Gracie Saenz was born and raised in the City of Houston. She is originally from the 5th Ward area of the City and is a shareholder in Saenz & Burkhardt, PLLC. Her practice focuses on government relations, business and commercial, and international business transactions. She is a former Houston City Council Member At-Large (at the time, the first Hispanic in the City of Houston’s history to be elected to an at-large position on the City Council) and Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Houston, having served in office from January 1992 through December 1997. During her term in office, Ms. Saenz was a strong supporter and advocate for youth programs and inner city redevelopment, and she did extensive work in the area of international relations for the City of Houston. She participated and chaired numerous committees and organizations: Ethics Council Committee; Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise Council; Aviation Council; and the Business and Tourism Council.
She also chaired the NAFTA Task Force for the City that sought to lobby the legislature for the eventual passage of the North American Free Trade Alliance. She was also a member of the Houston-Taiwan Trade Delegation to Taipei in the fall of 1994 that focused on strengthening Houston’s trade with Asia. Ms. Saenz was also the City’s member to the World Energy Cities Partnership, which sought to strength the relationships between the energy capitals of the world and was instrumental in bringing in the city of Villa Hermosa, Tabasco, Mexico as a participating member.
After graduating from law school, Ms. Saenz worked as a Harris County Assistant District Attorney, which provided her with experience in many areas of the law including the areas of Juvenile Justice, Domestic Violence, Felony & Misdemeanor Prosecutions and Grand Jury service. In 1990, Mrs. Saenz formed Burkhart & Saenz, where she practiced criminal and general practice law until 1992. In 1994, Ms. Saenz joined the law firm of Brocks, Baker & Lange, concentrating on International Business Transactions. She was a partner with the firm of Oppel, Goldberg & Saenz from 2000 to 2008 and currently has her own firm with former law partner Elizabeth Burkhardt in the East End of Houston – Saenz & Burkhardt, PLLC.
In terms of community service, Ms. Saenz has served with many volunteer organizations and presently serves on the Board of Directors of Project GRAD; the Memorial Hermann Hospital – Community Relations Committee; the Advisory Board for the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy; the Advisory Committee to the Dean of Liberal Arts at the U of H and in the past also served on the Boards for the American Leadership Forum; T.I.R.R., The Plaza Group and the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She has also served on the DARE Corporation; the Covenant Community Capital Board; the Houston Small Business Development Corporation; the University of Houston Law Foundation; the University of St. Thomas Board; the College of Biblical Studies; the Memorial/Hermann Hospital System; the UT-Houston, Health Science Center Foundation Development Board; and the Advisory Committee for the Junior League of Houston. She has been the Managing Partner for the Hispanic Sports Group since 2000 and is also a member of the local LULAC Council 643.
Due to her extensive experience on nonprofit and for-profit boards, Ms. Saenz has developed extensive experience in the areas of board governance including the knowledge of the Open Meetings Act and ethics compliance of board members. She had previously also assisted the Harris County Housing Authority with development of their Policies and Procedures, as well as has been sought by other nonprofits to help organize, develop and implement their Conflicts of Interest Policies and Ethics compliance policies.
Ms. Saenz has held the position as outside General Counsel to the L.A.R.A. Board of Directors since 2009. She is a proud graduate of the American Leadership Forum and the Center for Houston’s Future. Currently serves on the Advisory Board for the U of H Mexican American Studies Program, and she is Chairing their 2016 Luncheon for the Academic Achievers Program.
Ms. Saenz received her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Houston and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. She is fluent in both the English and Spanish languages.
She is the proud mother of 3 children and 15 grandchildren with her husband, Al Castillo.
Gracie Saenz, Esq.
Founder & Attorney at Law
Saenz & Burkhardt, PLLC
5503 Lawndale
Houston, TX 77023
281-888-4409
graciela@saenzburkhardt.com
