Jay Brim
Jefferson K. “Jay” Brim, III was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas on July 15, 1945. He graduated from Midland High School in 1963, and attended the University of Texas at Austin undergraduate and law schools, from which he received B.A. and J.D. degrees. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1970 as a combat aircrew member and Bulgarian linguist.
Jay has served his communities, first in the City of Austin as a member of the Board of Directors of the Austin Jaycees from 1977 to 1981, during which time he served as President of the Texas Jaycees (1979-80) and Vice President of the U.S. Jaycees (1980-81). He was honored by the U.S. Jaycees as one of the Five Outstanding State Presidents of 1979-80. He was a member of the Brackenridge Hospital Board from 1980 to 1982. He served the City of Rollingwood as Municipal Judge (1988-1996) and as a member of the City Council (1996-2000). He has served his profession as chair of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, and as a director of the Travis County Bar Association. He has served as a member of the Planning Committee of the School Law Seminar produced by the UT Law School since its inception in 1987. He was the chair of the Advisory Committee for Labor and Employment Law, of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In the late 1980’s, he served as outside counsel to the Central Texas ACLU for a brief time, before becoming a member of its board.
Jay worked for Senator A.M. Aikin and Senator Oscar Mauzy in the Texas Senate before serving as the staff liaison for the Texas Education Agency to the Texas Legislature in 1977 and 1979. As a staff attorney at TEA, he was appointed as one of the first hearing officers to hear appeals from local school districts in 1978. In 1980, after leaving TEA, Jay became the first attorney retained by the Association of Texas Professional Educators after its formation, and has represented ATPE members ever since then. In 2009, he received the Judy Coyle Liberty Bell Award from ATPE, for outstanding service to public education in Texas.
Jay has been very active in his church. He was the Chair of the Committee for Legal Responsibility of the General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church, and in that capacity, he was responsible for oversight of all litigation in the United States involving the United Methodist Church. He chaired the Council on Ministries for the Southwest Texas Annual Conference, serving over 375 United Methodist Churches in the San Antonio area. He is currently Conference Lay Leader of the Southwest Texas Conference, UMC, and serves as an elected member of the Connectional Table, the body charged with oversight of ministry programming throughout the world for the United Methodist Church.
Jay has been married to Jeanine Clymer Brim since 1971; they are the parents of Cari, Brandon and Jessica, all graduates of Westlake High School in southwest Austin; Cari is a school counselor in Seattle, Brandon is a lawyer in Connecticut, and Jessica is a graphic designer with a BA from UT Austin. Jeanine and Jay are also the proud grandparents of Jack and Owen Land (Cari’s sons) and Merrill Schumacher (Jessica’s daughter).
