Governor Greg Abbott has reappointed Eduardo Contreras, Lisa Fullerton, and Omar Veliz to the Small Business Assistance Advisory Task Force. Their new terms will run until June 14, 2027. The Task Force provides advice and support to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House on small business matters and shares information with the public.
Eduardo Contreras is based in Austin and serves as founder and CEO of ALCON DTS. He has worked for two decades in IT security, networking, telecommunications, and software industries. Contreras is also involved with several organizations: he is a member of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Leadership Council, chairman of the board for the Texas European Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the ASCII Group.
Lisa Fullerton from San Antonio leads A Novel Idea, LLC as president and CEO. Her company operates Auntie Anne’s and Cinnabon franchises in San Antonio since 2000. Fullerton holds positions as director for NFIB, board member at Alliance Defending Freedom, donor advisory board member at Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County, and advisory board member at Biblical Leadership for Excellence. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Texas State University.
Omar Veliz resides in El Paso where he is president of Veliz Construction and works as a professional engineer. He sits on the executive board for Associated General Contractors of America – Austin Chapter. Veliz previously served on The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Construction Management Program advisory board and was chairman for El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board. He received both his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and Master’s degree in Business Administration from UTEP.
The Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott leads efforts related to economic development throughout Texas by supporting job growth initiatives across sectors such as small business assistance (https://gov.texas.gov/). This office also operates out of its main location in Austin within the State Insurance Building (https://gov.texas.gov/). Since his election in 2014 (https://gov.texas.gov/), Governor Abbott has overseen statewide programs focused on job creation and community engagement.
