Dear Friends and Fellow Patriots,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first meeting of The William B. Travis Leadership
Summit. We have an exciting slate of events planned featuring some of the greatest activists, law-
makers, and thinkers in the Republican Party of Texas. They are here to share their expertise with
you and answer questions you might have from your own experience.

I want to thank the Executive Board of Hill Country Young Republicans for their support and
tireless efforts to make this event—and our very organization—happen. We have a rich history of
collaboration and lively debate. I speak for the entire Board when I say that we are excited to bring
that to you in this exceptional way. Please engage with our Board members, provide critical feed-
back, and join us in turning Travis County and all of the Hill Country Republican red.

The namesake of this special event is not mysterious to lifelong Texans. Even still, it does us all
good to reflect on the sacrifice made by William B. Travis and all of the Alamo heroes. They gave
their lives for the cause of Texas and for the liberty of her inhabitants. We chose him for this
reason, so that we might be willing to give all for this noble purpose, to be radicals for the cause of
freedom, and, in his own words, to “never surrendor or retreat.”

Let this summit be a rallying cry and a call to arms in defense of liberty. I pray that it equips all of
us with new tools to create the success we desire—whether those tools are ideas, understandings,
a network, or anything else. Young Republicans can no longer sit by as the next generation; we are
the now generation. The work begins today.

All the best,

Cutter W. González
Director of Development
Hill Country Young Republicans
Executive Board | Hill Country Young Republicans
Felisha A. Bull, President
Felisha is a passionate leader. She believes in limited government, fiscal conservatism,
individual rights, and the Constitution. She became involved with the Republican
Party in 2014. She is a co-founder and current president of Hill Country Young Re-
publicans, was the 2016 recipient of the Texas Young Republican Federation (TYRF)
Woman of the Year award, and currently serves as the TYRF National Committee-
woman. In addition, she is a Travis County Precinct Chair, Assistant Treasurer, and the
Treasurer of Texans for Accountable government. She enjoys serving her community,
her fellow GOP organizations, and helping engage Millennials in our political process.

Billy R. Pugh, Director for Hays County

Originally from Inez, Texas, Billy graduated form Texas State University with a Bach-
elor of Public Administration degree. He has been involved in Republican politics for
four years. He has volunteered with the Hays County Republican Party and the Vic-
toria County Republican Party. In addition, he served on the Resolutions Committee
during the Senatorial District 21 Convention and was elected to represent SD 21 at
the Republican State Convention in 2016. Billy’s professional engagements have been
equally varied, having interned for Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst in the Texas Senate and
currently working at Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos in behavioral health.

Jennifer Drabbant, Director for Travis County

Jennifer is an educator of six years, teaching at Del Valle High School. She has two-six
year-old, twin daughters. She grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, where she graduated
from The Woodlands High School. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in
mathematics at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She is the founder and a for-
mer president of Texans United for America. Additionally, she led the first pro-Trump
march in the Texas capital. She has been involved in engagement and outreach efforts
in minority communities around Austin and was the Travis County Republican Party’s
Volunteer of the Year for 2018.

Cutter W. González, Director of Development

Cutter has been involved in Republican politics since he was in middle school, when
he first volunteered to place calls at the Comal County Republican Party headquarters.
His work within the GOP led him to serve as Public Relations Director for the Texas
Young Republican Federation, volunteer on campaigns at local, state, and federal levels,
and provide professional graphic design and public relations services to almost 40
clients during his time at Macias Strategies, LLC. His most memorable and formative
political experience took place in 2016, when he served on Senator Rand Paul’s Iowa
Caucus Takeover team during the senator’s bid for President of the United States.

