Governmental Affairs Luncheon - Education

· HD Chambers has devoted the past 36 years to public education in Texas. Prior to taking on the leadership role as Superintendent of Schools for Alief in the spring of 2011, Mr. Chambers served as Superintendent for Stafford Municipal School District for five years. He has also taught in the Aldine Independent School District and served in various administrative roles in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

HD has a genuine desire to create meaningful and useful opportunities for educators to prepare students for higher education, the workforce, or the armed services. He truly believes in the power and potential of public education and through relationship building and collaboration, he strives to contribute to the continuous improvement of education for all students and staff.

HD serves on many Boards as a member and an officer. He is the only superintendent to receive the Friends of Public Schools Ambassador of the Year in 2013-2014, 2014 and 2021 Superintendent of the Year for Region 4, 2014 and the Region 4 Special Honoree Award for 2015. Region 4 serves a seven-county area composed of 50 school districts and 50 charter schools, representing more than 1.1 million students, 84,000 educators, and 1,600 campuses. He has also received the Children at Risk Voice for Children Award as well as the Rhosine Fleming Outstanding Counselor Advocate Award from the Texas School Counselor Association.

HD proudly obtained his bachelor’s degree from Lamar University, a master’s degree from Sam Houston State University, and his superintendent certification from Stephen F. Austin State University.

First elected to the Senate in 2014, Senator Paul Bettencourt represents Senate District 7, which encompasses most of West Harris County. He previously served 10 years, from 1998 - 2008, as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector, where he introduced “Smart Government” at the Harris County Tax Office and developed a customer service-driven organization. His team created the first major county online property tax payment system and the first county tax office website with online vehicle registration in Texas. (His motto was “Get on-line, not in-line.”) He was well-known as the “Tax Man” for his outspoken efforts to cut property taxes. In the most recent Legislative Session, Senator Bettencourt successfully passed Senate Bill 2, the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019, by a vote of 21-9 to bring meaningful property tax reform and relief to all Texas taxpayers. This was the first major property tax reform legislation in almost 40 years, and the culmination of two decades of advocacy. He also continued his work on adult stem cell therapies in Texas by sponsoring HB 3148, building upon previous legislative sessions to get government out of the way, allowing new therapies to flourish and give terminally and chronically ill patients hope for a better quality of life. His work during the 86th Session earned him the distinction of "Senate MVP" by Capitol Inside, "Bull of the Brazos" by Texas Monthly, the Legislative Legacy Award by Texas Public Policy Foundation and he was given the "Citizen's Choice Award" by Empower Texans.

Senator Bettencourt is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Government and serves on the Senate Finance, Education, and Criminal Justice committees. He has also been named to the Redistricting Committee by Lt. Governor Patrick. He also served as the Chair of the Senate Republican Caucus from January 2016 to February 2021.


Our Moderator


Richard Nevins,
HWCOC 2022 Chairman of the Board,
Independent Consultant