Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

James M. Bass is the Chief Financial Officer of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). He is responsible for management of the Finance Division, which now includes programming and scheduling of all transportation projects and letting management activities associated with project delivery. Bass began his TxDOT career in 1985 working summers in the Fort Worth District, where he maintained records and audited field measurements. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at UT, while also working part-time as an engineering aide. After graduation, Bass became an accounting clerk in the Finance Division's Revenue Accounting Section, and was soon promoted to budget analyst in the Budget and Forecasting Section. As manager in the Budget and Forecasting Branch in 1997, Bass worked on preparation of TxDOT's Legislative Appropriations Request and Operating Budget, and corresponded with the Legislative Budget Board, State Auditor's Office, and the Office of the Texas Comptroller. He also worked on TxDOT's Cash Forecasting System for the State Highway Fund, which details revenue and expenditures on a monthly basis. Bass was selected as division director effective November 1999, and his title was changed to Chief Financial Officer in 2005.

Amadeo Saenz Jr., P.E., is executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Under Texas Transportation Commission direction, he manages, directs, and implements TxDOT policies, programs, and operating strategies. He also represents TxDOT before the Texas Legislature and other entities. He became executive director Oct. 1, 2007.After earning a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering (with honors) at the University of Texas at Austin, Saenz joined TxDOT in 1978 in the Pharr District as an engineering laboratory assistant. Working within the district, he progressed through various positions including engineering assistant, assistant area engineer, assistant field operations engineer, and area engineer.He was named district engineer in the Pharr District in October 1993. He held this position until his appointment as Assistant Executive Director for Engineering Operations in Austin, which became effective Nov. 1, 2001. In this role, he implemented and managed TxDOT's engineering operations policies, programs and operating strategies according to federal and state laws and Texas Transportation Commission regulations and directives.A native of Hebbronville, Saenz is a past member of the Laredo and Pharr Rotary and was active with the McAllen-area Boy Scouts. He served on the Civil Engineering External Advisory Committee for the University of Texas at Austin. He owns and operates a small cattle ranch in South Texas, and he enjoys horseback riding and hunting.

Edwin Harrison, CIO is the Director of the Harris County Office of Financial Services and Harris County Investment and Debt Officer. He has been with the Office of Financial Services 20 years; his office is responsible for managing Harris County’s 4 billion dollar investment portfolio, 5.4 billion dollar long-term debt program, 1 billion dollar commercial paper program, and depository bank relationships. He is a member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Issuer Advisory Committee and Texas Association of Counties, County Investment Officer Certification Committee. Edwin earned his BBA in Finance/Accounting from Texas Southern University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America Sam Houston Area Council, Project Row House and Row House Community Development Corp. Edwin is also a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.

An accomplished lawyer with 20 years of experience, Barron's principal areas of practice are public finance, urban infrastructure and transportation development, state legislative matters, and public/private partnerships. He has significant municipal finance and public law experience in various areas, including traditional municipal finance, tax increment financing, urban infrastructure and redevelopment, and structuring public/private joint ventures. His public finance practice consists of serving as bond counsel for cities, counties, state agencies, and special districts, including local government corporations. In addition to bond counsel engagements, he also represents national and regional investment banking firms as underwriters counsel in bond and interest rate swap transactions. Barron also serves as general counsel to conduit bond issuers, tax increment reinvestment zones, local government corporations, municipal management districts, and certain not-for-profit corporations. Barron has recently focused his efforts on creating innovative financing opportunities for affordable housing and urban development.As a result of his work, Barron has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® as a leader in public finance law since 2006.