Nolan Barnes, Secretary-Treasurer

Nolan is a compassionate conservative and leader. He thrives on discussions about
current events, global affairs, and people’s passions. He is a newcomer to the political
scene, but has a strong Republican foundation, stemming from his passions for in-
dividual rights, Second Amendment rights, and commitment to fiscal responsibility.
Additionally, Nolan is a member of Log Cabin Republicans of Austin and particularly
enjoys working on local races. He aims to fight for the values from his upbringing and
help to turn Travis red by investing time in the Young Republicans, Log Cabin Repub-
licans, and the broader Republican Party.
 Schedule of Events

Executive Session
Texas Capitol Conference Room E2.018

8:00 Breakfast at Kerbey Lane Café | 3003 South Lamar

9:00 Opening Remarks
Felisha A. Bull, President
9:10 Welcome and Vision
Cutter W. Gonzålez, Director of Development
9:30 Team Building
10:00 One-on-One Job Training
Outgoing Hill Country Young Republicans Officers

Public Events
Texas Capitol Hearing Room E2.014

10:30 Personal Visioning and Planning for Success

Cutter W. González, Director of Development
11:15 Lunch Break
12:45 Social Media and Political Marketing
Felisha A. Bull, President
1:30 Justice and Conservative-Libertarian Ethics
Melissa Goodwin, Texas Third Court of Appeals
Kevin P. Yeary, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Daniel A. Bonevac, The University of Texas at Austin
3:00 Power Players: A Discussion on the Texas GOP and Making Change from Within
Jason Isaac, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute
Karen Newton, President of Texas Federation of Republican Women
Matthew Mackowiak, Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party
4:30 Leadership and Lawmaking: A Review of the Texas Political Climate
Kyle Biedermann, Representative for Texas House District 73
Jennifer Drabbant, Director for Travis County
Luke Macias, Macias Strategies, LLC
Personal Planning and Visioning for Success
Cutter W. González, Director of Development

In this session, Mr. González will explore techniques to organize

your personal life in order to attain personal, professional,
and academic goals with less stress and greater success. He
recommends a greater reliance on the power of systems as a means
of offloading information that we don’t need on hand at all times.
This must be met with a variety of accompanying strategies from
simplifying, decluttering, and writing it all out.

Members of the audience are welcome and encouraged to participate

in this presentation by submitting questions using the Twitter hashtag
#TLS2018. After the conclusion of the formal presentation, audience
questions will be presented for comment.

Social Media and Political Marketing

Felisha A. Bull, President

President Bull will offer her wealth of experience in political

marketing and social media strategy for members of the
audience to enjoy. Not only will she discuss large-scale strategic
approaches, but she will offer insights into the finer details that
often go undiscussed in social media trainings. She welcomes the
opportunity to engage with audience members and help train their
organizations.

Members of the audience are welcome and encouraged to participate

in this presentation by submitting questions using the Twitter hashtag
#TLS2018. After the conclusion of the formal presentation, audience
questions will be presented for comment.
Justice and Conservative-Libertarian Ethics
a panel moderated by Cutter W. González

Members of the audience are welcome and encouraged to participate in this panel by submitting questions using the
Twitter hashtag #TLS2018. After a period of moderated discussion, audience questions will be presented to members of
the panel for comment.

Daniel A. Bonevac | The University of Texas at Austin

Professor Bonevac works mainly in metaphysics, philosophy
of mathematics, semantics, and philosophical logic. His book
Reduction in the Abstract Sciences received the Johnsonian Prize
from The Journal of Philosophy. The author of five books and editor
or co-editor of four others, Professor Bonevac’s articles include
“Against Conditional Obligation” (Noûs), “Sellars v. the Given”
(Philosophy and Phenomenological Research), “Reflection Without
Equilibrium,” (Journal of Philosophy), “Free Choice Permission
Is Strong Permission” (Synthese, with Nicholas Asher), “The
Conditional Fallacy,” (Philosophical Review, with Josh Dever and
David Sosa), “The Counterexample Fallacy” (Mind, also with Dever
and Sosa), and “The Argument from Miracles” and “Two Theories of Analogical Predication”
(Oxford Studies in the Philosophy of Religion). He was Chairman of the Department of
Philosophy from 1991 to 2001.

