HEALTHCARE LEADER
OF THE YEAR
Debra Sukin
CEO
Houston Methodist The Woodlands
2024 President
Texas Children’s Hospital
Bio
HEALTHCARE LEADER
OF THE YEAR
Nelda Luce Blair
CEO/Attorney
The Blair Law Firm, P.C.
Nelda Luce Blair, a 5th-generation Texan and lifelong resident of Montgomery County, is a Texas lawyer with a 25-year legal career. She has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Woodlands Township, The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the South Montgomery County Woodlands Chamber of Commerce. Nelda is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Houston’s Future and has been recognized as a “Hometown Hero” and a “Citizen of the Year 2009” by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber. She has been active in numerous political campaigns and testifies before the Texas Legislature. Nelda is triple Board Certified by the State Bar of Texas in Residential, Commercial, and Farm & Ranch Real Estate Laws. She and her husband Jim Blair are active members of First Baptist Church of The Woodlands and former residents of Panther Creek. Nelda is also a popular public speaker and a Conroe Tiger.
2023 TRAILBLAZERS
Summer Block, BSN, RN, CEN
Director of Emergency Services
St. Luke’s The Woodlands
Summer Block is the Director of Emergency Services for St. Luke’s the Woodlands Hospital. Summer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing, and will graduate with her Master’s degree in Nursing Administration in December of this year from the University of Texas at Tyler. She also is certified in Emergency Nursing. Summer has 16 years of Emergency Nursing experience and 7 years of ICU experience. Prior to living in Texas, Summer was nominated five times for the Northern Nevada Nurse of Achievement award in critical care, emergency nursing and leadership. After her first year with St. Luke’s, Summer received the Leader of the Year award and her department has won the department of the year award twice in five years. Summer has always had a drive for excellence and hopes to share that passion by leading others to provide exceptional patient care every day.
Patricia Brown
President of Conroe,
Executive Vice President,
Director of Public Relations
Woodforest National Bank
Patricia Brown is the Executive Vice President, Director of Public Relations, and President of Woodforest National Bank in The Woodlands, Texas. She began her career in 2001 and has held various positions, including Director for Retail Banking, Treasury Management, and Merchant Sales. Brown is an active community member, volunteering for various organizations. She is a Board Member of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, Crighton Theatre, Conroe Main Street Advisory Board, Montgomery County Fair Association, and Sam Houston State University Alumni Association. Brown has held philanthropic roles, including serving as Board Chairperson of the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce and past Board President of the Montgomery County Habitat for Humanity. She received her bachelor’s degree in business management from Sam Houston State University and is an active member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe, where she volunteers in its feeding the homeless program and orphan ministry.
Anna Ha
Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
United Airlines
As Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of United, Anna Ha partners with leaders throughout the company, including the company’s senior management and Board of Directors, to protect the company and maximize shareholder value by maintaining best practices in corporate governance and securities compliance. Anna leads a team of lawyers and professionals who help administer board meetings, maintain corporate records and provide legal support on all securities law compliance, executive compensation and disclosure matters. Anna and her team have also led the company’s efforts, in partnership with several internal stakeholders, to develop a governance framework around the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. Anna has over 18 years of experience as a corporate lawyer, including as an M&A partner at Sidley Austin LLP. Anna received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in Sociology and Asian Studies.
Colette Harden
Staff Development Manager
ExxonMobil Global Services Company
Upstream IT
Ms. Loeffler joined Key in September 2022 as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Prior to joining Key, Ms. Loeffler held the position of Chief Financial Officer for the Howard Hughes Corporation, where Ms. Loeffler managed the company’s accounting, technology & innovation, investor relations and risk management teams. Prior to Howard Hughes, Ms. Loeffler served as Chief Financial Officer for Whiting Petroleum Corporation, where her responsibilities included managing the company’s Finance and Accounting organizations as well as helped restructure $2.4 billion of unsecured debt. Prior to then Ms. Loeffler served as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for the Callon Petroleum Company. Prior to that Ms. Loeffler spent over a decade at JPMorgan Securities before leaving as an Executive Director in the Corporate Client Banking Energy group. Ms. Loeffler also held positions at Bank of America and Accenture. Ms. Loeffler graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.