As the executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), Mr. Ward serves as the chief executive officer of a state agency employing over 300 scientists, engineers, lawyers, GIS professionals, finance officers, and related support staff. Under the direction of a six-member board appointed by the governor, the TWDB is responsible for planning the statewide development of water resources, financing water-related infrastructure, and maintaining and disseminating natural resource data for Texas, which includes water-bearing formations and watersheds. Mr. Ward was appointed to his current position in May 2002.Since 1997, the TWDB has coordinated with the state’s 16 planning regions to produce a state water plan every five years, which guides the development and use of water supplies for Texas for the ensuing 50 year period. The TWDB also administers several significant financial assistance programs. The Economically Distressed Areas Program provides grants for first-time water and sewer service to impoverished areas of the state. The Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds use a combination of Environmental Protection Agency capitalization grants and state match bonds to provide low-interest loans for water quality and water supply projects to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. The Water Infrastructure Fund provides low-interest and deferred-interest loans for preconstruction and construction costs of major water supply projects included in the state water plan. In addition, the TWDB administers significant science programs, which include collecting data, developing empirical volumetric models for groundwater formations, and determining environmental flow needs of significant stream segments and bays and estuaries. The TWDB purchases digital aerial orthoimagery and LIDAR to maintain the Strategic Mapping System dataset and to assist in floodplain mapping for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Mr. Ward serves on the board of the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities (CIFA) and was an active participant on the State/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) State Revolving Fund workgroup several years ago for implementing the Clean and Drinking Water SRF programs. He was also the presiding officer on the Water Conservation Implementation Task Force, created through Senate Bill 1094, 78th Texas Legislature, which produced the Report to the 79th Legislature and the Best Management Practices Guide to encourage increased use of conservation throughout the state. Mr. Ward served on the Advisory Committee of the Caroline and William N. Lehrer Distinguished Chair in Water Engineering, established by the Agriculture Program and the Agricultural Engineering Department of Texas A&M University, which selected the first Water Resources Engineering professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.During his 21-year tenure with the TWDB, he has served in several capacities, including financial analyst, finance section chief, and development fund manager. He served in various management positions in the agency, specializing in the development and implementation of the financial aspects of the TWDB’s State Revolving Fund loan programs. From March 1996 to April 2002, Mr. Ward served as the TWDB’s deputy executive administrator for the Office of Project Finance and Construction Assistance. Immediately prior to joining the TWDB, Mr. Ward was an officer and controller for two management consulting firms in Austin, both serving a client base of water and wastewater municipal utility districts and water supply corporations.Mr. Ward received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982.

