GEORGE KELEMEN
George Kelemen joined TRA as President and CEO in November of 2015. He returned to Texas after 11 years in Washington, DC, working in senior leadership positions for several of the largest and most influential associations in America. Most recently, George served as the Senior VP of Government and Political Affairs at Airports Council International — North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial airports in the U.S. and Canada. He served as ACI-NA’s chief lobbyist and led the development strategies to influence congressional and legislative actions affecting airports and the aviation industry, particularly ACI-NA’s work with Congress’ leadership.
Prior to joining ACI-NA, George served as the Senior Director for External Affairs at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the Cancer Society’s lobbying arm in Washington, DC. George cultivated, developed and maintained corporate relationships, as well as coordinated outreach to members of Congress, specifically Congressional Republicans. He also spent 10 years at AARP in various government relations and advocacy leadership capacities at federal and state level.
Originally from Houston, George began his career working in Texas, in various political and government affairs roles, as well as in state
government, in the gubernatorial administration of George W. Bush. He has a comprehensive understanding of the legislative and regulatory processes and landscapes at both the federal and state levels, as well as a network of bipartisan contacts and relationships in Austin, Washington, and across the US.
George has a proven ability to effectively communicate with internal and external audiences alike, as well as with decision and policy makers, in addition to native fluency in Spanish. George earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Houston. He lives in Austin with his wife and two children.
DIANA CARDONA
Diana joined TRA in May of 2015, and has 10 years of experience managing non-profit association membership and finances. She has the great ability of streamlining and establishing efficient processes to achieve strategic goals for increasing membership, and achieving financial stability. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas in Austin.
Prior to TRA, Diana served as the Membership Coordinator for the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas. Her tenure at SFFMA brought about the development of an international certification program still growing in Latin-America today.
JUSTIN WILLIAMSON
Justin currently serves as the Director of Public Affairs for the Texas Retailers Association (TRA). Prior to joining the TRA, Justin served as the Director of Communications and Spokesperson for the Texas State Rifle Association, the state’s largest and oldest 2nd Amendment organization.
Before working for non-profit associations, Justin served as an Account Executive for an award-winning digital firm and as the Digital Strategist for the highly successful Proposition 1 (2014) and Proposition 7 (2015) ballot propositions. He attended Southwestern University, where he majored in Political Science.
JIM SHEER
Jim serves as TRA’s primary lobbyist. Jim joined the Austin office of McGuireWoods Consulting in May 2018 as a vice president in the State Government Relations group. He assists clients with legislative and regulatory matters before the Texas Legislature and various regulatory agencies and boards.
Prior to joining McGuireWoods Consulting, Jim most recently served as Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Texas Retailers Association. In that capacity, he was the association’s lead lobbyist and government relations representative overseeing all legislative, regulatory, political and PAC activities.
GARY HUDDLESTON
Gary’s career spanned 45 years at Kroger Food stores including store management, human resources, labor relations, public affairs, media relations and charitable giving.
Gary attended Texas State University and completed continuing education completed in Human Resource Management at the University of Texas Austin, Penn State University, and Duke University.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Committee | ||
| Luke Gustafson | Chair | Brookshire Brothers |
| Chuck Bell | Vice Chair | Bracken Textiles/Clothes Mentor |
| Daniel Morales | Secretary/Food Council Chair | WalMart |
| Susan Sessions | Treasurer | Academy Sports & Outdoors |
| Amber Gustafson | Immediate Past Chair | Amber’s Designs |
| Debbie Mack | Texas Federation of Drug Stores Rep | WalMart |
| Michael Smith | Member at Large | Walgreen’s |
| Theresa Flores | Member at Large/TRAPAC Chair | Mary Kay |
| Jason Cooper | TREF Board Chair | Brookshire Grocery Company |
| April Martin-Nickels | Member at Large | Kroger |
| Opio Dupree | Large Retailer | Macy’s |
TRA Directors (term ending 2019) | ||
| Steve Brophy | Director | Dollar General |
| VACANT | Director | Goodwill Industries Houston |
| Carrol Cox | Director | Cox’s Foodarama |
| Rebecca Acuna | Director | Pepsico |
| Arnold Grothues | Director | JC Penny |
| Leigh Ann Hernandez | Director | Neiman-Marcus |
| Mike Lewis | Director | Lewis Food Town |
| Robert Brooks | Director | Target |
| Meredith Preloh | Director | Lowe’s |
| Balaka Saha | Director | Stage Stores |
| Rex Solomon | Director | Houston Jewelry |
| Scott Benedict | Director | Texas A&M Center for Retailing Studies |
| Opio Dupree | Director | Macy’s |
| Joe Stalnaker | Director | Avangard Innovative |
TRA Directors (term ending 2020) | ||
| Steve Bercu | Director | Book People |
| Phil Rozenski | Director | Novolex |
| Mike Hiltner | Director | Best Buy |
| Susan Sessions | Director | Acadamy |
| Michael Smith | Director | Walgreens |
| Kathy Mitchell | Director | PetsMart |
| Mandy Tomlin | Director | United Supermarkets |
| Bruce Levy | Director | Rice Epicurean Markets |
| Daniel Morales | Director | WalMart |
TRA Directors (term ending 2021) | ||
| Brian Gamberini | Director | The Home Depot |
| Michael Diamond | Director | Scott’s Miracle Grow |
| Matthew Murray | Director | Sears |
| Leslie Lockett-Sweet | Director | HEB |
| David McKinney | Director | AutoZone |
| John Raney | Director | Texas Aggieland Bookstore |
| Michael Walker | Director | Rehkopf Enterprises |
| April Martin Nickels | Director | Kroger Company |
© Texas Retailers Association 2019. All Rights Reserved.