Our Team

Senator Gonzalo Barrientos brings more than 30 years of public policy and legislative experience as a former legislator in the Texas House of Representatives, 1975 -1985 and the Texas Senate from 1985 - 2007. Senator Barrientos' accomplishments include successful passage of more than two dozen bills designed to decrease the school dropout rate. His efforts have led to a reduction of the school dropout rate across the state. Senator Barrientos has also sponsored significant legislation to eliminate abuse of the elderly and protect the rights and benefits of state employees. In 2001, the senator passed a criminal justice package including DNA testing legislation to identify serial rapists and child molesters, the "Bill Biles law," which guarantees money from the Crime Victim's fund for families of peace officers killed in the line of duty, and creation of the "Cold Case Unit" in the Texas Rangers to solve old, unsolved crimes. Senator Barrientos is the recipient of many awards, including the Texas Rehabilitation Association's Legislative Excellence Award; the Austin Groups for the Elderly 1995 Achievement Award; the 1996 Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund's Matt Garcia Public Service Award; the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities Outstanding Public Servant Award for 1997; the 1998 Symposium of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Appreciation Award; the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas 1999 Crime Fighter of the Year Award; the 1999 National Dropout Prevention Network's Award of Excellence for Special Services; and, in 2001, the first-ever Combined Law Enforcement of Texas Association of Texas Lifetime Achievement Award. He also has the distinction of being chosen the Texas Public Employees Association Outstanding Legislator of the Year three times, and of receiving their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. Before his election to the Texas Senate in November, 1984, Barrientos served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985. He was born July 20, 1941 in Galveston and grew up in Bastrop. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Psychology and Spanish. He and his wife, Emma Serrato of Galveston, are the parents of five children: Joseph, Angelina, Alicia, Adelita, and Veronica. Since moving to Austin in 1960, Barrientos has been active in civic and community affairs and Texas politics. Prior to his election to public office, Barrientos worked as a community organizer for the National Urban League; as program officer for VISTA/Peace Corps; and as a trainer for the Leadership Institute for Community Development in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the Board, National Communities-in-Schools. Senator Barrientos now focuses efforts in the local advertising and public relations industry as President & Principal of Barrientos and Associates, Inc.

Strategized both national and statewide elections, including U.S. House of Representatives, state senate, and state representative elections •Managed elections for City of Austin and Travis County, including both Austin City Council and AISD •Assisted in the election of five City of Austin mayors and more than a dozen City of Austin Council Members •Led the introduction of geographic representation to Austin, including an anti-gerrymandering citizen redistricting committee, using 100% grassroots volunteers •Experienced executive, manager, and individual advisor to election campaigns •He is the nexus of a personal network of hundreds of political experts, tacticians, and operatives •Proven ability to successfully lead organizations that blend professionals, volunteers, and neighborhood councils on a partisan and non-partisan basis

He then was a manager in the research and advertising departments at the Austin American Statesman before joining Knight-Ridder at the Miami Herald and becoming publisher of its papers in State College and then Akron. He was later publisher of the Portland Press Herald. He is a former director of many local, regional and national non-profit organizations, including the Austin Community Foundation, the National Audubon Society, and Outward Bound USA. He is a former chair of the UT Austin Development Board and member of the Advisory Councils of the College of Natural Sciences and of the College of Undergraduate Studies. He is former chairman of the board of Harte-Hanks and a former board member of Crown Resources and Geokinetics, as well as numerous private companies. Harte and his late wife Kay began prairie restoration on their land in Spicewood in the early 1980s and he continues that work today. He has been honored with the Lone Star Land Steward Award by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Victor Emanuel Conservation Award by Travis Audubon.