Melissa Goodwin | Texas Third Court of Appeals

Justice Melissa Goodwin received a law degree from St. Mary’s
School of Law and a BA from the University of Texas. Justice
Goodwin was first elected to Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals in
November 2010, and is currently serving in her second full term on
that court. Prior to her election to the 3rd Court of Appeals, Justice
Goodwin served as a District Court Judge, for the 427th Judicial
District Court of Travis County, as Justice of the Peace for Precinct
3, Travis County, Texas, and as an attorney for the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals.  

Justice Goodwin has also served the State of Texas as Commissioner

for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education. She has been
appointed to the Texas Judicial Council, the Judicial Ethics Committee and the Professional
Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas.
Justice and Conservative-Libertarian Ethics
a panel moderated by Cutter W. González

Melissa Goodwin (cont’d) | Texas Third Court of Appeals

In addition to her responsibilities as Justice on the 3rd Court of Appeals, Justice Goodwin travels
throughout Texas as a teaching faculty member with the Texas Justice Courts Training Center.
She is a member of the State Bar of Texas standing committee on Texas Pattern Jury Charges –
Criminal, and serves of the Rules Advisory Committee for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
She is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars on subjects including ethics,
error preservation, administrative law, criminal law and civil and criminal appellate law.

A proud mother of 3 college-age young adults, Justice Goodwin spends her free time visiting her
kids in college, painting, tending to her garden, and caring for the family Great Dane, cats and
chickens.

Kevin P. Yeary | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Judge Kevin Patrick Yeary is a native Texan. He was born in Cotulla,
and raised in Laredo. He and his wife, Suzie, have 4 daughters, and
they currently live in the Texas Hill Country, near Austin. Judge
Yeary was elected to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2014. From
1991 to 1992, he served as a law clerk/briefing attorneyCat the
Court of Criminal AppealsCto the late Honorable Judge Bill M.
White. He is the only currently serving Judge on the Court to have
also worked for the Court as an attorney.

After working at the Court, Judge Yeary worked for three years in
a private law firm, practicing civil litigation and criminal defense.
Immediately prior to his election, he was employed for 19 years as an appellate lawyer in large
district attorney’s offices across Texas. He has worked for the district attorney’s offices in Dallas,
Houston, and San Antonio. He has appeared as counsel and argued before both the Texas Court
of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court, and he has prepared and filed briefs in cases
before the United States Supreme Court as well. He received both his undergraduate and law
degrees from St. Mary’s University.
Power Players: A Discussion on the Texas GOP
and Making Change from Within
a panel moderated by Felisha A. Bull
Members of the audience are welcome and encouraged to participate in this panel by submitting questions using the
Twitter hashtag #TLS2018. After a period of moderated discussion, audience questions will be presented to members of
the panel for comment.

Jason Isaac | Tex. Conservative Coalition Research Inst.

State Rep. Jason Isaac is President of the Texas Conservative
Coalition Research Institute, a public policy think tank dedicated
to promoting limited government. Rep. Isaac is also completing his
fourth term as state representative for House District 45, serving
Hays and Blanco counties, which ends in January 2019.

Throughout his eight years of service in the legislature, Jason has

been a successful advocate for conservative principles and was
named a “Courageous Conservative” every session by the Texas
Conservative Coalition, the conservative caucus in the Texas
legislature. He passed legislation to reduce taxes, strengthen election
integrity, improve public education, preserve Second Amendment rights, and protect local
groundwater and private property rights. He is eager to use his experience and connections in
the Texas Capitol to grow the brand and influence of TCCRI in Austin and statewide.

Jason lives in Dripping Springs with his wife, Carrie, and two boys. They attend Westover Hills
Church of Christ.

Matthew Mackowiak | Travis County GOP

Matt Mackowiak is an Austin and Washington-based political
and communications consultant and President of Potomac
Strategy Group (PSG), LLC, which provides political consulting
to conservative campaigns and media relations and crisis
communications assistance to companies, groups and individuals.

