Rusty Smith brings a unique blend of experience in both the private and public sectors to the direction of Poseidon Strategies. He is currently serving as the Executive Director of a research consortium housed at Texas Tech University, the Texas Produced Water Consortium. As the leader of this Consortium, Rusty oversees all research, programming, stakeholder management, and legislative/regulatory engagement on issues before the TxPWC.

Prior to taking the helm of the Consortium, Rusty spent several years in Austin working in public policy in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate, primarily focusing on natural resources, agriculture, and energy. Most notably, Rusty served as the Committee Director for the Texas Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs during the 85th Texas Legislature. During that time he oversaw all legislation under the jurisdiction of the committee, including issues impacting water resources across the state. After the 85th session Rusty was hired to serve as the Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs for the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, a statewide oil & gas trade association serving nearly 3,000 individual and corporate members. Rusty received a B.S. in Agricultural Leadership & Development from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from Texas Tech.

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