Debbi Goertz
Director
District 3: Bastrop County
Member of Energy Services and Legal & Governance committees.
Deborah (Debbi) Beck Goertz’s lifelong passion for learning has taken her down several career paths. As a member of Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors, she is putting that experience to use on behalf of the cooperative’s members.
Debbi has served as a director from District 3 on Bluebonnet's Board of Directors since 2017. She was re-elected to her current term in 2022.
From work as a manager at Bloomingdale’s to being the state’s administrator for school bus safety to her work as an attorney today, Debbi brings to the Board an ability to listen carefully, ask smart questions and seek solutions with others. “No one is successful in a vacuum,” she said.
“My ability to break down complicated issues and resolve them will be an asset to the Board,” she said. “I enjoy being a team player and working with others toward a common goal. I also enjoy being with people and consider myself to be very approachable.”
Debbi was born in Kilgore and grew up there and in Bryan. The oldest of four children, her family has always been close-knit. After graduating from Bryan High School, she received a bachelor’s degree in teaching and a master’s degree in merchandising from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. From there she worked at Bloomingdale’s in Dallas, becoming manager of multiple departments. With encouragement from others, she opted for a change in direction and graduated from Baylor Law School in Waco. She moved to Bastrop in 1993.
After working briefly in a Bastrop law firm, Debbi began a career with the Texas Department of Public Safety, first as a hearing examiner, then as Texas’ administrator for school bus safety. To better understand her role, Debbi attended driver training and received certification as a school bus driver. “My belief was that the people I worked with at the local, state and national levels would be a lot more willing to work with me if I showed my commitment to the program,” she said. In her job, she evaluated and oversaw driver safety education training, kept the program in compliance with the law and drafted rules about school bus safety in Texas.
Most of Debbi’s career since 2004 has been at her own Bastrop law office, where she represents clients in civil matters, including estate planning, probate and residential real estate law.
“It is a great honor for me to be a part of the Bluebonnet team,” she said. “My legal background will be helpful when evaluating information and policies and bringing that information to the Board.”
Debbi has been a Bluebonnet member since 1998. “I have always been very impressed with the customer service and degree of community involvement that Bluebonnet provides. I wanted to work with Bluebonnet to continue to provide reliable service at a good value for our members and help improve our community.”
Debbi’s daughter, Abby, graduated from Smithville High School, where Debbi utilized her teaching degree with a stint as a culinary arts and nutrition teacher. Abby also graduated from the University of Texas in 2020.
Debbi serves on the Samela Williams Angels Unaware board of directors. She has also worked with numerous other Bastrop-area nonprofit groups, including the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Bastrop County Historical Society and the Family Crisis Center, and was a Girl Scout leader for 13 years.