a forum for civil discourse. The Texas Lyceum hosts meetings and conferences, publishes a nationally-acclaimed annual poll, and offers scholarship and fellowship programs all focused on bringing together diverse opinions and expertise to emphasize constructive private-sector, public-sector and individual responses to the issues facing the state and the nation.

Kennedy will lead The Lyceum’s 96-member board of directors in discussion on a variety of topics in 2021, including COVID-19’s impact on the Texas economy; opportunities and obstacles of aging - both policy and personal; the science, economics and politics of energy in Texas; and the balancing of commerce and conservation on the Texas coast. Read more from Kennedy about her 2021 priorities on LinkedIn.

Results from The Texas Lyceum’s nationally-recognized annual poll measuring Texans’ opinions on a number of public policy issues and the global pandemic’s effect on the state are set to be announced on Thursday, January 28. The poll results announcement will be followed closely by The Texas Lyceum’s 35th Public Conference - The Texas Economy: Wrecked, in Reckoning or Recovery Amidst COVID-19 - which will be held virtually January 28-29. More information, including conference registration is available at texaslyceum.org 

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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT Lindsey Campbell

[email protected]

210-998-9000 

HEADSHOTS: http://bit.ly/TLInvestitureHeadshots21