Staff
Tom "Smitty" Smith
Executive Director
Tom “Smitty” Smith served as the State Director of Texas Public Citizen for over 30 years, working to ensure clean air and water
and to address the elements contributing to global climate change.
He was a key leader in developing policies that resulted in
Texas' renewable energy boom of the 1990s and early 2000s,
and was an integral architect of the
Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP)
to address air quality in Texas non-attainment cities.
Once transportation emissions surpassed those of utilities
as the #1 cause of greenhouse gas emissions in 2017,
Smitty shifted his focus to help Texas transform into an electric transportation leader by becoming TxETRA's first Executive Director. He also serves on the national board of Plug-In America.
Amanda Alandzes
Member Relations and Administration
Amandaalandzes.txetra@gmail.com
Amanda Alandzes holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and has experience in the service and retail industry for 5+ years. She was the festival coordinator of Earth Day Austin 2022, with a clear passion for sustainability and doing good for the environment. She also is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance, teaching Hatha Yoga and Meditation.
Amanda handles administrative matters of the business such as organization of documents, contact maintenance, outreach, member relations, and various other administrative tasks.
She is the writer and editor of TxETRA's monthly newsletter.
Laura Morrison
Executive Director of the TxETRA Education Fund
Director of Community Initiatives
lauramorrison.txetra@gmail.com
Armed with a Bachelor's and Master's in Mathematics from
The University of California, Laura Morrison moved to Texas in 1981
and became an engineer at Lockheed - eventually helping the company develop business compliance systems. Laura served two terms on the Austin City Council, working with a broad sector of stakeholders on a myriad of issues critical to the City and its residents, including emerging technology adoption and oversight of the public electric utility, Austin Energy. Laura currently works with local governmental jurisdictions, regional bodies, and communities around the State to develop and implement EV policies, incentives, ordinance changes, and charging infrastructure - all with a focus on equity and broad outreach. She also works with communities on air quality, transportation and climate plans.