Matt managed a statewide campaigns for Texas Comptroller for

Texas Comptroller for House Ways and Means chairman Harvey
Hilderbran and Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown. He also
advised former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe and Rep. Bill Flores,
who defeated 10-term incumbent, Chet Edwards, (D-TX) by 25%.
Power Players: A Discussion on the Texas GOP
and Making Change from Within
a panel moderated by Felisha A. Bull

Matthew Mackowiak (cont’d) | Travis County GOP

Matt appears regularly on MSNBC, Fox News, Sky News, BBC News and CBC-TV, and KTBC
Fox 7 in Austin. He is an exclusive columnist for The Washington Times, The New York Observer
and The Hill newspaper and is a biweekly columnist for The Austin American-Statesman, with
his column syndicated to over 200 newspapers nationally. His weekly national politics podcast,
“Mack On Politics,” which is produced in partnership with The Washington Times, has surpassed
40,000 downloads and features interviews with leading newsmakers.

A native of Austin, Matt graduated from The University of Texas in 2003. He and his wife,
Suzanne, live in with their two spoiled dogs, Ginny and Jasmine.

Karen Newton | Texas Fed. of Republican Women

Karen Newton is dedicated to keeping Texas Red by fully
immersing herself in grassroots efforts. She is President and former
Vice President of Finance for Texas Federation of Republican
Women. She has served as Co-Chair of Campaign Activities for the
National Federation of Republican Women, Recording Secretary for
the Greater San Antonio Council and President of Alamo Heights
Republican Women. Karen was appointed by Governor Abbott to
the Texas Radiation Advisory Board in April 2016 and served on
various committees with Congressman Lamar Smith. Karen Co-
Managed the Donald j. Trump for President National Call Center in
San Antonio during the 2016 Presidential election.

Before her involvement with TF.R.W. she dedicated 25 years to working as a community
volunteer in and around San Antonio, with organizations such as the San Antonio Symphony
League, the Junior league of San Antonio, Catholic Charities of Austin and Alamo Heights PTO.
Her community service continues with her Church and as a working Board member of the San
Antonio Library Foundation.

Karen and Joe have been married for nearly 30 years and enjoy traveling, spending time at their
home in Galveston with their daughter, two sons and daughter-in-law.
Leadership and Lawmaking: A Review of the
Texas Political Climate
a panel moderated by Cutter W. González
Members of the audience are welcome and encouraged to participate in this panel by submitting questions using the
Twitter hashtag #TLS2018. After a period of moderated discussion, audience questions will be presented to members of
the panel for comment.

Kyle Biedermann | Rep. for Texas House District 73

State Representative Kyle Biedermann was elected in 2016. He
currently serves on the County Affairs committees and Juvenile
Justice & Family Issues Committee. Additionally Representative
Biedermann is a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, its stated
purpose to ensure the voices of the citizens are heard in the halls of
the Texas Legislature.

Representative Biedermann serves the citizens of District 73, which

encompasses Comal, Gillespie and Kendall Counties. When Kyle
isn’t serving the citizens of House District 73 you can find him at
Biedermann’s ACE Hardware. He graduated from the University of
South Florida with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration.

Representative Biedermann and his wife Barbi live in Fredericksburg and attend Oakhills
church. They have seven daughters and eight grandchildren.

Jennifer Drabbant | Hill Country YR

Jennifer is an educator of six years, teaching at Del Valle High
School. She has two-six year-old, twin daughters. She grew up in
The Woodlands, Texas, where she graduated from The Woodlands
High School. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree in
mathematics at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She is the
founder and a former president of Texans United for America.
Additionally, she led the first pro-Trump march in the Texas cap-
ital. She has been involved in engagement and outreach efforts in
minority communities around Austin and was the Travis County
Republican Party’s Volunteer of the Year for 2018.
Leadership and Lawmaking: A Review of the
Texas Political Climate
a panel moderated by Cutter W. González

Luke Macias | Macias Strategies, LLC

Luke got into politics through his Dad who was an elected State
Representative for 2 years when the moderate establishment
Republicans decided to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to
take him out of office. Luke learned quickly that being conservative
was costly in politics and loves working to empower conservatives
to win elections, and fight for conservative policy solutions for
Texas. If he’s not working he’s spending time with multiple church
ministries as well as his family (He has 6 siblings).

Save the date!

Next year’s Travis Leadership Summit
will take place on 20 July 2019.