austinbar.org APRIL 2026 | VOLUME 35, NUMBER 3
Candidates for the Austin Bar Board of Directors
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble
Sarah Harp
Ciara Parks
Elliott Beck
oting for the Austin Bar’s board of directors opens on Monday, April 13, and will close on Friday, May 1, at 4 p.m. You will be emailed a link to the ballot. Austin Bar members who are also members (except Sustaining Members) of AYLA will be sent a ballot to vote in both elections. If you do not receive a ballot, please check your spam folder first, then contact billy@austinbar.org. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, the 2025-26 president-elect, will assume the office of president on July 1. The following candidates are running uncontested for officer positions:
and currently serves as a director of the Austin Bar ABA and the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA). She is the immediate past president of AYLA and is an active member of the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association. She volunteers monthly with Volunteer Legal Services. She is a life-fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a member of the District 9 nominating committee, as well as a Guardian Angel for the Center for Child Protection, and a supporter of the Austin Wildlife Rescue. Additionally, this year she served as the beverage coordinator for the Austin Bar’s Pro Bono Fall Festival and was the silent auction lead for the Foundation Gala. She was a member of the Austin Bar/ AYLA CASA 5K team and worked
the craft table for the Evening with Santa event. She was a project lead for the AYLA MLK Day of Service and was a book donor for Adoption Day. She also currently serves on the TYLA Communications and Projects committees and served as a judge for the final round of the Region 10 National Trial Competition.
Review, treasurer for Thurgood Marshall Law Society, and member of both the Moot Court and Mock Trial boards. Ciara also placed as a finalist for the Melissa Mitchell First Year Moot Court Competition. Ciara received her B.S. from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, where she served as a resident assistant, an advisor for the Colors of Leadership Conference, president and secretary of Black Action Thru Unity, and secretary of the National Society of Black Engineers. Ciara has been married to Cliffton Parks for 13 years, and they are the proud parents of Chaya, Ceana, and CJ.
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President-Elect Sarah Harp Sarah is an appellate attorney
Secretary Ciara Parks Ciara Parks is the general counsel for the Texas Board of Law Examiners. She worked previously as an assistant district attorney with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office in Dayton, Ohio, prosecuting for more than 10 years. She is the current president of the Austin Black Lawyers Association and treasurer of the Austin Bar. Ciara also serves as an assistant area coordinator for Texas Youth Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Ciara earned her J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where she served as the managing editor for the Law
Treasurer Elliott Beck Elliott Beck works as the staff attorney for 345th District Court. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Austin Bar Association and a co-chair of the DEI Committee. Elliott has been a member of the Austin Bar and AYLA since he was licensed in 2011. Since that time, he’s served as a co-chair for the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Candidates continued on page 10.