Texas Senate confirms Chairwoman Brooke Paup and Commissioner Catarina Gonzales

The Texas Senate unanimously confirmed Governor Greg Abbott’s appointments of Chairwoman Brooke Paup and Commissioner Catarina Gonzales to serve on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Governor appointed Chairwoman Paup on Jan. 8, 2025, and Commissioner Gonzales on Feb. 8, 2024.

Chairwoman Paup has 19 years of state government experience. She served as a board member of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) from 2018 until her appointment as Chairwoman of TWDB on April 22, 2021. Formerly she served as the director of legislative affairs for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and spent several years at the Office of the Attorney General. Paup began her state service as legislative counsel at the Office of State-Federal Relations in Washington D.C. under Governor Rick Perry.

Paup is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Junior League, and Symphony League. She received the 2021 Rainmaker Award from the Texas Water Foundation. Paup holds a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University School of Law.

Commissioner Gonzales has over 22 years of experience in public service and environmental and natural resources issues. She was most recently a budget and policy advisor for the Office of the Governor, a position she held from 2018 to 2024. She was formerly in private practice at law firms in Austin and Houston. She was also appointed to the Department of Defense’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Western Water Cooperative Committee on April 1, 2025 and the Environmental Flows Advisory Group on October 16, 2024. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and on the executive committee of its Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section.

Commissioner Gonzales received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity College, a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, and a Master of Laws in Energy and Environmental Law from the University of Houston School of Law. She was also a visiting student at The University of Texas School of Law, where she was on the board of the American Journal of Criminal Law.