Susan Combs was elected Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in November 2006 and immediately set an innovative course of action to transform state government and prepare Texas for the future beginning her first day in office on Jan. 1, 2007.As Comptroller, Combs is the state’s chief financial officer. She manages the state’s treasury operations to monitor Texas’ fiscal health, guides legislative decision makers by estimating state revenues and ensures state taxes are collected fairly and efficiently to fund vital programs and services for the people of Texas. But her focus does not end there.With a belief that government must be fully accountable to the people it serves, Combs has spearheaded unprecedented efforts to give taxpayers a transparent look at how their dollars are spent. She posted the expenses of the Comptroller’s office online her third day on the job. She next took transparency in government spending to new heights by launching the Where the Money Goes Web site. Considered a model by many other states and open government advocates, the site features a virtual check register that gives the public online access to detailed and up-to-date state expenditure information for all state entities.Combs is committed to ensuring that government works as efficiently as possible. Under her leadership, the Comptroller’s office has assessed and implemented a sweeping range of business process improvements projected to save nearly $8 million by the end of 2009 to reinvest in meeting increased demand for services. Combs is also directing a comprehensive study of ways to integrate data across Texas state government to make processes and systems more cohesive, standardized and efficient.Efficiency means better customer service, and Combs has set a standard of excellence for the Comptroller’s office. Direct customer feedback guides improvements at every level, from an ongoing effort to simplify forms and publications to the award-winning redesign of the agency’s Web site to ensure citizens have the fastest access to the information they need.Combs is focused on the future of Texas as well. She has released several vital reports on statewide trends, including Texas in Focus: A Statewide View of Opportunities to look at issues affecting economic growth across the state and The Energy Report, the first of its kind in the nation, to provide a comprehensive assessment of Texas energy options to guide future decisions.Combs also expanded the duties of the Comptroller’s local government assistance division to include economic development and launched the Texas Ahead Web site at www.texasahead.org in May 2008 as a one-stop portal to give businesses, global partners and local governments a wealth of economic development tools and resources. Key among these is the Texas EDGE Data Center that puts key economic development information at users’ fingertips.Because the Texas of tomorrow relies on an educated work force, Combs established the Educational Opportunities and Investment Division at the Comptroller’s office in 2008 to oversee the Texas College Savings Plan and the new prepaid tuition program, the Texas Tuition Promise Fund. Combs believes in every chance for every Texan to succeed by providing the tools to help fund the education needed for skilled, high-paying positions. Combs’ vision for the future drives the efforts of the Comptroller’s office to support a prosperous Texas.As Comptroller, Combs was one of only three women named to Government Technology’s 2009 list of the Top 25 “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers,” recognizing leaders who use technology to solve problems, meet evolving expectations and operate more efficient government operations. In recognizing the demand for improved services, Combs’ efforts to reengineer the Comptroller’s office propelled the state to analyze expenses and use electronic tools to offer a transparent look at government spending. She brought the agency into the 21st century, and by leading the charge with transparency, she’s now helping other state agencies and local governments open their books and identify ways to spend smarter.Combs won the Realtor Legacy Award for demonstrating the highest level of leadership support to Texas property owners and the Trailblazer Award from the Independent Bankers Association of Texas for support of the independent community banking industry. She has also received wide recognition for her work in the fight against obesity. Combs won the inaugural Leadership Award in Obesity Prevention in 2008 from The Michael & Susan Dell Center for the Advancement of Healthy Living. And in March 2006, while working as the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, the American Medical Association presented Combs with the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, the highest award the AMA can bestow on a public official, for her leadership in tackling the state’s obesity crisis and championing a groundbreaking public school nutrition policy to address it.Combs won back-to-back elections in 1998 and 2002 to serve as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, taking the reins as the first woman elected to the office. She re-engineered the Texas Department of Agriculture for greater efficiency and lowered the agency’s budget by 18 percent without reducing essential services. She trimmed staff while taking on more responsibility to boost economic development, ignite revitalization, promote Texas products through the unified GO TEXAN marketing campaign and ensure Texas schoolchildren had access to healthy food by launching one of the nation’s strongest school nutrition policies.Combs also served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives, where she successfully sponsored and passed the state’s landmark private property rights legislation and authored legislation on tort reform vital to the state’s business community.Combs graduated from Vassar College and worked in international advertising in New York, in the financial markets on Wall Street and for the federal government before returning to Texas to obtain her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. After graduation, Combs served as an assistant district attorney in Dallas, handling child abuse cases, where her performance as a tough prosecutor earned her widespread respect.Combs was born in San Antonio and has a ranching operation in Brewster County on the same ranch owned by her great-grandfather more than a century ago. She lives in Austin with her husband, Joe, and is the proud mother of three sons.

Evan Smith spent nearly 18 years at TEXAS MONTHLY, stepping down in August 2009 as the magazine's president and editor in chief. Previously he served as editor for more than eight years—only the third person to hold that title. On his watch, TEXAS MONTHLY was nominated for sixteen National Magazine Awards, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, and twice was awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. A New York native, Smith has a bachelor's degree in public policy from Hamilton College (Clinton, New York) and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois). He previously held editorial positions at a number of national magazines; most recently at The New Republic, where he was deputy editor. He hosts a weekly interview program, TEXAS MONTHLY TALKS, that has aired on PBS stations all across Texas since 2003, and he is an occasional guest on numerous TV and radio shows. Smith sits on the boards of the Austin Film Society, Trinity Episcopal School, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, the Headliners Club, and Matinee Media. He is also the founding co-chair of the Texas Film Hall of Fame. In 2005, in recognition of his contributions to Austin and Texas, Smith was named Austinite of the Year Under 40 by the Young Men's Business League and Young Women's Business League. In 2006, he was inducted into the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement.