Governor Greg Abbott has named Steve Austin chair of the State Board of Dental Examiners. The governor has also appointed Diane Garza for a term set to expire February 1, 2017, appointed Bryan Henderson, II, Jorge Quirch and Rich Villa for terms set to expire February 1, 2021, and reappointed Renee Cornett and David Tillman for terms set to expire February 1, 2021, to the Board. The Board oversees licensing and regulation of dental care providers in Texas and enforces Texas laws regulating the practice of dentistry.
 
Steve Austin of Amarillo is a dentist in private practice and past adjunct faculty member at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry. He is a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association and Western Regional Examination Board, and a member and past president of the Panhandle Academy of General Dentistry and the Panhandle District Dental Society. Austin received a Bachelor of Science from West Texas State University, Master of Theology from the Dallas Theological Institute and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Baylor College of Dentistry.
 
Diane Garza of Brownsville is a non-profit fundraising and educational consultant. She is a member of the Phi Kapa Phi Honor Society and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Museum of Brownsville, Board of Directors of the Brownsville Junior Service League, Pan American Round Table1, Development Board of St. Joseph Academy, Success by Six Board of Directors and Guadalupe Regional Middle School Board of Directors, where she served as the volunteer development director. Additionally, she has served as the chairman of the Brownsville Red Cross and the Brownsville Community Foundation Board of Trustees and as the vice chairman of Tip of Texas Girl Scout Council. She has also fundraised for Texas equestrian sports as the founder and chairman of the Border Equestrian Sports Association and as founder of the non-profit equestrian project Querencia. Garza received a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University, Master of Science from Pan American University and a Doctorate of Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin.
 
Bryan Henderson, II of Dallas is a dentist anesthesiologist and a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry. He is a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, American Academy of Pain Management and the Dallas County Dental Society. Additionally, he is a member and past president of American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists, board member of Woodhill Medical Park and board member and treasurer for the Orange Tree Association. Henderson received a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin, Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Baylor College of Dentistry and a certificate in anesthesia from the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
 
Jorge Quirch of Missouri City is a general dentist at DDS Associates in Houston. He is a clinical associate professor at the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston and a member of the American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Greater Houston Dental Society and the Southwest Society of Oral Medicine. Additionally, he received his fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 2007. Quirch received his Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston.
 
Rich Villa of Austin is a partner at Streusand, Landon & Ozburn. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, Austin Bar Association and the Austin Young Lawyers Association. Additionally, he is a member of Manos de Cristo Board of Directors and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Villa received a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College and a Juris Doctor from Baylor University School of Law.
 
Renee Cornett of Austin is a licensed dental hygienist and chair of the Austin Community College District Department of Dental Hygiene. She is a member of the American Dental Education Association, American Dental Hygiene Association, Texas Dental Hygiene Directors' Association, Texas Dental Hygiene Educators' Association, Texas Community College Teachers' Association and Sigma Phi Alpha Dental Hygiene Honor Society. She is also a member of the Austin Community College HIPAA Task Force, dental hygiene examiner for the Western Regional Dental Examining Board, and past chair of the Texas Dental Hygiene Advisory Committee. Cornett received a Bachelor of Arts from Carroll College and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
 
David Tillman of Aledo is a general dentist in private practice in Fort Worth. He is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, American Society of Orthodontics and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. He is a member of the Aledo Independent School District Board of Directors and a volunteer for the American Dental Association Give Kids a Smile Program, Texas Dental Association Save a Smile Program, John Peter Smith Dental Clinic and Texas Mission of Mercy. Tillman received a Bachelor of Science from Baylor University and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston, and completed a one year general dental practice residency program at Saint Anthony hospital in Oklahoma City.