Leanne Dobard Alvarez is President and CEO of Leading Edge Enterprises, LLC, doing business as The UPS Store at Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland, Texas. LA Holdings,…

With more than two decades of experience in Global Trade Compliance, Tracey Anthony is an industry expert dedicated to helping clients meet the rules, restrictions and protocol…

Colleen Banks is currently a Senior Associate at Wealth Development Strategies LLC after getting her start serving the financial service needs of the Lutheran community through Thrivent…

The Honorable  Dr. Teta V. Banks is a diplomat,  human rights advocate, and educator. Originally from Liberia, she grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of the…

As president and chief executive officer of Houston First Corporation (HFC), Brenda Bazan provides strategic leadership for HFC, which is charged with positioning Houston as a world-class…

Juliet Breeze, MD, a healthcare entrepreneur, is the CEO and Founder of Next Level Urgent Care and the Vice President of Vantage Hospice. Dr. Breeze has developed…

Houston native Michelle Bythewood is president of Salata Salad Kitchen. As president, Bythewood is responsible for management of operations and logistics and creating, communicating and implementing the…

Dr. Courtney Jacocks Chance is a committed general dentist within the Houston metropolitan area. She is co-owner of Oaks Point Pediatric Dentistry in the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest…

Jane E. Cheeks is a tenured HR management professional with diversified leadership successes in both public and corporate sectors. Cheeks holds a solid reputation for executing large-scale…

Connie L. Cochran serves as Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations & Special Events at Texas Southern University, carrying more than 29 years of experience in her…

Audrey Marie Cosby, committed to the care and nurture of family and the faithful, is a proud native of Chicago, Illinois who studied nursing at Hampton University…

Dr. Rachel Andress Davis, PharmD, RPh is a licensed pharmacist currently practicing in the Pharmacy Benefit Management sector at OptumRx, a division of United Health Group.  Additionally,…

Resting her hand on her grandfather, Rev. O.D. Ford Sr.’s heirloom Bible, Mayor Yolanda Ford was administered the oath of office at the Monday, Dec. 17, 2018…

Leona Filis, owner of The Filis Law Firm, P.C., in Houston, is an attorney who focuses her time and energy on helping families with children with special…

Lizzie Fletcher represents Texas’ Seventh Congressional District in the greater Houston area.  Located entirely within Harris County, the district includes residents of Houston, Bellaire, Bunker Hill Village,…

Dr. Melissa N. Gonzalez is President of Houston Community College-Southeast.  Dr. Gonzalez holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, an MBA and doctorate in international business management…

Native Houstonian Mia Gradney is an Emmy Award-winning talent and the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor at KHOU 11 News in Houston, Texas. For two decades,…

Addie Heyliger is an accomplished technology professional with over two decades interfacing with senior business executives and technical teams. She provides leadership to a technology organization in…

Tami Renata Hunter serves as Advisor of Compliance, Global Supply Chain for ConocoPhillips, the world’s largest independent exploration and production company based on production and proved reserves…

Kelly Irving, MSN, RN, has more than 26 years of nursing experience, including 22 years in various nursing leadership positions. As Associate Director Patient Care Services (ADPCS),…

Joyce L. Jacquet is a superlative, accomplished retired educator and counselor of 37 years who is passionate about her faith, family and chosen profession.  Currently, she is…

A recipient of the 2017 United States of America President’s Volunteer Service Award, Olivera Jankovska is a champion of children’s rights and represents UNICEF as a Global…

Myrtle Jones is Senior Vice President of Tax at Halliburton Company. Jones graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is now a…

Award-winning journalist Melanie Lawson is a proud Houstonian and a product of Houston schools. Journalism has always been in Lawson’s blood. She started first as a full-time…

Dr. Grenita Lathan was named interim superintendent of the Houston Independent School District in March 2018. Under her leadership as chief academic officer and interim superintendent, 92%…

Angela Lee is a native of Tyler, Texas. She is a graduate of the highly recognized Louisiana Tech University School of Architecture and Interior Design. Her career…

LaMonica Love is the founder of The Love Law Group and Consulting Services, PLLC, which provides top-notch legal services and business solutions to start-ups, entrepreneurs and small/medium…

Christine Mack has been with BP for 10 years and serves as the Regional Head of Procurement for the Americas within the Global Business Services organization in…

Shawntell McWilliams, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, has resided in Houston for seven years and currently serves as CEO of not one, but two enterprises, one being…

Native Houstonian Paula Mendoza is an entrepreneur, innovator, advocate, barrier-breaker and tireless volunteer recognized not only for the quality of her work, but for the passion she…

Jamila Mensah is an Employment and Labor partner in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Houston office. Her practice covers all areas of employment law, including extensive experience in discrimination,…

Chau Nguyen is the Chief Public Strategies Officer for the Houston Area Women’s Center, tasked with managing and expanding key partnerships while positioning HAWC as thought leaders…

When Kim Padgett isn’t managing her public relations firm, The Padgett Group, this media maven can be found supporting charities throughout Houston. Padgett has spent the last…

Eureka Patton, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, moved to Houston, Texas in 1978. While she cherishes her fond memories of Mardi Gras, arts and heritage festivals,…

Eileen Perilla has worked for Shell for 15 years in a variety of roles across the Group.    She joined Shell in the Lubricants business as Cluster Finance…

Marilyn A. Rose is a Certified Public Accountant.  She is the Accounting Administrator in the Finance Office of the Executive Bureau at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.   …

Gabriella “Gaby” Rowe is the CEO of Station Houston, the city’s largest hub for startup technology acceleration, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. Station Houston’s membership includes over 200…

People have different drives and aspirations, which can either make them the leader or the follower. True leaders are also good followers and come from all occupations…

Lisa Trapani Shumate was appointed Associate Vice President (UH System) & General Manager, Houston Public Media (UH) in 2011, with dual roles of responsibility including serving as…

Mya Smith-Edmonds, a native of Houston, Texas, is the first female African-American Next Generation McDonald’s owner/operator, owning seven McDonald’s Restaurants in Central Indiana. She serves as a…

Bridgette Smith-Lawson is the Managing Attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Regions 5 & 6 consisting of 23 counties in Southeast Texas.  Smith-Lawson…

In 1984, Judy Foston Stanford, after working for Fortune 500 companies in sales and marketing nationally for ten years, founded a full-service boutique communications company specializing in marketing,…

Carolyn Watson is Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase.   She directs the JPMorgan Chase Foundation’s philanthropic investments for Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso,…

Dr. Tamara Williams is the president of Chamberlain University’s Houston campus. She brings nearly 20 years of combined experience in nursing practice and nursing education to her…

Jennifer St. Julian Wooden wears many hats, holding several roles in her career, volunteer and family life. She has almost two decades of experience in the fields…

Dr. Janet Wormack is a recent transplant to the Houston, Texas community. She currently serves as the vice chancellor of finance and administration at Houston Community College…

Vanessa E. Wyche is deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), an organization of nearly 10,000 civil service and contractor employees in Houston and White Sands…