TTARA Team

Staff

Jennifer Rabb: President; jrabb@ttara.org; Jennifer is President of TTARA. Prior to joining the association, she was a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and previously served as tax policy advisor to the Lt. Governor of Texas, clerk of the Texas House Ways and Means Committee, and tax policy director for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Jennifer holds a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and an LL.M. in Taxation from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. As an attorney in private practice, she represented taxpayers on state and local tax matters for more than 15 years.

Ryan Ash: Legislative & Communications Director; ryan@ttara.org; Ryan has primary responsibility for facilitating the dissemination of information to our membership, policymakers and the general public. In doing so, he maintains the TTARA website, manages the daily news service, organizes and oversees arrangements and fundraising for special events, manages a complex legislative bill tracking system and readies reports and presentations for release or publication. He graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration.

Catherine Lapoint: Executive Assistant & Event Planner; clapoint@ttara.org; Catherine serves as Executive Assistant at TTARA, bringing to the association her experience and passion for serving nonprofits. Before joining TTARA, she was Administrative Services Manager at the Texas Library Association and worked as Administrative Coordinator for the Texas Society of Association Executives. Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Louisiana State University.

Alexandra Bello: Director of Operations; abello@ttara.org; Alexandra handles finance and operations for TTARA, including long-term strategies to improve the efficiency and reach of the association. Prior to joining TTARA, she served as Research Manager at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. She also spent a number of years managing the Energy and Power Group in Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering. Alexandra holds two degrees from Texas A&M University, a BBA in Management from the Mays Business School and a Master of Public Health.

Christian Brown: Director of Development; cbrown@ttara.org; Christian serves as the Director of Development for TTARA. In this role, he is responsible for membership development and fundraising for the association. Prior to joining TTARA, he served as the Director of Membership for the Texas Oil & Gas Association. He also spent several years overseeing membership matters for the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust. Christian holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University and a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana State University.

Consultants

Eldon Andrus: Policy Advisor, Severance Tax; eandrus@ttara.org; Eldon Andrus is a consultant for TTARA, bringing over four decades of tax and legislative experience to our organization. Eldon recently retired from Exxon Mobil Corporation after 43 years of distinguished service. He began his career in internal audit and tax accounting within the comptroller’s department and spent the last 34 years in ExxonMobil’s tax department. His responsibilities included managing and filing state and federal income tax returns, motor fuel taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and production taxes. He also served as a state tax legislative liaison, helping shape policy and regulatory frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. Throughout his career, Eldon was an active participant in several oil and gas associations, where he played a key role in developing and drafting proposed legislation and regulations. As chairman of the severance tax subcommittee for the Mississippi/Alabama Oil and Gas Association, he testified on behalf of the industry on legislative and regulatory matters. He was also one of three industry representatives involved in the design and development of the Federal Excise Summary Terminal Activity & Reporting System (ExSTARS). Eldon holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brigham Young University and earned his CPA certificate in Texas in 1988. He joined Exxon in 1981 and has since built a reputation for thoughtful leadership, technical expertise, and collaborative engagement.

Andrea Carter-Virtanen: Policy Advisor, Property Tax; acarter@ttara.org; Andrea is a tax executive with extensive expertise in tax policy, strategic planning, tax optimization, audit defense and compliance. She has secured over $7 billion in tax incentives for her clients, successfully negotiated critical changes to tax laws at the federal, state and local levels, and has effectively managed complex audits achieving optimized outcomes. Andrea began her tax career with Arthur Andersen, LLP before joining Ernst & Young, LLP where she advised on mergers and acquisitions, policy and legislative changes, audit defense and complex compliance for clients in energy, real estate and private equity. She is a subject matter expert on taxes for the LNG industry, serving as Managing Tax Counsel for Cheniere Energy, Inc. for over ten years. She formed Carter Energy Advisors in 2025 where she continues to advise clients in the LNG and energy industries.

Eleanor Kim: Policy Advisor, State Tax; ekim@ttara.org; Eleanor is a consultant for TTARA with over 32 years of state tax experience in the private and public sectors. She was Tax Counsel with DuCharme, McMillen & Associates, Inc. for 17 years and assisted Fortune-1000 companies with tax planning, audits, administrative filings, and negotiations with taxing authorities. While in public service, she held key positions at the Texas Comptroller’s office, including Chief Administrative Law Judge, Assistant Director of Tax Administration, and Chief Hearings Attorney. As the Chief Administrative Law Judge, she presided over tax hearings and oversaw the issuance of all proposed hearings decisions. Eleanor continued that role when the hearing function was transferred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. In her role as Assistant Director of Tax Administration, she assisted in overseeing the Tax Policy Division and the Audit Division and participated in rule making, tax policy developments, and tax legislation. With her background in both private and public services, she offers a balanced perspective on tax policy and procedure. Eleanor holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law.