Paula Harris
Paula Harris is the Senior Vice President of Community Affairs for the Houston Astros and also serves as the Executive Director of the Astros Foundation. Paula enjoyed a 33-year career with Schlumberger. Paula started as a field engineer logging wells in the Gulf of Mexico. The position she held when she retired was designing and implementing strategic ESG programming to ensure Schlumberger was a respected partner in the communities in which we work across the globe.
Paula serves on the board of Chart Industries (GTLS) and Hunting PLC (HTG). She also served as Board Chair of the Petroleum Club of Houston and the Texas A&M Black Former Students board. Paula currently serves as Board Secretary for the Children’s Museum of Houston. She has been profiled in Black Engineer, Graduating Engineer, and Money Magazine.
Paula has received numerous recognitions, including:
- Black Engineer’s 50 Who make a Difference
- Key Women in Energy
- Greater Houston Women’s Chamber -Woman of Distinction
- Texas Executive Women Award
- United Nations Global Citizenship Award
- Texas A&M Aggie Impact Award
- Houston Business Journal Lifetime Legacy Award
- Women of Color in Technology Award
Paula is a highly requested global speaker on topics such as Women in Energy, Energy Education, STEM, Coding in Schools, and Navigating the Energy Transition.
Paula’s memberships include:
- Executive Leadership Council
- National Society of Black Engineers
- The Links, Incorporated,
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- American Leadership Forum
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Paula has previously served as an elected official on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Trustees. She was an integral part of developing theories of action, promoting strategy STEM planning, and developing and managing the district’s $1.6-billion-dollar budget. Her emphasis was on increasing the academic achievement of the 215,000 children in the district. During her 8 years (2 terms) on the HISD Board of Trustees, Paula served as board president and vice president, and HISD was recognized twice by the White House under her leadership. She is currently the Board President of the Energized for STEM Charter School.
She is an author, and her first book is titled, For Sister: The Guide for Professional Black Women. Her publishing company, MadisonHouse Publishing also published her children’s book, When I Grow UP, I Want to Be an Engineer. This book has been translated into 4 languages and over 100,000 copies of this popular book have been distributed globally to school systems and STEM organizations. Paula’s passion is introducing children and especially girls around the globe to STEM education with a focus on coding and robotics. The book and her workshops are global initiatives to ensure that children from all walks of life can get exposed to and excited about STEM.
Paula is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. She has also obtained a master’s in Educational Technology Design from Abilene Christian and certification in Sustainable Leadership from Cambridge University. Paula and her husband Dwayne own DPM Investments. They are also the proud parents of Madison Serelia Harris.
Paula McCann Harris
Senior Vice President of Community
Houston Astros
