Mayor Sylvester Turner is proud to announce the 2018 Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Award recipients.
They will be honored with proclamations from Mayor Turner at Houston City Hall.
Each honoree was selected based on his or her outstanding contributions toward enhancing the quality of life and advancement of Houston’s Hispanic community.
“As we honor and celebrate the contributions of the Hispanic community, I would like to congratulate each of the honorees who were selected as part of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Awards,” stated Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Each of you has demonstrated a passion for your community and form part of the vast talent network that exists in our city. Thank you for all that you do.”
Graciela “Gracie” Saenz is the recipient of the 2018 Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a woman of many talents, a leader with a formidable heart, Saenz has dedicated her life to preserving and making contributions for the betterment of the Latino community.
Saenz was formerly a law partner with Elizabeth Burkhardt and the founding member of the Saenz & Burkhardt PLLC law firm. She has been in law practice for over 32 years. Her practice currently focuses on government relations, business, commercial and international transactions. She is very involved in leadership positions throughout the community after serving on the Houston City Council from 1992-1997. Her experience as a former council member and Mayor Pro-Tem has assisted in leveraging her knowledge of local city politics and essential political networks to best serve her clients’ goals.
Saenz’s experience as chair of the Houston International Initiatives and the chair of the NAFTA Committee of the Houston City Council have also served her in continuing her close ties to businesses throughout Latin America. Her experience also includes representing a broad range of government and corporate clients in corporate, international, energy and tourism. She has also helped various nonprofit organizations get established and assisted in developing their missions, strategies, organizational structures and governing documents.
Throughout her career, Saenz has received many accolades such as the Hispanic Woman of the Year Award, Hispanic Women in Leadership-Hall of Fame, Professional Women in Fellowship Award, Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce- Women on the Move and La Rosa Family Services Gala Honoree, among several others.
