Wendy Barron, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV), is dedicated to modernizing and improving motor vehicle services across Texas.
With more than 20 years of experience in Texas government, Wendy has built a reputation as an accomplished technology leader. Before becoming CIO, she served as Deputy CIO at TxDMV and led technology divisions at the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Texas Water Development Board. Her career has included roles such as data analyst, systems analyst, and project manager, each contributing to her deep expertise in technology and public service.
Wendy’s academic achievements include a BBA in Computer Information Systems and a Master of Public Administration, both from Texas State University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional, underscoring her ability to deliver results in complex, high-stakes projects.
Outside of work, Wendy enjoys spending time with her husband and their elementary-aged son. She has a strong connection to the Texas Hill Country, where she helps manage her family’s cattle ranch. An outdoor enthusiast, she finds balance and inspiration in nature.
Through her leadership and focus on building strategic partnerships, Wendy is driving meaningful change at TxDMV, paving the way for more efficient and accessible motor vehicle services across the state.

Amanda Crawford is the executive director of the Texas Department of Information Resources and the CIO for the State of Texas. In this role, she is responsible for the leadership, direction and daily operations of DIR, an agency with an annual fiscal profile of more than $6 billion per year. DIR's responsibilities include protecting the state's data and critical technology infrastructure, managing a multi-billion-dollar cooperative contracts program and providing strategic technology leadership, solutions and innovation to all levels of Texas government.
Prior to leading the team at DIR, Mandy served at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas for more than 17 years. She held various positions at the OAG, including ultimately serving as the deputy attorney general for Administration and General Counsel.
Mandy is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

President, e.Republic

Dustin Haisler is the President of e.Republic - the nation's leading state and local government data, media, and events company - and the parent company of Government Technology, Governing, and the Center for Digital Government. He is also active in the academic and research community, serving as co-lead of the Center for Public Sector AI, an Eisenhower Fellow (2019 Zhi-Xing Program), board member of the Good Governance Worldwide Academic Journal, and Program Faculty for the Certified Public Management Program (CPM) at Texas State University.
As the former Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Assistant City Manager for the City of Manor, Texas, Dustin quickly built a reputation as an early innovator in civic tech. He pioneered government use of commercial technologies not previously used in the public sector, including open innovation, Quick-Response (QR) barcodes, crowdsourcing, and gamification. Recognized as one of the nation’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers for government technology, he was also named a Business Transformation 150 Leader by Constellation Research. His work has been featured in Wired, Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, the Today Show on NBC, The Economist, CNN, Fortune, and Citizenville by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Most recently, Dustin has led initiatives to help public sector agencies safely adopt and integrate artificial intelligence technologies through public speaking, research, training, expert testimonies, and the development of AI tools.
Dustin graduated Magna Cum Laude from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and has conducted research with universities around the globe on incubating next-generation technologies in government, including the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University and the University of Trento, Italy. He is a frequent speaker and expert advisor who collaborates with Fortune 500 companies, investors, government agencies, academia, startups, and non-profits worldwide on the global govtech market, public sector technology trends, and artificial intelligence development.

Heather Hall has held a variety of roles at several agencies, including Office of the Attorney General, Department of Human Services, Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Health and Human Services Commission. She previously served as chief information officer (CIO) for DADS and has served as CIO for the Texas Workforce Commission since March 2019.
Throughout her career, Heather has volunteered her time and professional skills to several professional organizations including Project Management Institute (PMI), Austin Chapter; Executive Women in Texas Government; State Agency Coordinating Committee, IT Subcommittee; and Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC).  She will serve a two-year term as TASSCC President starting September 1, 2024. 
Heather is a PMI-certified Project Management Professional and holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Baylor University, a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in Information Science from The University North Texas.

Jamie started her career with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) as an Accountant and over the next 10 years, advanced to management positions in the financial branch. During that time, she earned her M.B.A in Management Information Systems and accepted a position as a Systems Analyst and continued to advance within the Information Technology branch. She served in senior roles within Information Technology (IT), leading opportunities to partner with the resource branches to increase business and service delivery to internal and external customers.  Additional responsibilities included the oversight and planning of agency technology-based services and systems, providing counsel and advice on business and strategic initiatives related to technology activities. In addition, she oversaw the Agency Technology Governance Committee, which entails managing the agency technology portfolio, strategic planning, and agency compliance with IT policies and guidelines. She also led or was part of complex vendor and custom development projects and provided oversight on vendor contract management. In November 2021, she was named the new Chief Information Officer/IT Director for TPWD.  Jamie proudly reached her twenty-two year milestone at TPWD in June, after getting the opportunity to work within and among many different branches and programs throughout the agency.
She lives by the agency mission, even away from TPWD, you can find her outside, with family hunting, hiking, camping and fishing on days she is not at work.  She is driven to find ways to contribute to TPWD, keeping these amazing resources for her boys and generations to come.

Drew McGrath is currently serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).  He oversees an Information Technology team consisting of 274 staff and roughly 170 contractors.  Drew has worked in various IT roles for the past 30 years in the private sector, as a contractor, and as an employee of various Texas agencies.  Over this timeframe, he has served in various roles including: software developer/engineer, analyst, tester, database administrator, architect, applications manager, operations manager, technology director, Deputy CIO, and now CIO. He prides himself on not only being a leader and decision-maker, but also a mentor, listener, motivator, and coach for his leadership team and staff as they grow into future leaders and CIOs.
Fun Fact:  Drew and his wife are the happy owners of 7 golden retrievers and 2 great Pyrenees mixes.

Steve is the Deputy Executive Director at DIR. He has served the State of Texas as a House of Representatives staffer and with three agencies before coming to DIR. Steve has over 20 years of experience working with governments and international organizations at the state and national level in areas such as: governmental relations; communications; management and leadership; and strategic initiatives. He has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University with a double major in Philosophy and Political Science.

Anh Selissen serves as the Chief Information Officer at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a $500 plus million annual information technology portfolio. Anh has served as the Chief Information Officer for TxDOT since September 2019. In this position, Anh serves as a principal technology advisor to TxDOT’s Executive Director and the senior leadership team. She leads the department’s efforts to transform TxDOT by implementing smart technology solutions, promoting innovation, and strengthening TxDOT’s cybersecurity. She is responsible for transforming the agency’s technology services to exceed the expectations of the customers to meet the mission of the agency – Connecting you with Texas.
Anh has led information technology organizations in both the public and private sectors. She previously held positions as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NuStats Inc., Director of Enterprise Systems at the University of Texas at Austin, and Deputy CIO at the Texas Comptroller’s Office. In each of her leadership roles, Anh has built a diverse range of experience working across the organization to deliver IT services to meet the needs of the organization and customer community. She is passionate about providing strong customer service and strives to work with her team to provide strong support and services to the organization and their customers. This has resulted in improved interactions with the end user communities and positive positioning of the organizations. Among several professional affiliations, Anh is on the AASHTO Transportation Technology Committee. She served two years as President of the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications, and IT Chair of the State Agency Coordinating Council.
Most recently in April 2023, Anh received a State Leadership of the Year award from StateScoop 50. In 2022, Anh was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the CIO Roundtable 2022. She was named one of the 2021 Boss Ladies by the non-profit, Austin Women in Technology. She received the 2021 IT Executive of the Year Award sponsored by Society of Information Management (SIM) Austin. In 2020 under Anh’s leadership, the Information Technology Division was awarded the TxDOT Grit Award for exemplary performance during the agency’s ransomware event. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Austin Women in Technology - Women in Tech Excellence Award also sponsored by SIM.