Dewaynna Horn, PhD
Associate Dean for Accreditation, Professor of Management – College of Business
Texas Woman’s University
Dewaynna Horn is an Associate Dean and Professor of Management at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in the College of Business. She holds a Ph.D. in Management from Jackson State University, an MBA from Millsaps College, and a B.S. in Business Administration from Belhaven University. Horn has 14 years of experience in management roles in the banking/financial services industry and has presented her work at national and international conferences. She coaches women leaders and business owners on her research topics and collaborates with women-focused organizations in Houston. Horn has served on the boards of Women in Insurance and Financial Service (WIFS Houston) and Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and on the governance board for Educause CourseGateway. She also started a Facebook fitness group to encourage physical activity during the pandemic and recently started a home decoration/renovation business, Horn Home Interiors, LLC.
Tracy Kohler
CEO
Kindred
Tracy Kohler is a 28 year healthcare professional working her way up from a bedside aid to the C-suite. Currently serving as Chief Operating Officer for Kindred Hospital Houston Northwest, Tracy is a proud graduate of Texas Womens University- Houston Medical Center. As healthcare has evolved over her nearly three decade career, she has learned that change is inevitable and sees team building and patient focus as her opportunity to contribute. She is most proud of the team she has assembled at her hospital and the role they play in serving the community. She looks forward to the meeting the challenges ahead, and is grateful for this honor.
Julie Landry
Associate Director, Workforce Innovation & Development
Houston Airport System
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Michelle Patterson
Vice President, Associate Market Manager
Veritex Community Bank
As a native Houstonian and the first generation of her family to be born in the United States, with her parents emigrating from Vietnam in 1975, Michelle was raised in Katy and graduated from the University of Houston – Downtown with a BBA in Management. Two decades ago, Michelle began as a full-time teller and has since devoted herself to the Retail Community Banking Industry. As an Associate Market Manager, Michelle is responsible for overseeing multiple spaces such as Team Member development, onboarding new employees, providing relationship focused guidance to clients, community reinvestment, and directing the daily operations and production of banking centers. Michelle coordinate and head Veritex Bank’s Women In Business Houston Chapter, engaging local business leaders, entrepreneurs, and non-profits. Michelle currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. Michelle loves spending time with her husband, their three daughters, two of which are twins, by the salt water any chance we get. Michelle is a proud Texan.
Megan Pearl, PhD
Vice President of Technology
Locus Bio-Energy
Dr. Megan Pearl is a recognized oil and gas industry expert with extensive experience leading laboratory research and technology teams. She is currently Locus Bio-Energy’s VP of technology. Megan previously served in various leadership roles at Halliburton, including global analytical lab manager. Her 10-year Halliburton career spanned multiple disciplines in both the US and Brazil where she helped establish a new technology center. She joined Locus in 2022 to lead the development of its high-performing, environmentally friendly products to replace synthetic oilfield chemicals. Megan holds a doctorate in chemistry, a master’s degree in business administration, 19+ patents and numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals. She actively attends and speaks at industry events and was named one of Hart Energy’s 25 Most Influential Women in Energy for 2023. In her free time, Megan runs a small business. She and her husband live in Spring, Texas, with their 3 children and 4 pets.
Kara Peleckey
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
American Bureau of Shipping
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Krystle Riley
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital
Krystle Riley, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Houston Methodist The Woodlands, is responsible for hospital operations and driving strategies supporting unparalleled patient care. In her more than 10 years of leadership experience, Riley has overseen medical staff services, support service departments, clinical service lines and the implementation of a neuroscience program. She also developed a medical staff of over 1300 providers.Riley led Houston Methodist’s designation as a DNV Orthopedic Center of Excellence and supported the hospital’s accreditation as a MBSAQIP Bariatric Center of Excellence and SRC Robotic Center of Excellence. She completed her Bachelor’s from The University of Notre Dame, Master of Healthcare Administration from The University of North Carolina, and Administrative Fellowship at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. A proud board member of the Montgomery County Food Bank and Education for Tomorrow Alliance, Krystle and her husband, Sean, have two young daughters.