Message from Ranjana Natarajan, Chair, Board of Directors

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Texas, we greet the news that Terri Burke will soon be stepping down as Executive Director with deep gratitude for her thirteen years of service to the organization during a period of rapid growth and deepening engagement with our critical mission of promoting and defending civil liberties and civil rights for all Texans.

During Terri’s tenure, the ACLU of Texas moved its headquarters to Houston, started new offices in Dallas, Brownsville and El Paso, and grew its dynamic, diverse professional staff to more than sixty people working in many corners of the state. Under Terri’s leadership, our talented team, working with community partners across the state, was in the thick of hard-fought battles that brought victories or at least attention to important issues including immigrant rights, racial justice and due process in the criminal legal system, LGBTQ equality, and access to abortion.

Our work continues to be critical in the Lone Star State. The Board of Directors is deeply committed to searching across a diverse, nationwide talent pool to find a new Executive Director to steer the ACLU of Texas as we embark on our next chapter of growth. This year has revealed many civil rights and civil liberties challenges in our state and nation, and the ACLU of Texas remains committed to its mission.