Board of Trustees

AWBD’s Board of Trustees consists of elected trustees including the current President, Immediate Past President, Executive Vice President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. There are currently four Regional Trustees for Central Texas, Gulf Coast, North Texas, and West Texas.

Ellen Hughes
President

Fort Bend MUD 23

Jerry Homan
Executive Vice President

Harris County MUD 220

Wendy Duncan
First Vice President
Mike Rozell
Second Vice President

Fort Bend County LID 11

Kara E. Richardson
Secretary

Marks Richardson PC

Dwayne Mason
Treasurer
Harris County ID 18
Trisha Frederick, P.E.
Immediate Past President
Pape-Dawson Engineers, Inc.

WANT TO RUN FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES? The governing body of the Association consisting of candidates who have been active members for at least two of the last three years. The Board of Trustee Candidacy Indo Packet gives a timeline of items and the due dates if you wish to run for election at the summer conference.

Regional Trustees

Linda Backlund
North Texas

Infrastructure Rehabilitation USA, Inc.

Zachariah T. Evans
Central Texas

Law Office of Zachariah T. Evans

Lawerence (Larry) Goldberg, P.E., ENV SP, FASCE
Gulf Coast
Harris County MUD 261
Florence K. Thomas
West Texas
Horizon Regional MUD

MEETING INFORMATION

If you would like a copy of the agenda, minutes and complete proceedings of the monthly meeting of the Association’s Board of Trustees, please write the Association at 11700 Katy Freeway, Suite 450, Houston, Texas 77079 or call the office, 800/597-0122 or 281/350-7090. A copy of the proceedings will be mailed to any member district or firm. Copies are limited to one per member, however.

The Association’s Board of Trustees meets the second Wednesday of each month. If you would like to attend the meetings, please call the Association office in advance to confirm the meeting schedule.

Ellen Hughes

President

Fort Bend MUD 23

Ellen currently serves as the President of the AWBD Board of Directors and is also the Chair of the AWBD Strategic Planning Committee and an active participant on the Membership, Office Relations and Conferences Subcommittees. Ellen currently works as Office Manager and Business Development Coordinator for a Civil Engineering firm in Houston.

Ellen is a proud Aggie who received a Bachelor of Speech Communication in 1989 followed by a Master of Public Administration in 1991. Introduction to MUD’s came with her first job after graduation working at the City of Sugar Land, which experienced tremendous growth through ETJ MUD annexation. Little did she know that the purchase of her home in Fort Bend County MUD 23 in 1993 would eventually lead to the start of service as a resident Board Director lasting over 25 years. During that time MUD 23 has grown from less than 500 homes to greater than 4500. Ellen’s early career at Sugar Land coupled with service as a Director has given her a unique perspective and deep passion for the importance of MUD’s in the growth of communities in the State of Texas.

Jerry Homan

Executive Vice President

Harris County MUD 220

Mr. Homan has been a MUD board member for 29 years and currently serves as the president for MUD #220. He is a two term Trustee for AWBD and is the current Government Affairs Chairman. Mr. Homan is the General Manager for Harris County FWSD 61 with a tenure of 27 years. He has been employed in the water and wastewater industry for 41 years. Jerry has a degree in Environmental Management and holds a Texas class “A” certification in water and wastewater operations.

Wendy Duncan

Second Vice President

As the current AWBD Outreach and Engagement Chair, a witness before multiple Texas State Senate Committees regarding water board legislation, and a speaker at three Summer Conferences, the 2021 Spring Breakfast, and the April 2021 Parks Meeting, I thank you for your consideration to continue furthering the important work of AWBD as a member of the Board of Trustees. I will bring my additional experience as President of Willow Fork Drainage District, Co-founder of Barker Flood Prevention, and Board Member of Houston Stronger.

Mike Rozell

First Vice President

Fort Bend County LID 11

Kara E. Richardson

Secretary

Marks Richardson PC

Kara Richardson is a partner in the Houston law firm of Marks Richardson PC.  For the past 20 years, she has served as bond counsel and general counsel to municipal utility districts and other special purpose districts in Texas and has worked with real estate developers in the formation and development of such districts.  Additionally, Ms. Richardson serves as general counsel to certain non-profit 501(c)(3) corporations affiliated with special districts in Texas.

Ms. Richardson received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University in 1998 and her law degree from Baylor Law School in 2000. In her spare time, she volunteers her time and legal expertise to various non-profits in the Houston area.

Dwayne Mason

Treasurer

Harris County ID 18

Dwayne L. Mason serves as the head of the Texas Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. Dwayne’s practice focuses on patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and technology-based commercial litigation. Dwayne also manages patent and trademark portfolios and assists companies in protecting and commercializing their intellectual property, including many transactional matters in the technology, media, life sciences, energy, and natural resources industries.

Dwayne has litigated numerous intellectual property disputes in various state and federal district courts, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal and 5th Circuits, and in domestic and international arbitration proceedings before the American Arbitration Association and International Chamber of Commerce. His technology experience includes medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, hydrocarbon and chemical processing, power, oil and gas production, seismic equipment and data processing, neural networks, data analytics, IoT, machine learning, process control, software, and business methods.

