Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Hillary Rodriguez and reappointed Ruben “Dan” Brown, Jr. and Julie R. Prause to the Governing Board of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) for terms set to expire on January 31, 2027. TSBVI serves as a special public school in which students who are blind, deaf-blind, or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities, are eligible for consideration for services. It is also a statewide resource for parents of these children and the professionals who serve them.

Ruben “Dan” Brown, Jr. of Pflugerville is a senior quality assurance engineer for blindness technologies at Pearson. He has presented several times for the Texas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired as well as the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired International Conference. He also presents regularly at the California State University-Northridge International Technology Conference and Person’s with Disabilities Conference. Brown attended the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and The University of Texas at Austin.

Julie R. Prause of Columbus is a teacher of the visually impaired for Columbus Independent School District (ISD). She also serves Weimar ISD and schools in the Fayette Gonzales Special Services Cooperative (Schulenburg, Flatonia, and Waelder ISDs). She is a member and former president of the Texas Association of Educators of the Blind, member and former chair of the International Association of Educators for the Blind, and member of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association. Additionally, she is a director of the Columbus Historical Preservation Trust and former director of children’s liturgy and catechism teacher at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. Prause received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Baylor University and Master of Education in Special Education from Texas Tech University.

Hillary Rodriguez of Houston is a quality assurance laboratory supervisor at Westway Feed Products. She is the treasurer for Falcon Pass Elementary PTA and programs vice president for Clear Creek ISD Special Education PTA. Rodriguez received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston.