Texas Catholic Conference Announces New Executive Director

The Texas Catholic Conference has announced that Jeffery R. Patterson will serve as its new Executive Director.

“Jeffery has a long experience in understanding legislative process and at the same time a deep and firm commitment to Catholic teaching,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. “In addition, as a native Texan, he has a good sense of the state and of the Catholic Church and its life here. I heartily welcome him to his position as executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference.”

As Executive Director, Patterson will serve the Texas Bishops in overseeing the Conferences’ activities, which include coordinating Catholic institutions, programs, and ministries across the state, as well as advocating before the Texas Legislature, the U.S. Congress, and governmental agencies on issues involving the moral and social teachings of the Catholic Church.

“I am enthusiastic for the opportunities this position provides—especially at the intersection of public policy and faith—to further our shared values and social responsibilities,” Patterson said. “As Texas continues to face a number of critical challenges, I look forward to working with the bishops to offer governmental leaders thoughtful and compassionate approaches to deal with these issues.”

Patterson is the fifth director of the Conference and follows Andrew Rivas, who served as the Executive Director for the Conference for 5 years. Prior to Rivas, Holy Cross Brother Richard Daly served as the Conference’s director for 26 years.

Patterson brings nearly 30 years of experience in political communications and institutional public affairs management. He comes to TCC from The University of Texas at Austin, where he served for six years as Assistant Dean for Administration at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and eight years as Program Officer/ Communications Director for the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Previously, he served in the U.S. Congress as a Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen and as a Legislative Aide and Press Secretary for U.S. Congressman Michael A. Andrews.

During his career, Patterson has received a number of professional honors, most recently an Eyes of Texas Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Life at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2010 and a Lone Star Emmy Award in 2005 as executive producer of the PBS documentary Are the Kids Alright? Tales of Mental Health Services in Texas while at the Hogg Foundation. As a reporter and editor in Houston during the 1980s, he received a number of awards for news reporting, feature writing, and newspaper and magazine design from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association, the Texas Press Association, the Texas Daily Newspaper Association.

Patterson is a doctoral candidate in the UT College of Communication and teaches graduate courses in public affairs communications, writing for the mass media, and public relations management at the University. He has a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from The American University in Washington, D.C., a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Houston, and an associate’s degree in journalism from San Jacinto College.

“I wish to welcome Jeffery Patterson as the new Executive Director of the Texas Catholic Conference,” said Bishop Joe Vásquez, Bishop of the Diocese of Austin. “I believe Jeffery’s years of work in public affairs and communications will be a tremendous benefit to the Texas Catholic Conference. As the Bishop of Austin, I look forward to working closely with him. I am grateful to Andrew Rivas for his service to the TCC for the past 5 years.”

The Texas Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Bishops of Texas. The primary purpose of the Conference is to encourage and foster cooperation and communication among the dioceses and the ministries of the Catholic Church in Texas.

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