Dwayne writes and lectures frequently on intellectual property matters and has authored articles on many intellectual property law topics. Dwayne is a Founding Member and Master for the Nancy F. Atlas Intellectual Property American Inn of Court and has previously served on the editorial board of Nanotechnology Law and Business. Prior to practicing law, Dwayne was a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and focused on the engineering, design, and construction of refineries, chemical plants, power plants, and oil and gas production and processing facilities.

He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal and 5th Circuits and several U.S. District Courts.

Trisha Frederick, P.E.

Immediate Past President

Costello Inc

Trisha is currently serving her fourth term on the AWBD Board of Trustees. During her tenure, she has served as Chair of the Communications Committee, Founder of the Emerging Leaders Program, and 2nd VP and Immediate Past President.

Trisha has over 17 years of engineering experience, having received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a licensed professional engineer and holds a LEED AP credential.

Trisha’s experience with MUDs began when she provided engineering consulting services to districts. In 2012, her neighbors elected her as a director for Fort Bend County MUD No. 23. That same year, she founded their annual Water Smart program, developed to educate constituents on water conservation and the purpose of MUDs.

In addition to AWBD, Trisha also serves on the Board of Directors for the Gulf Coast Water Authority and the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce. Trisha enjoys cooking and traveling and has a collection of 20+ Starbucks mugs from the places she has traveled.

Rick Ellis

Secretary

Interstate MUD

Rick Ellis currently serves as an At-Large Trustee and Secretary on the AWBD Board of Trustees. Rick is also Chair of the AWBD Membership Committee which recently achieved a record high number of AWBD members. Ellis is a 15 year Director on the Interstate MUD Board of Directors where he currently serves as the Vice President/Secretary.

Ellis brings to the MUD world over 14 years of commercial real estate and construction project management experience, 7 plus years of economic development and business development specialty work, and a marketing and community and corporate relations portfolio of over 11 years. Rick currently serves as the Vice President of Membership for the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce. Rick also serves on the Katy ISD Education Foundation Board, as well as on the University of Houston Victoria Business School Dean’s Advisory Council

Ellis is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Science in 1986 and a Master of Science degree in Land and Real Estate Development in 1991. Rick is a 30+ year member of the Texas A&M Former Student Century Club and is the proud father of a Class of 2024 Aggie daughter. Rick is a native Houstonian and a near lifelong Texan who currently lives in Northwest Houston with his wife Kelly and two teenage daughters Erin and Shea.

Linda Backlund

North Texas

Infrastructure Rehabilitation USA, Inc.

Linda is currently serving her second term on the AWBD Board of Trustees and working with Infrastructure Rehabilitation USA, Inc. She is the subcommittee chair of Office Relations and the subcommittee co-chair of Regional Initiatives.

Linda has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, a Master of Science in Management and Administrative Sciences, and over 35+ years of experience with the Federal Reserve Bank as an enterprise business manager focused on developing strategic plans for service excellence.

Linda is a Director and President of CR 915 Municipal Utility District of Johnson County created in 2022 and confirmed in 2023. She is a former Director of McKinney Municipal Utility District No 1 in Collin County from 2019 through 2022.

Zac Evans

Central Texas

Law Office of Zachariah T. Evans

Zachariah provides general counsel services to water districts, water supply corporations, and municipalities. His practice involves a broad spectrum of legal matters, including, among other things, governmental compliance, open government, personnel, procurement, annexations, regulation of public rights-of-way, and ordinance drafting.

Zachariah also has nearly a decade of legislative experience, having served various roles for members of both parties and in both houses of the Texas Legislature. As Deputy Director of the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, he provided specialized guidance and recommendations on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, working directly with state and federal legislators, executive agencies, and White House personnel to determine Recovery Act implications. He is the co-editor of Texas Senate Practice (2015, 2017 eds.)

Zachariah served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from July 1998 to July 2003, during which time he was awarded multiple Certificates of Commendation and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, among others.

Lawerence (Larry) Goldberg, P.E.,ENV SP., FASCE

Gulf Coast

Harris County MUD 261

Currently serves as a Senior Technical Advisor at BGE Inc., in the Public Infrastructure Group, bringing with him over 40 years of civil engineering and construction management experience.  His technical experience and expertise are in the areas of residential land developments, MUD District management, Public Infrastructure, Harris County Recovery & Resilience Drainage & Roadway Improvements, and site development.

Prior to BGE Larry was at Woolpert Inc. (formerly CivilTech Engineering, Inc.-CEI), as a Program Director for Infrastructure projects for 6 years. Before joining CEI, Larry served as Regional Sales Director for Neuvokas Corporation, and Prior to Neuvokas he served as Executive Vice President of Landev Engineering for 3 1/2 years.  Larry partnered in developing software for theadvancement of earthwork compaction for 6 years. His experience spans design, management, and construction of public and private infrastructure, residential and commercial developments, transportation, and flood control projects.  

Serves as a Board Director for Harris County MUD No. 261 since 2012

Larry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University Zachry Department of Civil Engineering (Class of ’81), and is a licensed engineer in the state of Texas (No. 63531), and Envision Specialist Certification.

Kit Thomas

Ms. Thomas has been a Director on the Horizon Regional MUD since 2004 and currently serves as the Board Treasurer. “As a MUD Board Member, I am excited and willing to serve the West Texas Region. I thank you in advance for opportunity to represent the people of the West Texas Region. I believe that my years of experience on the Horizon RMUD Board has equipped me with the knowledge and skill needed.”