AUSTIN, Texas — Some Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) employees are moving up in the ranks.
The department announced on Aug. 18 that three Texas Rangers have been promoted to the rank of captain, including the first two female Ranger captains in DPS history, and the first-known Ranger in modern history to hold a doctorate degree.
The promotions for James Thomas and Wende Wakeman, who are both stationed in Austin, will go in effect on Sept. 1. Melba Saenz works in Edinburg and she was promoted on May 15.
“These three talented, dedicated professionals have excelled in positions throughout their DPS careers and have exhibited tremendous commitment to the people of Texas and our law enforcement partners,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “I have the utmost confidence they will continue to make the department proud in their new roles within the Rangers.”
Here's a little more about each captain:
Wende Wakeman
Wakeman joined the DPS more than 20 years ago back in 1998 as a Texas highway patrol trooper before she was promoted to narcotics sergeant in 2003. Five years later, she joined the Texas Rangers in 2008, and in 2014, she became lieutenant, marking the first time in agency history that a woman was promoted to the rank of Raner lieutenant. While she's stationed in Austin, Wakeman will help oversee specialized law enforcement teams withing the Rangers.
James Thomas
After graduating from the DPS Academy in 2002, Thomas started working as a Texas highway patrol troper before he was promoted to a special agent within the Criminal Investigations Division in Houston in 2011. Two years later, Thomas was appointed as a special deputy U.S. Marshal with the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force before he joined the Texas Rangers in 2015. He will supervise the sexual assault kit initiative and the forensic artists program in Austin.
Melba Saenz
After serving as a police officer, Saenz joined DPS in 2003, and she worked as a Texas highway patrol trooper for several years before she joined the Texas Rangers in 2008. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2015 and she managed three Joint Operations Intelligence Centers (JOICs) and field operations for the Drawbridge Program in South Texas. Saenz was then promoted to captain in May, and she remains stationed in Edinburg where she now manages six JOICs and continues to supervise the field operations for the Drawbridge Program.
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