Governor Greg Abbott Appoints Blair And Wainwright To Public Safety Commission
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Nelda Blair and Dale Wainwright to the Public Safety Commission for terms set to expire on January 1, 2026 and January 1, 2024, respectively. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Public Safety, which enforces laws protecting the public safety and provides for the prevention and detection of crime.
Nelda Luce Blair of The Woodlands is a triple board certified attorney and CEO of The Blair Law Firm, P.C. A fifth generation Texan, she is a gubernatorial appointee and secretary of the Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents, former gubernatorial appointee and former chair of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, and former gubernatorial appointee to Texas Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and former chair of its regional Grievance Committee, a licensed realtor member of the Houston Association of Realtors, and a member and former board member of the Economic Development Partnership of The Woodlands. She is chair and president of the Conroe ISD Education Foundation and of the Humane Society of Montgomery County, member of the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Houston Partnership, and founding chair of The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau. Additionally, she is a member and former chair of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, former chair of The Woodlands Township, and a former member of the Texas Conference for Women Advisory Board. Blair received a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law, Economics and Sociology from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
Dale Wainwright of Austin is an attorney and shareholder of Greenberg Traurig, where he is Co-Chair of the firm's National Appellate Practice and Chair of the Texas Appellate Practice. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, he served as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court for 10 years, and as Judge of the 334th Judicial District Court in Harris County. He is a gubernatorial appointee and chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, member of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center Board of Directors, an advisor to the Texas Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission’s Legislative Committee, and a trustee of the Center for American and International Law. In addition to being an elected member of the American Law Institute, he is a trustee and former president of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, former member of the Houston Bar Association Board of Directors, and former president of the Houston Young Lawyers Association. Wainwright earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Howard University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago School of Law.