Eureka Gilkey serves as Executive Director of Project Row Houses (PRH), a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people and enriching communities through engagement, art, and direct action. A proud graduate of Howard University with Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Eureka is a natural organizer whose entire career has been dedicated to social justice and public service.
Eureka stayed in Washington after graduation, working at the intersection of politics and advocacy for national organizations including the AFL-CIO, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and EMILY’s List. She was an early member of the Obama for America organization, joining in 2006 as the then-senator’s National Deputy Political Director.
She stayed with Obama throughout much of his presidency, working on both the political and government side, as the White House Liaison to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Outreach for the Democratic National Convention Committee, and Senior Advisor and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Eureka returned to Houston eager to work more directly and collaboratively with communities historically excluded from power and opportunity. This focus attracted her to PRH, a locally treasured and internationally respected arts organization that uses collective creative action to activate the intersections of art, historic preservation, affordable housing, economic development, and neighborhood revitalization.
Eureka also led the creation of PRH Preservation, Inc. Established in January 2018, PRH Preservation supports the charitable purposes of Project Row Houses. The organization’s mission is to maintain and enhance existing buildings in Houston’s Northern Third Ward to ensure long-term, safe, and affordable housing for its residents.
In addition to PRH Preservation, Eureka lends her support to additional neighborhood development initiatives, including Emancipation Community Development Partnership, a strategic alliance between Project Row Houses, the Emancipation Economic Development Council, Houston Endowment, and Kinder Foundation. Formed in 2016, its purpose is to support the development and implementation of a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy for Historic Third Ward. The emerging strategy is focused on preventing the displacement of low-income residents of Historic Third Ward and enhancing their economic and social well-being.
Eureka serves on the Board of Directors for the Houston Zoo and Row House Community Development Corporation. She is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and a New Leaders Council Houston Institute graduate. At the end of August, she was appointed by Mayor Sylvester Turner to serve as an inaugural member of the City of Houston’s Women’s Commission, bringing her career full circle in her lifelong passion for advancing women’s equity and inclusion.
Eureka currently resides in Houston’s Historic Third Ward. In her spare time she enjoys exploring Houston’s diverse culinary scene and supporting its cultural institutions. Eureka has a strong sense of wanderlust and is eager to connect with friends throughout the country and around the world once it is safe to travel again.
Eureka Gilkey
Executive Director
Project Row Houses
2521 Holman Street
Houston, Texas 77004
(713) 526-7662
EGilkey@projectrowhouses.org
www.projectrowhouses.org
