Come join us for a city-wide Town Hall meeting on September 15 at the University of Houston Downtown. Come voice your questions, concerns and opinions on the quality of the Houston regional environment to a panel of advisors, legislators and experts in such arenas as health and industry. Our panel will consist of former TCEQ Commissioner Larry Soward, Representative Jessica Farrar, Executive Director of the TCEQ Mark Vickery and Dr. Stephen Linder.

Mark R. Vickery, P.G. On June 17, 2008, Mark R. Vickery was appointed executive director of the TCEQ, as approved by the commission on June 4, 2008. Vickery had served as the deputy executive director since May 1, 2004. Vickery previously served as deputy director for the Office of Permitting, Remediation and Registration (OPRR) of the TCEQ. The office comprised six divisions: Air Permits; Remediation; Registration, Review and Reporting; Waste Permits; Water Quality; and Water Supply. The office also included the Toxicology and Risk Assessment program of the agency. Prior to his tenure as OPRR deputy director, Vickery served as deputy director for the TCEQ’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement (OCE). The four divisions in this office included Field Operations, which included sixteen regional offices across the state. Vickery had served as director of the Field Operations Division for two years before his promotion to deputy director of OCE. Other positions held by Vickery include manager of the Waste Tire Recycling Program and management positions in the agency’s regulatory enforcement programs. Vickery is a native Texan and attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Geology. Prior to joining the TCEQ, Vickery worked as an exploration geologist in Midland, Texas. He and his wife Tammy have a son and a daughter.

Jessica Farrar is currently in her 8th term as State Representative of District 148. She was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1994 at the age of 27, and she is the longest serving Hispanic from Harris County in the Texas House of Representatives. Rep. Farrar currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Land and Resource Management as well as on the House Committee on Environmental Regulation. Past assignments have included the House Committees on State Affairs, Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, Corrections, County Affairs, Agriculture and Livestock, and Appropriations.
In addition, Representative Farrar serves as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, she is the founder and Vice-Chair of the Women's Health Caucus. She is also the founder and Secretary of the House Environmental Caucus. She previously served as Vice-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Secretary of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC), and Vice-Chair of the Legislative Study Group (LSG). Representative Farrar works extensively on issues related to women’s health, children's healthcare, education, the environment, taxes, homeowner rights, homeland and border security, domestic violence, sexual assault, reproductive rights, cantinas, insurance coverage, transportation, discrimination, and criminal and juvenile justice. Rep. Farrar grew up in Houston and received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Houston. She is currently a third year law student at the University of Texas School of Law. She is married to Lieutenant Colonel Select Marco Sanchez, who is a practicing attorney. They live in Houston's Lindale Park neighborhood with their dog, Vecina.

Larry R. Soward was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry on October 17, 2003, to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Texas Senate confirmed his appointment on May 11, 2004. Soward served as executive assistant to the Texas lieutenant governor during the 78th Legislative Session and during two special legislative sessions held during 2003. He has more than 31 years of experience leading state agencies, and served as the deputy land commissioner of the Texas General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board, the deputy commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the deputy executive director of the Texas Public Utility Commission. In addition, Soward has been executive director of the Texas Water Commission, the culmination of a 12-year tenure at that agency. During his time at the Water Commission, he was its general counsel and chief hearings examiner. He was also appointed by the Governor to serve on the Texas Energy Planning Council in 2004. He graduated from the University of Texas (UT) with a law degree in 1974 and has practiced environmental law and water law as a solo practitioner and as partner of a small law firm. Soward also holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from UT. Soward's term expired Aug. 31, 2009 and is currently under contract with Air Alliance Houston as our Sunset Process Consultant.

STEPHEN H. LINDER, PH.D.
Dr. Linder is a Professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health with appointments in two Divisions at the School -- Management, Policy & Community Health, and Health Promotion & Behavioral Science. He is also the Associate Director of the Institute for Health Policy and Director of Community Engagement for the UT Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences. He received his doctorate in political science from the University of Iowa and served on the faculty of UCLA and Tulane University before coming to the School of Public Health in 1984. In 2004, he was named a Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation for excellence in teaching and scholarship. He has served on the Texas Public Utility Commission’s Study Panel on Electric and Magnetic Field Effects, on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Electric Power Research Institute and on the Environmental Advisory and Clean Air Committees of the Greater Houston Partnership. His recent research has focused on air toxics and adaptation to climate disruption. He currently is the principal investigator on an U.S. EPA STAR project to understand how chemical and non-chemical risks can cumulate in communities. He is also the lead investigator for the Knowledge Translation Initiative and the Health of Houston 2010 Survey