Who We Are
Let Texans Do Texas is a registered Texas nonprofit advocating for a permanent, locally administered alternative to the federal government’s border wall plans in the Big Bend region. Our approach supports effective border security while protecting private property, local communities, and the region’s extraordinary natural and cultural heritage.
We believe that border security in the Big Bend should be shaped by those who know the region best—its landowners, local governments, and law-enforcement officials—and supported by sustained federal funding.
Our Mission
To protect the Greater Big Bend region by advancing a practical, locally led alternative to federal border wall construction—one that strengthens border security, respects private property rights, preserves our natural and cultural heritage, and puts Texans in charge of Texas solutions.
What We Believe
Local Knowledge, Better Security
Smart, carefully tailored, low-impact measures can secure the border without destroying the land and harming its people.
Texans Know Texas
County sheriffs, local governments, and landowners should help shape and lead a border security strategy supported by sustained federal funding.
The Big Bend Is Worth Protecting
The Big Bend deserves a solution that doesn’t damage its private ranches, state and national parks, and the Rio Grande.
Our Team
Lawrence Collins
Lawrence Collins is a sixth-generation Texan with longstanding family ties to the Big Bend region and property in southern Brewster County. He has extensive experience in Texas state government, having directed both of the Legislature’s principal budget committees. He subsequently established a government relations practice specializing in state appropriations for corporate and nonprofit organizations.
Susan Hays
Susan Hays is a Marfa-based attorney with more than thirty years of experience advocating on public-interest issues before the Texas Legislature. A Democratic nominee for Presidio County Commissioner, she has extensive experience in state policy and legislative affairs. She lives with her husband on a conservation ranch on the Marfa Plain.
Hon. Jerry Patterson
Jerry Patterson is a retired U.S. Marine, former Texas state senator, and former Texas Land Commissioner. His career in public service includes extensive experience with state government, public lands, and property rights. A longstanding student of Texas history, he played a leading role in the Porvenir Massacre archeological project and the production of the documentary Porvenir, Texas.
Sean Fitzgerald
Sean Fitzgerald is an award-winning editorial and conservation photographer whose work has documented the beauty of the landscapes and communities across the greater Big Bend region. A former president of the North American Nature Photography Association, he also advocated in Washington, D.C., for artists’ rights and public-land access.
David Keller
David W. Keller is an archeologist and historian who has worked in the greater Big Bend region for more than twenty-five years. He directed the Porvenir Massacre archeological project and is the author of three books on regional history. He serves as a landowner coordinator and board member of Conserve Big Bend.
Sarah Sibley Klein
Sarah Sibley Klein is a fourth-generation Big Bend landowner and attorney raised in Alpine, Texas. She manages her family’s ranch in the Glass Mountains and, as a mom of two children, she is committed to preserving the region’s ranching heritage, private property rights, and working landscapes for future generations.