Archer Fellowship Program Alumni Profiles
Bobby Janecka
Fall 2005 Archer Fellow
Internship: National Republican Senatorial Committee
Education
The University of Texas at Dallas
Bachelor of Arts in literary studies and historical studies; May 2006
Texas A&M University - Bush School of Government & Public Service
Master of International Affairs; May 2009
Archer Center Engagement
Archer Center Advisory Board Member
Archer Center Trustee
Career
Commissioner, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
State Liaison to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Policy Advisor to Texas Governor Greg Abbott - previous
Section Manager, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - previous
Legislative Analyst, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - previous
Chief of Staff, Texas House of Representatives - previous
Legislative Director, Texas House of Representatives - previous
Special Education Teacher, Jefferson Parish Public School System - previous
Fall 2005 Archer Fellow
Internship: National Republican Senatorial Committee
Education
The University of Texas at Dallas
Bachelor of Arts in literary studies and historical studies; May 2006
Texas A&M University - Bush School of Government & Public Service
Master of International Affairs; May 2009
Archer Center Engagement
Archer Center Advisory Board Member
Archer Center Trustee
Career
Commissioner, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
State Liaison to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Policy Advisor to Texas Governor Greg Abbott - previous
Section Manager, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - previous
Legislative Analyst, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - previous
Chief of Staff, Texas House of Representatives - previous
Legislative Director, Texas House of Representatives - previous
Special Education Teacher, Jefferson Parish Public School System - previous
"The Archer Fellowship Program gave me a semester with some of the smartest and most ideologically diverse peers that the UT System had to offer. That short change in my social and intellectual surroundings created a profoundly impactful mental sounding board that I often reflect back on even today."
Q & A with Bobby
Please tell us more about your current position.
I work at our state environmental regulatory agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). At TCEQ, I serve as one of the three full-time commissioners appointed by the governor to establish overall agency direction and policy and to make final determinations on contested permitting and enforcement matters. My appointment was confirmed by the Texas Senate this spring, so I hope to now serve the full term through 2025.
Please tell us more about your Archer Fellowship Program internship.
My internship with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was an exciting foray into partisan politics. As the primary political arm of the Republican U.S. Senators and Senate candidates, the NRSC gave me ample opportunity to follow a shockingly diverse panel of candidates and issues across the country in my work supporting their communications team. The internship was also a success in terms of professional development—after completing the internship and returning to Texas for my last semester before graduation, I was invited to return to the NRSC as full-time staff, where I worked through the conclusion of the election campaign cycle.
What has been your general career path?
I've primarily worked in the Texas state government. After concluding my time in politics and Washington, D.C. (thanks entirely to the Archer Fellowship Program), my attentions returned to Texas: the Texas State Legislature and graduate school. The original plan was to use graduate school as the springboard back to D.C. and abroad, but Texas politics proved to be too much fun to pass up. After ten years of state service and working now in my seventh legislative session, the majority of my career has been spent working on issues related to environmental regulation (mostly radioactive material!).
How has your experience as an Archer Fellow influenced your career path and goals?
Somewhat counterintuitively, my experience as an Archer Fellow profoundly impacted my career path and goals—primarily in helping me understand that I wanted very little to do with Washington, D.C. or partisan politics (politics, as opposed to policy). In a much more direct way, it was one of my Fall 2005 Archer Fellow classmates who helped connect me with my first policy job in Texas, which ultimately led me down this path.
What did you value the most about your Archer Fellowship Program experience?
At the time we were in the Program, in many ways it felt like our cohort's fall semester was basically just a running political argument among the Fellows. With each year that passes, I cherish those political arguments all the more—but for a reason you may not expect. The friendships and respect we fostered among the Archer Fellows that year certainly helped ease the inevitable tensions we dredged up with our incessant debating, but they also created something like a fertile garden for that very diverse collection of policy arguments to slowly grow. Let me try to put it another way—the Archer Fellowship Program gave me a semester with some of the smartest and most ideologically diverse peers that the UT System had to offer. That short change in my social and intellectual surroundings created a profoundly impactful mental sounding board that I often reflect back on even today.
What do you value the most about being an alumnus?
