Albert Cheng

Albert's Bio

Albert Cheng, a Principal at Arete Public Affairs, brings nearly 30 years of experience in political and governmental affairs. Ranked 8th in Capitol Inside’s "Rising Stars" lobbyist rankings, Albert has a strong track record of success. Before joining Arete, he spent over a decade working in healthcare and public health, further strengthening his expertise in the field.

Most recently as the Director of the Southwest Coalition at Memorial Hermann Health System, where he formed an Anchor community collaborative and was part of the team that worked to implement the Anchor mission to additionally leverage Memorial Hermann’s purchasing, local investing, and advocacy.

As the Manager of Government Affairs for Harris County Public Health (HCPH), he was responsible for legislative, regulatory affairs, and advocacy at the local, state, and federal level. Albert was active as part of the team that built HCPH to an internationally renowned, nationally accredited, and nationally awarded health department. While at HCPH, Albert was trained and activated in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and served as a Liaison Officer (LOFR) in the Incident Command System (ICS) during numerous public health emergency activations, including Harris County’s longest (Covid-19) and second longest (Intercontinental Terminals Company Tank Fire) responses.

Albert is recognized as a public health advocacy expert and was recently appointed to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) as an Adjunct Assistant Professor for Population Health & Health Disparities in the School of Public and Population Health (SPPH). He has a long relationship with and has helped organize and speak at the Hispanic Health Coalition and the Asian-American Health Coalition Summits, and the City of Houston’s inaugural Asian-American Pacific Islander Convention. His previous health experience includes working with Texans for Lawsuit Reform to pass the Medical Malpractice Caps, serving on the Community Advisory Board for UT Health Science Center’s Clinical and Translational Sciences, and as an appointed member of the Texas Department of Health’s Family Planning Advisory Committee.

Albert has been in charge of voter registration for Harris County, working for the Tax Assessor Collector and Voter Registrar. He was the Deputy Regional Director for U. S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for eight years in her Southeast Texas office and also covered the border, travelling weekly to the Harlingen office for 10 months.

Albert has run several political action committees (PACs) including Dynegy PAC and has run numerous campaigns. As campaign manager for Orlando Sanchez for Mayor of Houston, he helped the campaign double Hispanic turnout in a city election.

Albert was appointed and re-appointed by Governor Greg Abbott and currently serves on the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors as a public member. Albert’s late father was a civil/structural P. E. who spent his career designing petrochemical plants along the Gulf Coast.

Albert earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Houston. Albert and his wife, Leonor, are native Houstonians. They have two children and a rescue dog, Bambi, and a rescue cat, Shumai.