10
86th Annual Convention
Keynote speaker
George P. Bush, Commissioner General Land Office
George Prescott Bush is a native Texan, born in Houston on April 24, 1976. He was elected
Texas Land Commissioner on Nov. 4, 2014, earning more votes than any other statewide
candidate on the ballot. Commissioner Bush took office on Jan. 2, 2015.
As Texas Land Commissioner, Bush works to ensure Texas veterans get the benefits
they’ve earned, oversees investments that earn billions of dollars for public education and
manages state lands to produce the oil and gas that is helping make America energyindependent.
Commissioner Bush also watches over the Alamo and preserves historic archives at the
General Land Office that date back to the Spanish Empire.
Commissioner Bush is a successful businessman. He joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP after earning his Juris
Doctorate at the University of Texas School of Law. He subsequently co-founded Pennybacker Capital LLC, a real estate
private equity firm, in 2007, and St. Augustine Partners LLC, a Fort Worth-based investment firm focused on oil and gas
transactions and consulting for private businesses.
Commissioner Bush is also committed to helping fellow Texans in his private life. He co-chaired a $30 million capital
campaign for Big Brothers Big Sisters in North Texas and served as the co-chairman of the Dallas/Fort Worth
Celebration of Reading. He was the Tarrant County chairman for Uplift Education — a highly successful Dallas-based
public charter network focused on closing the achievement gap in inner-city public schools. He also served on the
Board of Trustees for the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.
Commissioner Bush is the grandson of President George H.W. Bush, the son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and
the nephew of President George W. Bush. He lives in Austin with his wife, Amanda, and their two sons, Prescott and
Jack.
Breakfast speaker
Dr. Daniel I. Fine, New Mexico Center for Energy Policy
Dr. Daniel Fine is the Associate Director of the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy and is
a Senior Policy Analyst in the New Mexico State Department of Energy Minerals and
Natural Resources.
He is a long time research associate at the Mining and Minerals Resources Institute (MIT).
Fine is also a policy adviser on nonc