I'm so proud to count myself as a member of the growing family of (exceptionally!) impressive Archer Fellows, particularly because the Program does a great job of trying to make sure that the Archer Family is truly representative of Texas. I find it remarkably valuable that our cohorts come from so many UT System institutions (which continue to grow in number, I might add!). For example, in my current role I'm thrilled to get to focus on our agency's work serving public needs along our state's border with Mexico. From day one of stepping into this role and entirely new issue area, I could immediately point to Archer Fellow alumni from El Paso down to the Rio Grande Valley; this only highlights for me just how incredibly valuable the Archer Fellow experience really is.
What is your favorite memory as an Archer Fellow?
I have so many good memories of our social activities together and lively classroom discussions, but the one experience I will never forget is the ENORMOUS discussion/argument/debate most of our cohort started/got sucked into on our class trip to Mount Vernon. I think our tour included many more historical facts and perspectives than strictly those on the paper placards next to the artifacts and buildings, and for that valuable additional context I will always be grateful.
Please tell us more about your current position.
I work at our state environmental regulatory agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). At TCEQ, I serve as one of the three full-time commissioners appointed by the governor to establish overall agency direction and policy and to make final determinations on contested permitting and enforcement matters. My appointment was confirmed by the Texas Senate this spring, so I hope to now serve the full term through 2025.
Please tell us more about your Archer Fellowship Program internship.
My internship with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was an exciting foray into partisan politics. As the primary political arm of the Republican U.S. Senators and Senate candidates, the NRSC gave me ample opportunity to follow a shockingly diverse panel of candidates and issues across the country in my work supporting their communications team. The internship was also a success in terms of professional development—after completing the internship and returning to Texas for my last semester before graduation, I was invited to return to the NRSC as full-time staff, where I worked through the conclusion of the election campaign cycle.
What has been your general career path?
I've primarily worked in the Texas state government. After concluding my time in politics and Washington, D.C. (thanks entirely to the Archer Fellowship Program), my attentions returned to Texas: the Texas State Legislature and graduate school. The original plan was to use graduate school as the springboard back to D.C. and abroad, but Texas politics proved to be too much fun to pass up. After ten years of state service and working now in my seventh legislative session, the majority of my career has been spent working on issues related to environmental regulation (mostly radioactive material!).
How has your experience as an Archer Fellow influenced your career path and goals?
Somewhat counterintuitively, my experience as an Archer Fellow profoundly impacted my career path and goals—primarily in helping me understand that I wanted very little to do with Washington, D.C. or partisan politics (politics, as opposed to policy). In a much more direct way, it was one of my Fall 2005 Archer Fellow classmates who helped connect me with my first policy job in Texas, which ultimately led me down this path.
What did you value the most about your Archer Fellowship Program experience?
At the time we were in the Program, in many ways it felt like our cohort's fall semester was basically just a running political argument among the Fellows. With each year that passes, I cherish those political arguments all the more—but for a reason you may not expect. The friendships and respect we fostered among the Archer Fellows that year certainly helped ease the inevitable tensions we dredged up with our incessant debating, but they also created something like a fertile garden for that very diverse collection of policy arguments to slowly grow. Let me try to put it another way—the Archer Fellowship Program gave me a semester with some of the smartest and most ideologically diverse peers that the UT System had to offer. That short change in my social and intellectual surroundings created a profoundly impactful mental sounding board that I often reflect back on even today.
What do you value the most about being an alumnus?
I'm so proud to count myself as a member of the growing family of (exceptionally!) impressive Archer Fellows, particularly because the Program does a great job of trying to make sure that the Archer Family is truly representative of Texas. I find it remarkably valuable that our cohorts come from so many UT System institutions (which continue to grow in number, I might add!). For example, in my current role I'm thrilled to get to focus on our agency's work serving public needs along our state's border with Mexico. From day one of stepping into this role and entirely new issue area, I could immediately point to Archer Fellow alumni from El Paso down to the Rio Grande Valley; this only highlights for me just how incredibly valuable the Archer Fellow experience really is.
What is your favorite memory as an Archer Fellow?
I have so many good memories of our social activities together and lively classroom discussions, but the one experience I will never forget is the ENORMOUS discussion/argument/debate most of our cohort started/got sucked into on our class trip to Mount Vernon. I think our tour included many more historical facts and perspectives than strictly those on the paper placards next to the artifacts and buildings, and for that valuable additional context I will always be grateful.
