David L. Bales, President

David Bales was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He attended Arizona State University, where he was on the golf team, and UT Austin, where he studied Political Science and History. He comes to Texans for Stem Cell Research with a solid and diverse background in both the public and private spheres. From 1987 to 1991, David was a Medicaid Fraud Investigator with the Texas Attorney General's Office. From 1991 through 1993, he worked with the Texas Senate in the capacity of Research Director for the Nominations Committee. David joined Texans for Stem Cell Research in 2005, and has been both a Board Member and the Secretary before taking the position of Executive Director in 2007. He has also been a real estate agent in the Austin Metropolitan area for seven years, and currently works as a Petroleum Land Man as well.

Previously, David was an owner of Scholz Garten, the famous political watering hole. David's father, Larry Bales, was a State Representative in the early 1970's, and wrote the State's first significant ethics legislation under the trees at Scholz's, so you might say that David comes to us with politics in his blood.

Mary Beck, Treasurer

Mary Beck is a central Texas native with 23 years of high-level finance and accounting experience in Texas State Government. Ms. Beck is a former member and treasurer to Executive Women in Texas Government, has volunteered at Austin's Faith Home and now has joined Texans for Stem Cell Research. Mary has a strong interest in advocating for stem cell research as a vehicle for curing the variety of chronic and terminal diseases that affect our friends and families.

Charles Schotz is a business development and government relations specialist with more than thirty years experience in Texas State Government prior to retirement in 1998.

Charles' extensive public service career with the State of Texas, included serving for fifteen years as a liason to the State Legislature for a large State agency (MHMR), and five years as a program director in the Office of Attorney General. He also served the Texas State Senate as a Legislative Assistant to Sen. Bill Sims of San Angelo, and later to Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos of Austin. In 1999, Charles was appointed to the Travis County Appraisal District Board of Review, where he served for six years as the Chairman of the Tax Exemptions Committee.

A graduate of the University of Texas-Austin(BA-1967)with major in Government and Economics, Charles has been actively involved for many years as a volunteer and fund raiser in support of civic, community, and social Organizations in the Austin area.

From 1999 to the present, Charles has represented a variety of clients as a contract lobbyist registered with the State of Texas Ethics Commission.