(AUSTIN) – The Texas State University System has hired Capitol veteran Johanna Sheffield as assistant vice chancellor for governmental relations. Sheffield, who has more than 20 years of experience in the Texas Senate as a chief of staff and committee director, among other roles, will assist TSUS and its member institutions with informing, enhancing, and seeking support of system priorities before the legislative and executive branches of state and federal government.
Sheffield has extensive higher education policy and budget experience. She served as chief of staff for former Senator Kel Seliger and as director of the Senate Higher Education Committee. She also worked as a senior policy analyst for Senator Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and former Senator Kip Averitt. More recently, she was vice president of governmental affairs at the Association of Electric Companies of Texas (AECT) and a lobbyist at Sampson Public Affairs, LLC.
In addition to her higher education experience, Sheffield has worked extensively on electricity, economic development, public education, transportation, pensions and investments, election, and health and human services legislation. She has also participated in the budget process and the Sunset Commission’s work evaluating state agencies.
Sheffield earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin. She officially joins the TSUS governmental relations team November 1.