Children's Commission Members & Staff
List of Commission, Committee and Collaborative Council members and staff
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The Honorable Eva Guzman
Justice, Supreme Court of Texas
Chair, Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families
Austin
The Honorable Eva Guzman was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in October 2009 by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. In June 2010, the Court appointed her Chair of the Children's Commission. She began her judicial career in 1999 as judge of the 309th Family District Court in Houston, and was appointed to the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in 2001, where she served until 2009.
Before taking the bench, Justice Guzman enjoyed a successful 10-year career in private law practice. She is a frequent presenter and panelist at educational seminars and conferences and has received numerous awards and honors, including the Hispanic National Bar Association's award for "Latina Judge of the Year," and the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation's "2009 Judge of the Year award." She has an extensive track record of community service, including membership on the board of Texas CASA, Inc. View Justice Guzman's expanded biography. |
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The Honorable Harriet O'Neill
Former Justice, Supreme Court of Texas
Chair Emeritus, Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families
Austin
The Honorable Harriet O'Neill retired from the Texas Supreme Court in 2010 after almost 12 years of service. Justice O'Neill spearheaded the creation of the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families and served as its first Chair from 2007 to 2010. She began her judicial career in 1992, when she was elected to the 152nd District Court in Houston. In 1995, Governor George W. Bush appointed her to the 14th Court of Appeals, and she won election to that seat in 1996.
Before assuming the bench, she had practiced law for 10 years, primarily complex business and commercial litigation. Justice O'Neill is a frequent author and speaker and has received numerous awards and honors, including being named the Appellate Justice of the Year in 2002, and again in 2006, by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists. |
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The Honorable Darlene Byrne
Vice Chair, Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families
Judge, 126th District Court
Austin
The Honorable Darlene Byrne has served as judge of the 126th Judicial District Court in Travis County since January 2001. Prior to her election in 2000, she practiced for thirteen years in the areas of employment, commercial and governmental entity litigation. Judge Byrne is a member of the Travis County Juvenile Justice Board and a founding team member of the Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court. She has served on many boards and committees related to law and child welfare as well as community organizations such as the Austin Rape Crisis Center. |
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The Honorable Karin Bonicoro
Judge, Child Protection Court of Central Texas
Austin
The Honorable Karin Bonicoro is the Associate Judge for the Child Protection Court of Central Texas, a position she has held since June 6, 2004. This court serves seven counties in the central Texas area (Caldwell, Colorado, Comal, Hays, Gonzales, Guadalupe, and Lavaca counties). The court's docket is devoted exclusively to hearing child abuse and neglect cases. She is the current chair of the Children's Commission Technology Committee She served as the Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee, Office of Court Administration Child Protection Courts from 2007 to February 2010. She has been speaker and author on topics relating to child abuse & neglect at various CLE programs. |
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Audrey Deckinga
Assistant Commissioner, Child Protective Services
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
Austin
Audrey Deckinga's 30-year career in human services includes 18 years in Child Protective Services in Texas, where she began as a caseworker. At CPS, she has been the division administrator for placement and services and the director of policy and programs. Before assuming her role as Assistant Commissioner in 2009, she served three years as a senior policy analyst for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. |
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The Honorable Camile Glasscock DuBose
Judge, 38th District Court
Uvalde
The Honorable Camile Glasscock DuBose served for 10 years as a child protection associate judge covering a 10-county area in Southwest Texas before her 2008 election to the 38th District Court. Judge DuBose was a trial attorney before serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the two years before coming to the bench. Judge DuBose is a member of, or chairs, many boards and committees related to child welfare and the law. She was also a member of the Court Improvement Program Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care. |
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Bruce Esterline
Vice President for Grants, The Meadows Foundation
Dallas
Bruce Esterline is Vice President for Grants for the Meadows Foundation, a private philanthropic institution established in Dallas in 1948 that in 2006 distributed more than $30 million in grants. Mr. Esterline oversees the process of reviewing grant applications and preparing recommendations for the Foundation's President and Board of Directors. Mr. Esterline has had a long career in leadership roles in government and non profits. |
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Gabriel Fuentes
Ex-Officio member appointed by the Governor
Appointments Manager, Office of the Governor
Austin
Gabriel Fuentes advises Governor Rick Perry regarding gubernatorial appointments to state boards and commissions. |
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Stewart W. Gagnon
Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Houston
Stewart Gagnon has been a partner at Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. since 1989 and is head of its Family Law Practice Group. He has been certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Family Law since 1980, and is recognized as a leader in the area of Family Law in Texas. He serves on numerous boards and committees related to family law and has received many professional awards and honors. |
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The Honorable Helen Giddings
Ex-Officio member appointed by the Speaker of the House
Representative, Texas House of Representatives
Desoto
The Honorable Helen Giddings has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1993. Representative Giddings is a lifelong resident of Dallas County and has had an extensive career in business. She is a member of the Appropriations, and Business and Interest Committees. Before the legislature, she served as executive director of Leadership Development at the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Dallas Alliance. In 1989 She founded her own business, Multiplex, Inc.
