TWDB Executive Administrator

Melanie Callahan Executive Administrator

As the executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), Ms. Callahan serves as the chief executive officer of a state agency employing over 300 scientists, engineers, lawyers, GIS professionals, finance officers, and related support staff.  Under the direction of a six-member board appointed by the governor, the TWDB is responsible for planning the statewide development of water resources, financing water-related infrastructure, and maintaining and disseminating natural resource data for Texas, which includes water-bearing formations and watersheds.

Ms. Callahan is a certified public accountant with experience in public sector financial management, including accounting, budget, and finance at five different state agencies.  She joined the TWDB in September 2001 as the director of the fiscal services division and was named chief financial officer (CFO) in August 2007.  In her role as the CFO, Callahan monitored multi-billion dollar loan and debt portfolios and an investment portfolio in excess of $1 billion, and she formulated and managed the annual operating budget. She was named interim executive administrator effective March 2011 and was subsequently named executive administrator in December 2011.

Callahan graduated cum laude with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from Baylor University in 1982.