Birdwell announces capitol staff for coming year

AUSTIN—State Senator Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) announced Tuesday the finalized list of his Capitol staff members going into the 88th legislative session. MaKayla Arthur, Allie Barnett, Kirstee Bock, Carter Byrum, JW Galloway, Hunter Hinton, Ryan Hogan, Gatlin Moncla, and Shelby Sterling will represent the Senator in the Austin office.

“As I always do before a legislative session, I am again excited to officially introduce my Capitol staff,” said Sen. Birdwell. “This session will be another rigorous one, so I am pleased to have such a talented team to help me serve the citizens of Senate District 22.”

Legislative Director Gatlin Moncla worked as a policy analyst to Senator Birdwell from 2018 to 2021, before leaving to work for the Speaker’s office in the 87th legislative Session. Moncla came back to serve as Legislative Director to Senator Birdwell in October 2022. This will be his fifth legislative session. In addition to overseeing the Senator’s policy team and legislative priorities, he has served as the Committee Director of the Committee on Border Security, which Birdwell chairs.

Senior Policy Analyst MaKayla Arthur served as Legislative Director for Rep. Glenn Rogers during the 87th legislative session. Prior to that role, Arthur worked for Texas Farm Bureau and the Texas Ag Council. She will focus on the State Affairs, Transportation, and Ag., Water & Rural Affairs committees.

Policy Analyst & Council Shelby Sterling transferred to the Capitol office in December after aiding in the 2022 re-election campaign of Governor Abbott. Prior to that role, Sterling worked at Texas Public Policy Foundation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M School of Law.

Policy Analyst Hunter Hinton joined the Birdwell staff from Senator Drew Springer’s office. He is a native of Austin and a graduate of the University of Baylor.

Office Manager and Scheduler Kirstee Bock served in the same role for Senator Birdwell in the 87th legislative session and is a graduate of the UCLA. Prior to joining Senator Birdwell’s staff, Bock served previously as a Senate Messenger and has played an invaluable role in all scheduling management and office operations since 2019.

Constituent Correspondence Manager Ryan Hogan joined the staff in 2022 after working for Texas Legislative Service (Telicon) in the previous two sessions. Hogan leads all constituent outreach and communications in the office, ensuring that Senator Birdwell is able to hear from and connect to the citizens of Senate District 22.

Carter Byrum is rejoining the office after working for Senator Birdwell during the 87th legislative session as the Senator’s Constituent Correspondence Manager. Byrum is currently in his second year of law school at UT Law and is joining the office through the UT System Legislative Internship Program.

Also joining the staff through the Bob Bullock Scholars Program is Allie Barnett, a Baylor University senior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship. Barnett plans on attending law school in the fall.

Senator Birdwell is also assisted by his District Managers, both of whom manage constituent casework and serve as local liaisons on his behalf. Shelly Verlander (Granbury & a pending office location in Arlington) is a certified paralegal and joined the staff in early 2012. Robyn Morrison (Waco) joined Senator Bridwell’s staff in early 2022.

The staff will be managed by JW Galloway, who has worked in the Capitol since 2010 and has been with Senator Birdwell since early 2020 and served as Chief of Staff since August 2022.

The 88th legislative session began Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.