Today Commissioner George P. Bush announced newly named Directors for the three main divisions of the Texas General Land Office. Brian Carter will assume the role of Director of the Asset Enhancement division, Colonel Matthew Elledge will be directing the Veterans Programs division and Dr. Ken Wisian takes over as director of the Coastal Protection division of the office of the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
In his role as Director of Asset Enhancement, Carter will oversee a restructured division that seeks to increase revenues that benefit the Permanent School Fund (PSF), a $34 billion dollar fund that supports public schools throughout the state. The Asset Enhancement division includes a wealth of program areas including mineral leasing, real estate services and assets management.
Carter has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Morehouse College, a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and a M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He began his career in complex commercial litigation for a large law firm in Austin, Texas before joining the Capital Markets division of Simon Property Group, the largest real estate investment trust in the U.S. Carter was primarily responsible for managing the company's secured debt portfolio, which included loan workouts, refinancings, and debt restructurings. After the formation of Washington Prime Group, the publicly-held spinoff of SPG, Carter joined Washington Prime and worked in finance, acquisitions, and investments.
As the new director of Veterans Programs, Colonel Matthew Elledge will be tasked with managing eight Texas State Veterans Homes statewide, four Texas State Veterans Cemeteries, and all loan programs run by the Veterans Land Board. Additionally the Texas Veterans Land Board is focused on helping veterans find information about the benefits and assistance services available to them through the statewide call service center and by hosting Veterans Benefits Fairs in cities across Texas. The call center is collaboration between the VLB and the Texas Veterans Commission. VLB Texas Veterans Specialists work closely with other Veterans Service Organizations to help them to the resources they need by calling 1-800-252-8387.
Colonel Elledge comes to the GLO from his post as Garrison Commander at Ft. Hood, TX. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters, and Combat Infantryman's Badge with Star, the Expert Infantryman's Badge, and the Parachutist Badge and Ranger Tab. In his role as Garrison Commander Colonel Elledge was responsible for assuring the health and welfare of more than 370,000 soldiers, family members, retirees and civilians. Before serving as Garrison Commander at Ft. Hood, Colonel Elledge was a fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University. Colonel Elledge deployed overseas for tours in support of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, Operations Intrinsic Action and Iris Gold in the Emirate of Kuwait, and multiple tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Colonel Elledge has a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in military operations from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.
New director of the Coastal Protection division, Major General Ken Wisian will oversee operations including disaster recovery, oil spill prevention and response, and coastal resources and protection. The General Land Office works to preserve and protect that coast for future generations of Texans. The GLO has five depots along the coastline ready to respond to any natural disaster, be it oil spill or hurricane. The GLO also oversees everything from beach nourishment and marsh restoration projects to Adopt-A-Beach trash cleanup days and ensuring the constitutional rights of Texans to access their beaches.
In his previous post as Deputy Adjutant General - Air of the Texas Military Department at Camp Mabry, Major General Wisian commanded more than 3,200 Airmen, was in charge of more than $500 million of facilities and equipment and routinely designed and fielded significant emergency response resources. During ten years of active duty, he served as navigator/bombardier and experimental test navigator, instructor and evaluator in B-52s and special mission C-130s. General Wisian transferred to the Texas Air National Guard 1994. As both a part-time and full-time guardsman he served as a C-130 and RC-26 navigator, instructor and evaluator. He commanded an Operations Flight, Operations Group and Reconnaissance Wing and held leadership positions in Expeditionary Squadrons and Groups. He has also planned, participated in and led multiple disaster responses for Texas. Major General Wisian served multiple combat tours including in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Major General Wisian has a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Texas, masters degrees in Geology and Strategic Studies from Centenary College of Louisiana and the U.S. Army War College respectively, a doctoral degree in geophysics from Southern Methodist University and is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School.
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