Texas House Speaker Joe Straus is adding key policy advisors, Senior Health and Human Services and Senior Business and Regulatory Affairs among others, to his Capitol staff in preparation for the legislative session that begins in January.
Heather Fleming will serve as Senior Health and Human Services Policy Advisor to the Speaker. Fleming comes to the Speaker’s office from the staff of the House Appropriations Committee, where she served as a budget analyst and focused on agencies related to health and human services. Before joining Appropriations, she was the longtime Chief of Staff to former Rep. Jim McReynolds. She is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University. Fleming replaces Jennifer Deegan, who served on the Speaker’s staff from 2009 until earlier this month.
Erika Akpan will be Senior Business and Regulatory Affairs Advisor to the Speaker. She is a longtime aide to Sen. John Carona, serving most recently as his Legislative Director. She also worked as a Policy Analyst for the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, where she specialized in energy and telecommunications issues, and the Senate Committee on Transportation and Homeland Security, where she specialized in public safety and homeland security. She is a graduate of Texas State University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Akpan replaces Dan Madru, who worked for Speaker Straus for two years.
Earlier this year, Speaker Straus hired Brady Franks as Senior Budget and Policy Advisor. Franks, who has worked on the staffs of the House Appropriations and Transportation committees, focuses on issues related to transportation and public safety. He is a graduate of UT-Austin. In addition, Victor Mendoza is joining the Speaker’s office as Policy Advisor and Counsel.