Terry Keel was selected by the TFC Commissioners as the agency's Executive Director effective December 31, 2009. Mr. Keel's association with the agency goes back to his work as an entry-level clerk from 1976 to 1980. He is an attorney with extensive experience in state and county government.

From May 2007 to January 2009 Mr. Keel was the Parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives, serving as counselor to the Speaker and House members on matters of legislative procedure and applicable provisions of the Texas Constitution and state statutes.

He served as State Representative (District 47, Austin), for five terms from January 1997 to January 2007 chairing several committees, including the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, the House Select Committee on Election Contests and the House Select Interim Committee on Sex Offender Statutes. He also served as vice chair of the Committee on Public Safety, as a member of the General Investigating & Ethics Committee, the Redistricting Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Committee. He was the House rules author for the 79th legislative session.

Mr. Keel was the Travis County Sheriff from November 17, 1992 to January 1, 1997, where he supervised over 1,200 corrections, law enforcement and administrative personnel and managed inmate populations exceeding 2,500 during an era of severe jail over-crowding. As Sheriff, Mr. Keel implemented the planning, design and construction of corrections facilities using inmate labor, implemented a tent housing compound to relieve crowding and expanded prisoner programs in the areas of agriculture, labor and education. He established a professional victim services program with a crime scene response capability and formed joint operations between the Sheriff's Office and the Austin Police Department in the areas of narcotics enforcement, criminal intelligence and training.

From July 1984 to November 1992, Mr. Keel was a Travis County Assistant District Attorney and served as lead counsel in over fifty felony jury trials. He also served the office as an administrator of high level programs and personnel including the repeat offender program, major crimes and the child abuse division.

Mr. Keel has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin (1980) and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston (1983). He has extensive experience as a courtroom litigator in the private practice of law and is a founding partner of the Austin firm of Keel & Nassour, LLP. He is licensed to practice law by the Supreme Courts of Texas and the United States. Mr. Keel also holds Master Peace Officer and instructor certifications from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.