About Us

Prior to starting Colyandro Public Affairs, John Colyandro served as Senior Advisor and Policy Director for Governor Greg Abbott, who also appointed him to represent the State of Texas on the Education Commission of the States, and the Transition Legislative Oversight Committee for the Health and Human Services Commission.

Prior to joining the Office of the Governor, John served for over a decade as Executive Director of the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute, a state-based think-tank that develops public policy recommendations. He also served as Executive Director of the Texas Conservative Coalition, a caucus of members of the Texas House and Senate.

John served previously as a campaign policy advisor to Greg Abbott for Attorney General of Texas and then as a gubernatorial candidate, and has had an active role in numerous campaigns throughout the United States including Texas Senator Phil Gramm’s presidential campaign.

Additional public service roles include chief of staff positions with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Texas Railroad Commission.

John is married to Gretchen and they have one son, Jack.

Gretchen Colyandro serves as Vice President of Colyandro Public Affairs, overseeing Operations, Logistics, and Administration. She also serves in an advisory role on client issues. Gretchen has been in and around government and politics for 3 decades and brings a unique blend of national and state experience to the firm. After graduating from college, Gretchen worked at the Republican National Committee under the Chairmanship of Haley Barbour before moving to Austin to work for then Governor George W. Bush in his scheduling office. She worked in several capacities under Governor Bush, including his campaign for reelection and on his inauguration, all in logistical roles.

Gretchen worked in scheduling on Governor Bush’s Exploratory Committee before moving over to focus solely on Advance on the historic 2000 Presidential Campaign. After the hard-fought win, Gretchen returned to Washington, DC with President-elect Bush to work in the Office of Presidential Advance in the White House, coordinating trips and events taking place outside of the White House. In addition to managing advance teams on the road, she travelled domestically and internationally with President Bush. 

During her tenure at the White House, Gretchen worked in the Office of Presidential Speechwriting assisting with the compiling, formatting, and organizing all Presidential speeches. From brief remarks in the Rose Garden to Nationally Televised Addresses to the State of the Union, she worked with senior staff and policy makers to ensure all edits were incorporated and all final drafts were seamless. 

After a brief stint in federal lobbying, Gretchen returned to Austin where she worked for Speaker of the House, Joe Straus as his Director of Scheduling. Gretchen left her career in government and politics to become a full-time wife and mother and made the decision to return to assist her husband, John, when he launched Colyandro Public Affairs.

Gretchen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Millsaps College. She and John have one son, Jack.

Michael A. Barba is an associate with Colyandro Public Affairs. Having worked in both public and private sectors, he brings to the firm extensive expertise in education policy. Before joining the firm, he advised both private and public school superintendents with a focus on enrollment, accountability, and finance systems.

Michael has enjoyed legislative and administrative wins on behalf of clients in the areas of appropriations, PK12 and higher education, human services, and criminal justice. He created and coordinated work groups whose guidance became Texas’ ESA. He is persistent in crafting effective policy solutions and resolving conflicts. He currently advises midsize and Fortune 500 corporations as well as non-profit organizations. His private sector work ensures free markets in which his clients can maximize their impact through fair competition. His work for non-profit organizations preserves the rights of vulnerable Texans, especially children.

Prior to joining Colyandro Public Affairs, Michael was Policy Director of K-12 Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he led the education policy team to draft bills, rules, and research. He also served at TEA on the System of Great Schools Network, where he worked with public school leaders to deliver the schools Texas families want, need, and deserve. Finally, Michael was the Associate Policy Director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, where he developed their state legislative agenda, advised superintendents, and lobbied state leaders.

Raised in El Paso, Michael earned his B.A. and M.A. in politics at the University of Dallas.

Ari was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and comes from a family of educators. Her parents emphasized the importance of a high-quality education and went to great lengths to ensure that she received one by attending a public charter, private school, and traditional public school. Ari attended Hampton University and finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at San Antonio by receiving a Bachelors in Communication with a focus in Public Relations.

Ari began her post-collegiate career in education. She is a former Kindergarten teacher and instructional coach who understands the importance of strong reading and math foundations to ensure academic success. In addition to teaching, Ari helped develop and refine math curriculum for kindergarten-2nd grade during her teaching tenure for her school district.

Prior to joining Colyandro Public Affairs, Ari engaged in education reform as the North Texas Regional Director of Advocacy for the Texas Public Charter Schools Association during the 87th and 88th legislative cycles. She utilized grassroots strategies to help foster strong relationships at the legislature and build a positive political climate for public charter schools. Ari was always aware of deeper systemic issues in education and decided to deepen her policy experience and advocate for all public education systems and scholars in Texas.

She then joined The Commit Partnership in April 2024 as the Director of Early Childhood Education where she played a key role in advancing transformative education policy in Texas. Ari supported the passage of House Bill 2, the largest historic investment into Texas’ public education system, which focuses on increasing early literacy, improving educator pipelines, and expanding access to high-quality learning opportunities for all Texas students.

Ari’s proudest policy moment was successfully passing HB 117 and HB 3963 in the 89(R). HB 117 establishes a Governor’s Task Force on the Governance of Early Childhood Education and Care to examine and streamline how Texas agencies oversee and deliver early childhood services. HB 3963 creates an integrated early-childhood data system to consolidate agency data, identify gaps in services, and enable better alignment and accountability of early learning programs. She also led the InvestED Texas coalition which is a non-partisan, pro-public education campaign focused on Texas public schools and the importance of smart school funding.

Ari believes that passion and understanding the legislative process creates systemic change that supports all Texas constituents. She believes that every child deserves the transformative power of education as education empowers individuals to defy odds. She is excited to join a reputable firm and build her expertise in additional policy areas.