2026 Graduations

Texas CPM Program Graduates 120 at the Texas State Capitol on June 8, 2026

By Sue Breland

The Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program held its graduation ceremony on Monday, June 8, 2026, in the Capitol Auditorium at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. A reception for graduates and their guests followed in the Legislative Conference Room of the Capitol Extension. This ceremony also marked an important milestone, as it included the inaugural cohort from the Texas A&M University Kingsville CPM Program.

Dr. Miha Vindis, Director of the Texas CPM Program, welcomed the graduates and their guests and introduced Mr. Brian Francis to deliver the graduation address. Mr. Francis has led multiple state agencies for over 20 years and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Texas State University Leadership Council and on the Executive Director Advisory Council of the Executive Women in Texas Government. He is a dynamic and motivational speaker.

Mr. Francis’ address centered on graduates’ hard work and their dedication to embarking on this learning journey that few have dared to do, willingly sacrificing their time juggling family, work, and community obligations in order to improve their leadership skills, so that they can serve their communities better. Mr. Francis dubbed them “a rowdy bunch of academic alchemists who discovered the secret to jamming 36 hours of work and effort into a 24-hour day.”

Mr. Francis enthusiastically reminded graduates that public service is an incredible privilege because we are in the “get to” business, not the “have to” business. We get to:

• improve the lives of their neighbors and friends.
• connect those in need with the resources that are life-changing.
• build our communities stronger brick by brick, service by service, and person by person.
• touch people where it matters…at home.

You can view Mr. Francis’ full graduate address at 
https://txst.yuja.com/v/GradSpeakerFrancis20260608

The Texas CPM Program is a consortium of Texas Universities and other governmental organizations that operate under the umbrella of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service. It has been in continuous service since 1995 and across its 31-year history has graduated over 3,000 public and not-for-profit sector employees from the program.

The universities that participated in the June 8, 2026, CPM Graduation are:

Stephen F. Austin University, Rick Herzog, CPM Director

DeWayne Armstrong
Melissa Boyd
Mary L. Bullock
Jill P. Chillds
Hillary Faulkner
Landon Kelly
Charles F. Sullivan
Chad Taylor
Sean T. Williams

Texas A&M University at Kingsville, Jeffrey West, CPM Director

Veronica Arredondo
Candice Cantu
Priscilla Alaniz Cantu
Baldo Cantu, Jr.
Daniel D. Dorgan
Jessica Lynn Flores
Ray Anthony Garza
Dante Alan Gonzalez
Melissa Salinas Green
Doug L. Hairgrove
Laura Gutierrez Luna
Terry J Meissner
Gisell Guadalupe Orozco
Enrique Resendez
Christine Reyes
Brandon Matthew Reynolds
Rebecca Saldana
David Salinas
J. Trey Villarreal

Texas State University Arlington, Dr. Howard Balanoff and James Earp, CPM Directors

Aaron Adel
Steven Anderson
Courtney Atkins
Clair Barnes
Kenneth Bloom
Tia Brewer
Matthew Cox
Matt Elgin
Vashil Fernandez
Reagan Haik
Vivian Holley
Kathryn Johnson
Sidney Kelly
Haley Koehler
Amy Mapes
Anthony Maszy
Kevin McCoy
Austen McKinney
Michael Messner
Troy Meyer
Michael Midkiff
Eric Neal
Kevin Neal
Courtney Pero
Katherine Reading
Kasia Redden
Jennifer Rogers
Stephen Spain
Amil Spencer-Berry
Brandi Stigler
Teanna Thompson
Shane Urrutia
Brandon Uselton
Jonathan Wheat
Shawn Wilkinson
Shaena Williams