The largest agency in terms of the number of employees is the Health and Human Services Commission with over 32,000 employees. Cecile Young runs that agency and is compensated $290,000 for the job.
Brian Guthrie, executive director of the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), is the highest-compensated agency head, paid $400,000 annually. TRS is the largest public pension system in the state and manages billions of dollars of investments, and currently has $50 billion in unfunded liabilities – benefits promised but unaccounted for in current funding levels.
Below is a list of the individuals heading up each agency, their position and salary, and the number of employees they oversee. Each person listed is at the top of their agency, as best could be ascertained. Most are the highest-paid at their respective entity, but each listed is not necessarily the most compensated. For example, TRS’s Chief Investment Officer Jase Auby is the entity’s highest-paid employee at $550,000.
The data is from the Texas Tribune’s government salary database, updated as of July 1, 2022.
Agency Head Title Salary # of Employees
Teacher Retirement System of Texas Brian Guthrie Executive Director $400,000 973
Texas Department of Transportation Marc Williams Executive Director $344,000 13,198
Employees Retirement System of Texas Porter Wilson Executive Director $331,923 358
Department of Public Safety Steven McCraw Director $299,813 10,368
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Harrison Keller Commissioner $299,813 301
Health and Human Services Commission Cecile Young Executive Commissioner $290,258 32,733
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Bryan Collier Executive Director $275,501 30,519
Department of State Health Services John Hellerstedt Commissioner $271,083 3,464
Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company Michael Ressig Chief Executive Officer $265,000 74
Texas Department of Banking Charles Cooper Commissioner $254,850 172
Department of Family and Protective Services Jaime Masters Commissioner $235,500 166
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Christopher Baker Executive Director $223,277 2,606
Texas Education Agency Michael Morath Commissioner $220,375 1,111
Legislative Budget Board Jerry McGinty Director $220,000 123
State Auditor Lisa Collier State Auditor $220,000 181
Texas Legislative Council Jeffrey Archer Executive Director $220,000** 368
Texas Department of Insurance Cassandra Brown Commissioner $217,139 1,209
Texas Juvenile Justice Department Candace Cain & Shandra Carter Executive Director $216,725 1,689
Texas Lottery Commission Gary Grief Executive Director $213,344 291
Office of Court Administration Megan Lavoie Administrative Director $211,500 286
Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner Leslie Pettijohn Commissioner $203,840 63
Public Utility Commission of Texas Peter Lake Commission Chair $201,000 184
Texas Water Development Board Brooke Paup & George Peyton Board Member $201,000 369
Texas Workforce Commission Bryan Daniel Chairman $201,000 4,449
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Daniel Avitia, Jr. Executive Director $200,952 729
Parks and Wildlife Department Carter Smith Executive Director $200,643 3,092
Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending Hector Retta Commissioner $200,004 32
Credit Union Department John Kolhoff Commissioner $200,000 18
Texas Public Finance Authority Lee Deviney Executive Director $200,000 14
Secretary of State John Scott Secretary of State $197,415 189
Department of Information Resources Amanda Crawford Executive Director $194,182 216
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Robert Wilkinson II Executive Director $192,299 356
Texas Military Department Thomas Suelzer Adjutant General $191,357 533
Texas Facilities Commission Michael Novak Executive Director $190,248 374
Texas State Board of Public Accountancy William Treacy Executive Director $190,190 38
Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Lance Kinney Executive Director $190,124 37
Sunset Advisory Commission Jennifer Jones Executive Director $190,000 26
Texas Real Estate Commission Chelsea Buchholtz Executive Director $187,460 140
State Office of Administrative Hearings Kristofer Monson Chief Administrative Law Judge $180,000 103
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Mike Arismendez, Jr. Executive Director $180,000 488
State Preservation Board Roderick Welsh Executive Director $175,990 193
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council Darrel Spinks Executive Director $175,000 60
State Securities Board Travis Iles Commissioner $172,087 76
Texas Board of Nurse Examiners Katherine Thomas Executive Director $169,537 117
Legislative Reference Library Mary Camp Director $165,000 23
Texas Board of Architectural Examiners Julie Hildebrand Executive Director $160,514 19
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Thomas Graham Executive Director $157,000*** 545
Texas Historical Commission Mark Wolfe Executive Director $156,652 298
Texas Medical Board Stephen Carlton Executive Director $156,145 197
Texas Animal Health Commission Andy Schwartz Executive Director $155,814 178
Texas Veterans Commission Thomas Palladino Executive Director $151,123 431
Office of Injured Employee Counsel Jessica Barta Public Counsel $151,048 145
State Office of Risk Management Stephen Vollbrecht Executive Director $150,563 104
Soil and Water Conservation Board Charles Isom Executive Director $150,283 70
Office Of Public Insurance Counsel Melissa Hamilton Public Counsel $149,976 9
Office of Capital and Forensic Writs Benjamin Wolf Executive Director $148,510 23
Texas State Library and Archives Commission Gloria Meraz Director $148,197 162
Texas State Board of Pharmacy Timothy Tucker Executive Director $141,510 93
Health Professions Council John Monk Director $140,316 8
Texas Ethics Commission Anne Peters Executive Director $139,097 25
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Charles Vickers Executive Director $136,649 60
Texas Racing Commission Amy Cook Executive Director $130,000 33
Texas Commission on the Arts Gary Gibbs Executive Director $129,927 13
State Commission on Judicial Conduct Jacqueline Habersham Executive Director $128,000 13
Bond Review Board Robert Latsha Executive Director $127,500 12
State Board of Dental Examiners Casey Nichols Executive Director $127,435 47
State Pension Review Board Amy Cardona Executive Director $126,730 10
Texas Commission on Fire Protection Michael Wisko Executive Director $123,883 26
Commission on Jail Standards Brandon Wood Executive Director $121,020 22
Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners Lisa Hill Executive Director $120,586 37
State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners Michael Tacker Executive Director $112,008 18
Office of Public Utility Counsel Chris Ekoh Interim Public Counsel $110,538 12
Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists Rene Truan Executive Director $109,157 4
Executive Council of Physical and Occupational Therapy Examiners Ralph Harper Executive Director $104,424 18
Texas Emergency Services Retirement System David Tropea Executive Director $101,200 8
State Law Library Amy Small Director $101,000 11
Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners Gerald Fortner Executive Director $100,830 11
Texas Optometry Board Kelly Parker Executive Director $100,732 7
Texas Funeral Service Commission James White Executive Director $75,000* 9
*Listed salary of White’s predecessor. The former state representative took over as executive director in mid-August after resigning early from his House seat.
**Archer’s salary from his previous position as financial examiner.
***Graham’s salary is listed as his previous position as a division director.
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Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.