Katy Fallon-Brown
Director of the Opioid Abatement Fund Council, The Comptroller of Public Accounts
Public career highlights and education: I was a government major at the University of Notre Dame, with a concentration in public service. I earned a master’s degree at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas-Austin. After an internship at the United Ways of Texas, I spent the next 21 years working for the Legislature, including four sessions at the Texas State Auditor’s Office and six sessions at the Legislative Budget Board. I became the director of the OAFC in Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s office in October 2024.
What I like best about my public service is: It’s an honor and serious responsibility to be entrusted by the taxpayers to do this work that can have a positive impact on people’s day-to-day lives.
The best advice I’ve received: “Everyone makes mistakes; leaders own them, fix them and learn from them.” A corollary to that is “No surprises.” You don’t want your boss to hear about a problem from someone else!
People might be surprised to know that: The first time I ever flew on a plane, I was 16 and went to France to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student for a year. I’ve now been to six continents and am looking forward to visiting Asia and Europe again, this time with my husband.
One thing I wish more people knew about the OAFC is: We ensure money recovered through statewide opioid settlement agreements is used to combat and ultimately to end the opioid crisis in Texas. We are distributing funds to hospital districts, local governments and statewide grantees, but we are most excited about our upcoming Community-based Opioid Recovery Effort (CORE) grant opportunities in the spring for local, grassroots entities.