From 2015 to 2019, Houston served as the first representative of District #1 on the Austin City Council. Houston focused on increasing equity throughout the city, increasing employment and economic opportunities, working to eliminate healthcare disparities, and dismantling the systemic and institutional racism that can be found in policies, procedures, and practices in bureaucracies. Houston has received many awards in recognition of her advocacy efforts in the community: State Agency Council, Outstanding Women in Texas Government, Pioneer Spirit Award (1998); National Association of Social Workers – Texas Chapter, Public Citizen of the Year Award (2009); National Original L.C. Anderson Alumni Association Community Trailblazer Award (2015); Asian Family Support Services of Austin Lotus Award (2016); Huston-Tillotson University International Alumni Association Women Making a Difference (2016); Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., Capital City Chapter Status of Women Award (2017); Union of Black Episcopalians Dr. Verna Josephine Dozier Honor Award (2018); and Beta Upsilon Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Dillard University, Hidden Figure Recognition, (2018). Houston, daughter of O.H. Elliott and Thelma M. Elliott, was born in Rome, GA and has lived in East Austin most of her life. She attended Blackshear Elementary School, Kealing Jr. High School and the 'original' L.C. Anderson High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Huston-Tillotson University—all in Austin City Council District #1. Houston has participated in many local organizations and commissions. She is a Life Member of the NAACP and the Union of Black Episcopalians-Myra McDaniel Chapter. She is an active member of St. James’ Episcopal Church—an inclusive, multicultural, multilingual congregation.

Software executive and consultant to VC backed start-ups with successful M&A exits. 15-year IBM engineering and business alliances executive. Acting CTO of Intershop Communications AG. Angel investor / mentor to start-ups and entrepreneurs. Founding member of Central Texas Angel Network. Advisor to and investor in >10 Austin start-ups in IT, food delivery, real estate management, personal care products, and sport accessories. 6+ time judge of McCombs Texas Venture Labs semifinals & finals. Judge at St. Edwards’ “Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century” MBA program. Active in Austin politics. Provided IT infrastructure for introduction of geographic representation to Austin. Led and/or provided IT support to >5 of citizen initiatives and candidates since 2012. Software technology development, alliance management alliance management, go-to-market, and strategy success at companies as large as IBM and as small as Linuxcare (Levanta). General manager and engineering executive of software portfolios producing >$200M and separately >$300M / year. Led teams of 800 and 1,100. Large enterprise, mission critical products. Specialties: Listening. Mapping requirements to products; marketplaces to businesses. Operating systems, virtualization, software networking, security, systems management, and hardware architecture. Manage >5 commercial and political WordPress websites

Rather has served as a board member of Save our Springs Alliance, Trinity Edwards Aquifer Protection Association, Envision Central Texas and the Hill Country Conservancy and on the Advisory Board of Sustainable Food Center. She also served for five years as an Austin Partners in Education reading volunteer to 2nd grade students in some of Austin’s lowest income elementary schools. She holds a B.A in Sociology from Tufts University and a certificate in mediation from the Dispute Resolution Center of Austin. Collective Strength has conducted thousands of interviews using a variety of both in person and online methods. The firm specializes in achieving high levels of inclusivity across multicultural demographics and has deep expertise across the full range of urban, suburban and rural audiences. Collective Strength’s non-profit/public sector clients have included the Congress for New Urbanism, American Planning Association, City of Dallas, City of Tulsa, Metro Nashville, Center for Planning Excellence, Smart Growth America, Transportation for America, Indian Nation Council of Governments, Texas Medical Association, National Resource Defense Council, HUD Sustainable Communities program, Cumberland Region Tomorrow, University of Texas Office of Sustainability, New Energy Economy, Baker Institute at Rice University, and the Big Bend Conservation Alliance, as well as many private sector clients. Rather also has extensive industry experience in new technology adoption and prior to establishing Collective Strength held senior executive roles at leading tech market research firms including International Data Corporation (Director), IntelliQuest (Vice President) and CMP Media (Vice President).

He has worked in Veteran advocacy in various paid and volunteer positions since leaving the Navy, and volunteers in various civic engagement roles in and around Austin. He is a graduate of Austin Community College and The University of Texas at Austin, with a degree in Government and Philosophy and a certificate in Ethics & Leadership.