The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Office of the Ombudsman completed its core leadership team with the hiring of two veteran attorneys from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
The additions of Zachary Rhines as policy chief and deputy general counsel and Christina Cella as oversight chief and deputy general counsel follow the April hiring of Ryan D. Walters, who previously served as Texas deputy attorney general for legal strategy and now serves as the office’s deputy director and general counsel.
Created by Senate Bill 37 last year, the Office of the Ombudsman serves as a resource for students, faculty, and staff to report alleged violations of state higher education law. The office also oversees compliance with state laws affecting public colleges and universities, including Senate Bill 17, which banned diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and programs at public institutions.
Rhines will lead engagement with university and legislative stakeholders while providing legal and policy counsel on Senate Bills 17 and 37. Before joining the ombudsman’s office, he served as special counsel in the Texas Attorney General’s Special Litigation Division and later as deputy general counsel for the Texas Secretary of State.
Cella will oversee investigations, compliance, and reporting related to alleged violations of Senate Bills 17 and 37. She most recently served as special counsel in the Attorney General’s Legal Strategy Division, where she advised Attorney General Ken Paxton and his executive staff. She previously served as assistant general counsel for the Texas State Auditor’s Office.
Both Rhines and Cella report to Walters, who joined the office earlier this year after serving on Paxton’s executive leadership team. Before becoming deputy attorney general for legal strategy, Walters led the Attorney General’s Special Litigation Division, overseeing major legal challenges against the federal government.
