TDHCA Governing Board

Leo Vasquez of Houston is a corporate finance and C-level business management consultant. He has served as a board member of multiple organizations, including the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Texas Advisory Board (USGLC), an advisory board member of the Texas Policy Lab at Rice University, Houston’s Greater East End Management District, the Harris County Appraisal District, and the Harris County Health Facilities Development Corporation. Vasquez received his Governance Fellow designation from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He previously served as the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, served as chairman of the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, was a two-time gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, and Governor Abbott first appointed him to the TDHCA board in 2017, later naming him chairman of the board in 2020 and reappointing him in 2024. Vasquez received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

The Honorable Kenny Marchant of Coppell has spent nearly 40 years as a leader in the community, most recently in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 24th Congressional District of Texas. He retired in January 2021. During his tenure, he served on numerous committees including the House Committee on Ways & Means – often referred to as the most influential committee because of its broad jurisdiction including tax policy, Social Security, trade, and Medicare. Prior to serving in Congress, Marchant served on the Carrollton City Council and was elected in 1984 as Mayor of Carrollton. In 1987, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and made his reputation as a savvy, behind-the-scenes legislator and consensus-builder. In the process, he was named “Top Ten Legislator” and “Peacemaker” by Texas Monthly and “Legislator of the Year” by the Texas Municipal League. Marchant was Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Investments, where he authored legislation strengthening oversight of credit unions, allowing interstate branch banking, enforcing state laws relating to corporate fraud, securing public investments, and allowing access to home equity. He also served as Chairman of the State Affairs Committee.

Cindy Conroy of El Paso is the director of community outreach and aide to the chairman of WestStar bank. Conroy serves as the chair of the El Paso Community College Foundation and the Heart Gallery of El Paso and is the immediate past chair of the United Way of El Paso County. She is a member of the board of El Paso Maters, Pioneer Association of El Paso County, Customer Advisory Partnership of El Paso Electric, and the State Bar of Texas Advertising Review Committee. She is a member of Leadership Texas class of 2007 and former member of the Texas Governor’s University Research Initiative Advisory Board. Conroy is also the former chair of Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest, former president of El Paso Executive Forum, and former board member of Leadership Women. Governor Abbott appointed her to the Governor’s Commission for Women in 2020 and has reappointed her twice. She is a 2023 Hunt-Aspen Institute Fellow and the recipient of El Paso Inc.’s “2022 Woman of Impact.” Conroy received a Master of Arts in Political Science from The University of Texas at El Paso

Anna Maria Farías of San Antonio is retired. Most recently, she worked as the Assistant Secretary, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a U.S. Senate-confirmed position. In addition to many other professional leadership positions with the federal government, Farías served as the Executive Director of the Crystal City Housing Authority in Texas from 1993 to 2000. She resided in Crystal City Housing Projects growing up and she was one of the first Executive Directors to reside in the affordable housing community during the tenure of her leadership. Farías previously served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Women’s University Board of Regents where she served as Chairman in 2017. She was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000. Farías received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Boston University and a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. She also was a Fellow with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Holland Harper of Paris is Chief Development Officer of Harrison, Walker and Harper, LLC, a project management, construction, and engineering company established in Paris in 1887. He is a member of the Design Build Institute of America, the American Institute of Constructors, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He is a member of the Paris ISD Career and Technology Education Advisory Board and the Texas A&M Commerce Engineering Board. Harper serves as Treasurer on the board of the Sulphur River Regional Mobility Authority. He served 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, having received an honorable discharge in 2008. Harper received an undergraduate degree in International Studies from Austin College in Sherman and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M-Commerce. He also graduated from the Owner/President Management Program and the Graduate School of Design Executive Education at Harvard University.

Ajay Thomas of Austin is Executive Vice President and U.S. Head of Public Finance for FHN Financial, a division of First Horizon Bank. He is a member of the Board of Visitors for Southwestern University and an Advisory Board Member of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Additionally, Thomas previously served as a board member of the Texas Business Leadership Council. Receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University, Thomas was selected from the United States as a General Course Scholar to the London School of Economics and later earned his Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law.