Architecture on Tap: Public Policy

Becky Walker is the Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy for the Texas Society of Architects. In her role, she represents TxA in state legislative and regulatory matters.

During the legislative sessions, she champions TxA’s legislative priorities through her relationships with elected officials and allied stakeholders. She is a registered lobbyist in the state of Texas.

Becky is the Executive Secretary for the Texas Society of Architects Committee (TAC), the profession’s only state political action committee. She serves as a liaison to the TAC Executive Trustees, providing guidance on political campaigns and contributions.

Before joining TxA in 2018, Becky served as Legislative and Communications Director for a Texas State Senator. In her more than 15 years of experience working in state government and Texas politics, she has developed a broad professional network and public policy expertise.

Becky is a graduate of Texas Lutheran University and a native Austinite. She loves cheering on the Houston Astros and trying new restaurants around town.

The Texas Society of Architects introduces Jason E. Puchot, AIA, as the 2024 president-elect. Before he serves as president in 2025, he will spend this year visiting local chapters across the state and working on the Executive Committee of the TxA Board of Directors.

Jason is a senior vice president for RVK Architecture where he is one of four principals over the architecture studio of the multi-disciplined firm. As a board-certified healthcare architect, he is also the senior healthcare planner for the firm. For more than two decades, Jason has leveraged evidence-based architecture to transform rural and urban healthcare facilities for his clients. In addition to healthcare design, his work also includes industrial, transportation, higher education, and commercial development projects.

Jason started his service with the AIA immediately after graduating from Texas A&M University where he earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design. After graduation, he moved to Boston, where he first took an interest in helping others become licensed architects. His first AIA state role was in 2001 as the Intern Development Program State Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. During his first year of service, he presented at Harvard and Northeastern on the path to licensure. Shortly thereafter, he relocated back to Texas, this time to Houston.

While in Houston, Jason expanded his network at AIA Houston, where he helped establish and co-chair the Intern Advocate Group, connecting emerging professionals with established architects for mentoring. He also served as a co-chair of the 2004 TxA Annual Conference in Houston. His commitment to the advancement of the profession got him elected to the TxA Board and a national position at AIA from 2004-2006 as the Regional Associate Director. During that time, he also served as co-chair of the Education Student Liaison Committee at TxA, working to strengthen the communication between educators, practitioners, and students by facilitating meetings with deans of colleges of architecture, students, and TxA.

In 2008, Jason and his family returned home to San Antonio where he continued his involvement with the local AIA chapter. There, he helped establish a Healthcare Knowledge Community for the chapter, with a mission of promoting the established local healthcare designers. Jason was later nominated to the AIA San Antonio Board of Directors from 2015-2017 during which time he chaired his second TxA Annual Conference in 2016. Jason was honored to be elected president of AIA San Antonio in 2018.

After his service in San Antonio, he turned his sights towards state representation and in 2019, was asked to sit on TxA’s Finance Committee, gaining valuable experience and eventually serving as TxA Treasurer in 2020-2021.

Jason was awarded the 2006 Texas Society of Architects Associate of the Year Award for his work in the profession. He continues to be an advocate for professional development in San Antonio as an active participant in the ACE Mentoring Program since 2017, and most recently on the Executive Council of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce as the Leadership and Professional Development Council Chair in 2023.

Jason met his wife Julie while at Texas A&M and has two children; William, who is a freshman at Miami of Ohio studying music, and Haley, a high school sophomore. His passion for mentoring extends beyond architecture, where he has coached youth hockey since 2014 and most recently serves as assistant coach for the Texas State University ACHA Division 2 Hockey team.