Governor Greg Abbott has appointed 21 individuals to the Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force. The members will serve terms that last at the Governor’s discretion. The task force is responsible for analyzing risk factors that may lead to family violence criminal homicide, advising and providing resources to state agencies and nonprofit organizations, developing and improving training for professionals who interact with survivors of family violence, collecting and analyzing information organized by region, and making policy recommendations to assist the state.
The appointees include professionals from various fields such as law enforcement, public health, legal services, advocacy organizations, academia, and government agencies. Among those named are Heather Bellino of Austin, chief executive officer of the Texas Advocacy Project; Jia Benno of Austin, injury prevention unit director for the Texas Department of State Health Services; Megan Bermea of Cedar Park, program director for the Office of Family Services at Texas Health and Human Services; Hillary England of Pflugerville, director of trafficking and sexual violence prevention programs at the Office of the Governor; Allison Garcia of Round Rock, deputy chief of government affairs at the Office of the Attorney General; Mariah Gardner of Converse, field manager at CVS Health; Staley Heatly of Vernon, Wilbarger County Attorney; Kathryn Jacob of Waxahachie, president and CEO of The Archway (formerly SafeHaven) in Tarrant County; Julie Kinser of Amarillo, director at Department of Family and Protective Services – Child Protective Services; Kevin Lawrence of Pflugerville, executive director at Texas Municipal Police Association; Daisy Lopez of Brownsville with Friendship of Women Inc.; Heather Mahaffey from Grayson Crisis Center in Denison; Michael McNutt from Department of State Health Services in Round Rock; Jarvis Parsons from Brazos County District Attorney’s office in Bryan; April Propst from Office of Court Administration in Abilene; Hannah Rahaman from Crime Victims Services Division in Katy; Michelle Shields from Family Support Services in Amarillo; Chris Smyth from Texas Commission on Law Enforcement in Round Rock; Gloria Terry from Texas Council on Family Violence in Buda; Leila Wood from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in Austin; Jamie Wright from Department of Veterans Affairs’ Inspector General office in Houston.
According to the official website of Governor Greg Abbott, his office forms part of the executive branch within Texas state government. The office maintains its primary headquarters in Austin at the State Insurance Building. Governor Abbott has led this office since his election in 2014. His administration focuses on a range of priorities including job creation, economic opportunity expansion, education enhancement efforts, protection for individual liberties and parental empowerment regarding schooling decisions as well as southern border security initiatives.
The Office also leads statewide initiatives such as Operation Lone Star aimed at border security and supports efforts against child sex trafficking prevention. Under Abbott’s leadership Texas has achieved recognition including his inclusion among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list for 2024.
