Sylvia Hardman-Dingle will receive the Andrea Pair Bryant Legacy Luncheon Award this month. The Legacy Luncheon is named after Andrea Pair Bryant, one of the founders of ABLA, who was always a “woman with a mission” and an iconic figure who held a deep passion for law, the arts, and volunteerism.
Sylvia received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. She began her legal career as an assistant attorney general at the Office of Attorney General in the Tax Division. Later, as a staff attorney in the Fraud Unit for the Texas Department of Insurance, she worked with both civil and criminal law enforcement agencies. She also served as the deputy commissioner for legal services, general counsel and ethics adviser for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission (TRC) from 1998 to 2004 when the agency transitioned to the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, which ran from 2004 to 2016.
Sylvia retired from the state in 2016 after 30 years of service. After retirement she accepted a temporary appointment as interim director of the Office of Police Oversight from 2021 to 2023. She is a graduate of the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs Governor's Executive Development Program and has served on several volunteer boards and committees including the Citizen Review Panel (Austin Police Monitor's Office), the Ethics Review Commission for the City of Austin, the Austin Tenant's Council, the Travis County Fee Dispute Committee, the Civil Service Commission for the Travis County Sheriff's Office, and the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee, serving as a regular member and district chair.
She is a life-time member of Austin Black Lawyers Association (ABLA), where she served as secretary, treasurer, coordinator for ABLA participation in Volunteer Legal Services, and chair of the Virgil C. Lott Scholarship Committee. It is with great admiration that we spotlight Sylvia Hardman-Dingle as this week's Spotlight member!
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