Voice of the Conservative Vote: Tom Pauken

Tom Pauken is the former Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), where he served since being appointed by Governor Rick Perry in March 2008 until 2012.

Chairman Pauken brought years of public service experience to TWC, having held numerous leadership positions.

In 2007, he served as Chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Appraisal Reform. He served in the White House Counsel’s Office under President Reagan, and was appointed by the President to serve as Director of ACTION, where he founded the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program. ACTION is now known as AmeriCorps. Mr. Pauken also was instrumental in the implementation of First Lady Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No to Drugs campaign.

Chairman Pauken is a United States Army veteran. He received a commission in Military Intelligence and served in Vietnam as a Province Intelligence Officer and as a senior analyst for the Office of Strategic Research Analysis.

Founder and President of Dallas-based TWP Inc. Chairman Pauken also has served as a board member of various public and private companies. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Knights of Columbus and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Chairman Pauken has made many speeches and published editorials and opinions and is the author of the book, The Thirty Years War: The Politics of the Sixties Generation. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University.

He and his wife, the former Ida Ayala, have seven children and 10 grandchildren.

Tom Pauken has a blog, Putting Texans to Work.

You can also find information about Tom Pauken at the Chairman's Corner.