Gov. Greg Abbott has named Robert E. “Bobby” Bell of Edna, Jackson County's district attorney, the judge of the 267th Judicial District Court. The judicial district covers Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria counties. He was appointed to a term running through the November election.

Abbott named Laurie Woloszyn of Longview to serve on the Sabine River Authority Board of Directors for a term to expire July 6, 2021. She is the county auditor for Gregg County.

Abbott named Clifton “Cliff” Bickerstaff of Amarillo to the Board for Lease of Texas Parks and Wildlife Lands. The organization leases TPW property. Bickerstaff, executive vice president of Amarillo National Bank, will serve a term to expire Sept. 1, 2017.

Abbott named Mark Bronson of Fort Worth the presiding officer of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners. He appointed Bronson and two other doctors — Nicholas “Nick” Baucum of Corpus Christi and Gus Ramirez of Tyler — to terms on the board that expire Feb. 1, 2021.

Steven Albright has been named the new budget director for the governor’s office.He served previously as deputy policy director and succeeds Ky Ash, who is joining the Austin office of K&L Gates LLP where he will work in the firm’s public policy and law practice.

Walter V. Wendler, chancellor emeritus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is set to become president of West Texas A&M University. Regents for the A&M system named him the sole finalist for the job late last week.

David Edmonson, the deputy chief of staff to retiring state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, will leave the Texas Senate next week. He’s leaving for Austin Tech, a new nonprofit where he will serve as executive director.

Consulting firm Allyn Media has hired Shawn Williams away from the Dallas Police Department where he handled community engagement and media relations for the past three years. Before that, he worked in the mayor’s office where he was a deputy chief of staff.

Consulting firm The Blocker Group has added Greg Macksood to its roster. He was most recently at Chesapeake Energy where he had the title of senior director of government relations.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has named former pediatric cardiologist Deane Waldman to be the new director of its Center for Health Care Policy. The free market think tank noted that Waldman practiced for 37 years and “reluctantly retired” when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in 2012.

Robert Potts, president and CEO of the Dixon Water Foundation, has joined the board of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust.

Disclosure: Amarillo National Bank, K&L Gates, Texas A&M University and the Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.