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 Heather Hall, Ph.D., chief information officer at the Texas Workforce Commission. She also leads the Texas Association for Strategic Solutions and Collaboration in Computing (TASSCC), participates in the State Agency Coordinating Committee’s IT Subcommittee, and is involved with the Project Management Institute and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Hall holds degrees from Baylor University, The University of Texas at Austin, and a doctorate from the University of North Texas.
Sylvia Hernandez Kauffman serves as chief information officer at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHS). Her previous roles at HHS include Inspector General and other leadership positions. Before joining public service, she worked in software development 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. She was formerly deputy director of IT applications at HHS and served on the Austin Women in Technology advisory board. McLeod graduated from UT Austin.
Anh Selissen leads information technology for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as chief information officer since 2019. She previously held IT leadership roles at the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Selissen has degrees from Baylor University and Michigan Technological University.
Ronald Steffa is chief financial officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), where he has also served as deputy CFO and director of contracts and procurement. He is active in his local church community and holds business degrees from Sam Houston State University.
David Bolduc heads the Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC) as agency head and public counsel. His career includes legal roles across several state agencies including OPIC, Texas Department of Insurance, Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Attorney General’s Office, and Department of Agriculture. Bolduc studied government at Bowdoin College before earning a law degree from UT School of Law.
Jaclyn Beerens works as vice president of consulting services at CGI. Her past board memberships include TASSCC and Healthier Texas. Beerens received her management degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Josh Chacona is regional vice president for solution engineering at Snowflake, having previously worked with Oracle, National Instruments, and Scapa North America in engineering roles. Chacona holds an engineering degree from California State University.