Giddings has served as President of the bi-partisan 1600 member, National Foundation of Women Legislators and is the first woman of color and first Texan to be elected president in the group's sixty-four year history. Her public service has earned her special recognition and many awards, including in 2001 being named by Ebony magazine one of the Top 100 plus Most Influential African Americans. View her biography here. |
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The Honorable Bonnie Crane Hellums
Judge, 247th Family Court
Houston
The Honorable Bonnie Crane Hellums, who has been on the bench since 1995, both graduated from law school and became a licensed professional counselor in 1983. She holds a Master of Education degree in Counseling and Rehabilitation Counseling and is licensed as a marriage and family therapist, an alcohol and drug abuse counselor, and an advanced addiction specialist. She is a public speaker, an advocate of pro bono work and community service, serves on numerous boards, and was instrumental in creating Harris County's first Family Drug Court. |
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The Honorable Rob Hofmann
Associate Judge, Child Protection Court of the Hill Country
Mason
The Honorable Rob Hofmann has served since 2002 as the Associate Judge for the Child Protection Court of the Hill Country, a court with jurisdiction over all CPS cases in 12 counties covering more than 10,000 square miles. Judge Hofmann was the Mason County Attorney for five years before his appointment to the bench. He has served on several committees and boards of state and national organizations related to child welfare and has received a number of awards, including Texas CASA's judge of the year. He currently serves as chair of the Texas Blueprint Implementation Task Force. |
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Joyce M. James
Associate Deputy Executive Commissioner, Center for Elimination of Disproportionality & Disparities, Texas Health & Human Services Commission
Austin
Joyce James began her professional career as a Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworker in 1980 and has established an impressive 30-year history in the field of Child Welfare. She has been a strong advocate for children, youth, and families, and an influential voice in raising and increasing public awareness about Disproportionality in child welfare and other child and family serving systems. She has received numerous awards for her leadership, advocacy, and service to children, youth, and families, and specifically for her efforts to address Disproportionality in Child Welfare in Texas. |
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The Honorable Patricia Macias
Judge, 388th District Court
El Paso
The Honorable Patricia Macias serves as presiding judge of the 388th Family District Court in El Paso. She was instrumental in developing El Paso's Children's Court, which was designated a Model Court by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). She has led the development of a state pilot project to unify the El Paso Family Courts. Judge Macias begins her tenure in July 2008 as the President of NCJFCJ. She has received numerous awards and honors for her professional achievements. |
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Dr. Octavio N. Martinez Jr.
Executive Director
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin
Dr. Martinez was appointed executive director of the Hogg Foundation's in 2008. He is a clinical psychiatrist whose academic credentials include a master's degree in public health from Harvard University's School of Public Health, a doctor's degree in medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and master's and bachelor's degrees in business administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin. |
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The Honorable Michael Massengale
Justice, First Court of Appeals
Houston
Michael Massengale was appointed to the First Court of Appeals by Governor Rick Perry in 2009, and he was elected in 2010. Michael is a former partner of the Baker Botts law firm in Houston, where for nearly 10 years he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in business disputes. Among other civic and professional activities, he is the current chair of the Houston Bar Association's County Law Library Committee and is a member of the Ethics and Professionalism Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. |
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Carolyne Rodriguez
Director, Texas Strategic Consulting, Casey Family Programs
Austin
Carolyne Rodriguez opened the Austin field office for Casey Family Programs 20 years ago and became its first Division Director. In 1997, she became Regional Vice President for Casey Family Programs Southern Region. She is now the leader of Texas Strategic consulting, a collaborative effort between Casey Family Programs and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) that has brought innovations to CPS programs. Ms. Rodriguez has been a leader in child welfare for decades. |
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The Honorable Dean Rucker
Presiding Judge, Seventh Administrative Judicial Region
Judge, 318th District Court
Midland
The Honorable Dean Rucker has served as Presiding Judge for the Seventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas since 1998 and as judge of the 318th Judicial District in Midland County since 1988. Judge Rucker was a longtime member of the Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care, created in 1994. He is a member of the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. He has served in numerous leadership capacities and currently chairs the Children's Commission's Legislative Committee.
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Fairy Davenport Rutland
Director, Appeals Division, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Austin
Fairy Davenport Rutland is the Vice Chair of the State Bar Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. She has spent her entire 30-plus-years legal career working for the cause of child protection and advocacy. The State Bar Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect in 2007 renamed its annual Outstanding Service to Children and Families Award in her honor. Ms. Rutland was also a longtime member of the Supreme Court Task Force on Foster care, formed in 1994. |
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The Honorable Cheryl Lee Shannon
Judge, 305th District Court
Dallas
The Honorable Cheryl Lee Shannon has been a juvenile district court judge since 1994, after 10 years in private practice and four years as an associate judge. She started her legal career practicing criminal, family and juvenile law, but gravitated toward defending respondents in abuse and neglect cases, parental rights terminations and juvenile guardianships. Judge Shannon is Chair of the Juvenile Probation Commission of Texas and of the Dallas County Juvenile Board and serves on many other boards and task forces related to child welfare. |
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Vicki Spriggs
CEO, Texas CASA, Inc.
