For other persons of the same name, see Michael Williams (disambiguation)Michael Lawrence Williams (born May 31, 1953) is the Commissioner of Education, which leads the Texas Education Agency. He was appointed to the position on August 27, 2012. He is also a former member of the elected Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body over, not railroads, but the oil and natural gas industries. Williams is the first African American to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history.