Since 2014, Albert Betts, Jr. has served as Executive Director of the Insurance Council of Texas, a nonprofit trade association advocating on behalf of its 440 members who are property and casualty insurers doing business in Texas. Betts is a registered lobbyist and treasurer of the Insuring Texas political action committee. Previously, he was a partner at Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons, LLP, where he represented insurers and trade associations in regulatory, compliance, and legislative matters before the Texas Department of Insurance and the Texas Legislature. Appointed by Governor Rick Perry, Betts served as Texas’ first Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation (2005–2008) and successfully led major reforms to the regulatory agency and the Texas workers’ compensation system. During this time, Betts testified before multiple legislative committees and advised policymakers on transformation of the Texas system. Prior to being appointed commissioner, he served as Chief of Staff at the Texas Department of Insurance. Overall, he has 35 years of public- and private-sector experience as a lawyer, public policy administrator, and organizational leader, including service with the Texas Department of Insurance, the State Office of Risk Management, the Texas Attorney General, and the former Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission. Betts is co-editor of Larson, Texas Workers’ Compensation Handbook and frequently speaks to insurance, risk management, and employer groups. He serves on the boards of two charitable 501 (c)(3) non-profit organizations, the Insurance Council of Texas Education Foundation and Power for Parkinson’s. He previously served as chair of Texas Legal, a non-profit prepaid legal benefit plan created to provide affordable legal services to Texans and was on that organization’s board of directors from 2010 through 2019. Betts received his B.A. the University of Texas at Austin, and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and has been a licensed attorney since 1991