Austin
Vicki Spriggs was named chief executive officer of Texas CASA in January 2012 after serving 16 years as executive director of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. At the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, Ms. Spriggs supervised a staff of 78 and worked with 165 chief juvenile probation officers and their staff across the state. She served as a management auditor for the agency and then worked for two years as a casework manager for the Travis County Juvenile Court. She returned to the commission in 1989 as director of training and staff development, and rose through the ranks before being named executive director in 1995. |
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Terry Tottenham
Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Austin
Mr. Tottenham has been a partner at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. since 1978. His practice encompasses complex litigation in both federal and state courts throughout the United States. Mr. Tottenham heads the firm-wide pharmaceutical and medical device litigation practice group and is a former Partner-in-Charge of the Austin location. Terry is certified in Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has received numerous professional honors and served in leadership positions for many professional associations. |
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G. Allan Van Fleet
Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Houston
G. Allan Van Fleet is a prominent antitrust attorney and litigator. Since 1998, he has worked on issues regarding children in the justice system through Texas Appleseed Center, of which he is a director and former chair and with whom he helped write and lobby for the Fair Defense Act. He is also widely published and active in pro bono work, and has received numerous honors and awards, including being named by Texas Monthly a "Texas Super Lawyer," one of the top 100 in the state. |
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The Honorable Judy Warne
Judge, 248th District Court
Houston
After practicing family law for 21 years, Governor Perry appointed Judge Warner to the 257th Judicial District Court of Harris County, which is a court with family law jurisdiction. She has been Board Certified in Family Law for 20 years, and has taught family law at South Texas College of Law for 15 years. She has served on many boards and committees including the Houston Bar Association Family Law Section, Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists and the State Bar of Texas Family Law Council. She served as Chair of the Legislative Committee for the Board of 59 District Court Judges of Harris County. |
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The Honorable Jeff Wentworth
Ex-Officio member appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
Senator, Texas Senate
San Antonio
Senator Jeff Wentworth is serving his sixth term in the Texas Senate where he was president pro tem in 2004-2005 and where he was inaugurated as Governor of Texas for a Day on November 20, 2004. A fourth generation Texan, he was first elected to the Texas Senate in 1992 after serving nearly five years in the Texas House of Representatives. In the Senate, he is chairman of the Committee on Jurisprudence. He is also a member of the Texas Judicial Council. A graduate of Texas A&M University and the Texas Tech University School of Law, Senator Wentworth was president of his law school student body and served as national president of the American Bar Association Law Student Division. He is a former president of the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association. In 2000, he was named the Distinguished Alumnus of Texas Tech University School of Law. Senator Wentworth is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and the San Antonio Bar Foundation. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in April 2008 appointed Senator Wentworth to the Children's Commission as an ex officio member. |
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Commission Staff
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Tina Amberboy
Executive Director
Children's Commission
Tina Amberboy joined the Supreme Court of Texas as the Executive Director of the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families in May 2007. She is responsible for developing and executing strategies of the Children's Commission, as well as the day to day functioning of the Commission, which is charged with improving the judicial practice, policy and legislation affecting the Texas child welfare system. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Baylor Law School where she teaches a family rights and litigation class to law students. Prior to working for the Supreme Court, she worked as an attorney representing children and parents in the child welfare system. She earned a Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School in 1996 and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. |
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Mari Aaron
Executive Assistant
Children's Commission
Mari Aaron came to the Supreme Court in 2010. She began her public service career at Dallas Independent School District working for the Student Support Services division, focusing on dropout prevention efforts. Prior to joining administration, she taught elementary school. |
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Rashonda Thomas
Grants & Finance Specialist
Children's Commission
Rashonda Thomas joined the Supreme Court accounting department in November 2009. She joined the Children's Commission in February 2011 as the Grants / Finance Specialist where she is responsible for budget management, monitoring and analysis relating to the federal grant awards. |
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Teri Moran
Communications Manager
Children's Commission
Teri Moran came to the Supreme Court from the Texas Center for the Judiciary where she helped manage the Court Improvement Program and Children's Justice Act grants, and staffed the Supreme Court Task Force on Foster Care. She has a background in journalism. |
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Tiffany Roper
Assistant Director
Children's Commission
Tiffany Roper came to the Supreme Court from the Center for Public Policy Priorities where she was a child welfare policy analyst. She represented the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in child abuse and neglect litigation as a prosecutor, and represented children in the Texas foster care system as a supervising attorney in the Children's Rights Clinic at The University of Texas School of Law. |
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Kristi Taylor
Program Manager
Children's Commission
Kristi Taylor returned to the Supreme Court in 2010 after a two-year hiatus, having begun in 2006 before the creation of the Children's Commission. Ms. Taylor began her legal career in commercial real estate, but found her calling in child welfare law where she spent most of her career. For the past ten years, she has focused on representing parties in CPS cases as an attorney ad litem. |
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