Governor Greg Abbott has appointed 21 members to the Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force. The appointments are for terms set to expire at the pleasure of the Governor. The purpose of the Task Force is to analyze key risk factors that could lead to family violence criminal homicides, provide advice and resources to state agencies and nonprofit organizations for developing and improving training for professionals working with survivors, collect and analyze information—organized by region—that is not privileged or confidential, and develop policy recommendations for the state.
The appointed members come from various backgrounds in public service, law enforcement, health care, legal services, and advocacy. Appointees include Heather Bellino of Austin, CEO of the Texas Advocacy Project; Jia Benno of Austin, injury prevention unit director at the Texas Department of State Health Services; Megan Bermea of Cedar Park, program director for the Office of Family Services at Texas Health and Human Services; Hillary England of Pflugerville, director of trafficking and sexual violence prevention programs at the Office of the Governor; Allison Garcia of Round Rock, deputy chief of government affairs at the Office of the Attorney General; Mariah Gardner of Converse, field manager at CVS Health; Staley Heatly of Vernon, Wilbarger County Attorney; Kathryn Jacob of Waxahachie, president and CEO of The Archway (formerly SafeHaven) in Tarrant County; Julie Kinser of Amarillo, director at Department of Family and Protective Services – Child Protective Services; Kevin Lawrence of Pflugerville, executive director at Texas Municipal Police Association; Daisy Lopez of Brownsville, director at Friendship of Women Inc.; Heather Mahaffey of Denison, program coordinator at Grayson Crisis Center; Michael McNutt of Round Rock, program manager for Texas Violent Death Reporting System at Department of State Health Services; Jarvis Parsons of Bryan, Brazos County District Attorney; April Propst of Abilene, associate judge for Office of Court Administration; Hannah Rahaman of Katy, appeals/legal section manager at Office of Attorney General Crime Victims Services Division; Michelle Shields of Amarillo, director at Family Support Services in Amarillo; Chris Smyth from Round Rock with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement as sergeant; Gloria Terry from Buda as CEO for Texas Council on Family Violence; Leila Wood from Austin as professor at University Texas Health Science Center Houston; Jamie Wright from Houston as senior management/program analyst with Department Veterans Affairs Office Inspector General.
According to information from the official website, Greg Abbott has led the Office since his election in 2014. The office is based in Austin’s State Insurance Building and forms part of Texas’ executive branch. It delivers statewide services across various areas such as job creation efforts and economic opportunity expansion. The administration also advances initiatives related to border security—including Operation Lone Star—and child sex trafficking prevention.
The Governor’s office works closely with state agencies and community partners on a variety of issues affecting Texans statewide. Greg Abbott was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024 according to official records.
