Greater Houston Women’s Hall of Fame

About The Honorable Jacquie Baly

Jacquie Baly, President of BalyProjects, has been a leader in the state’s business community for decades. She began her career as a city planner, then served as Vice President of the Greater Houston Partnership before her public service as Governor Rick Perry’s appointee on infrastructure issues, then-Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Sugar Land. Twenty-four years ago, Jacquie founded BalyProjects to provide clients with public affairs services. She is currently an adviser to Governor Greg Abbott on Higher Education initiatives.

In 2022, Harris County Commissioners unanimously approved Jacquie Baly’s three-year term to serve on their newly created board dealing with economic development opportunities for women. “A Women’s Commission in Harris County gives us a chance to convene women across the county from different industries, backgrounds, and perspectives to address best the disparities women face,” Commissioner Rodney Ellis states.

Jacquie has won numerous awards, including Top Ten Business Owner in the Country by the National Association of Women Business Owners, One of the Most Influential Blacks by CORE media and USA Today, Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Role Model Honoree, St. Jude’s Children Hospital Philanthropist of the Year, Crohn’s and Colitis Woman of Distinction, Woman of Excellence by the Federation of Business and Professional Women, Outstanding Young American by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, University of Houston Alumni Association’s “Rising Star” and Black Alumnus of the Year awards.

Jacquie has served on several boards, including the American Cancer Society as Board Director and Cattle Baron’s Ball Chair, Houston Contractors Association as Governmental Relations Chair and PAC Board member, Women in Commercial Real Estate Board member, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s Corporate Development Committee, YMCA as President, The Women’s Home Board member and Gala Chair, Houston Area Women’s Center Board member and Gala Chair, Alley Theatre Advisory Board, The Museum of Fine Arts of Houston Board member, Asian Pacific American Heritage Association Advisory Board member, The Women’s Resource of Greater Houston Advisory Board member, Fort Bend Boys Choir as President, River Oaks Women’s Breakfast Club as President, and Fort Bend Professional Women’s Club as President. She is also an alumnus of American Leadership Forum, The Center for Houston’s Future Business Leadership Class, and Leadership Houston.

A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in City Planning. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate at the University of Southern California. Jacquie has taught public policy at the University of Houston for over 15 years and served as a Faculty-In-Residence at the University of Texas in Austin.

Jacquie is the proud mother of two amazing young men. Her eldest, Raphael, graduated from Trinity University with a double major in business and marketing and is currently pursuing his MBA at Boston College. Her youngest son Alexandre recently graduated from Harvard University with High Honors in Neuroscience and earned a language certification in Spanish. She newly married business executive James Craig and resides in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Sharon Y.R. Dent holds the Ruth Leggett Jones Distinguished Chair at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she serves as Chair of the Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis. Dr. Dent is also Dean ad interim for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and John P. McGovern Distinguished Professor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/UT Health Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Dr. Dent’s research has defined novel functions for histone modifying enzymes, which add or remove small chemical moieties to the histone proteins to impact chromatin folding and function. Her group played a key role in collaborative work with Dr. David Allis that identified the first histone acetyltransferase (Gcn5) important to gene regulation, heralding a new era in chromatin and epigenetics research. In addition, her early discovery that a yeast corepressor complex repositions nucleosomes and recruits histone deacetylases to gene promoters created a new paradigm for understanding mechanisms of transcriptional repression. Her more recent work probes connections between histone modifying enzymes and human diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Dent has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for Basic Science for the National Cancer Institute and the review boards for multiple university affiliated cancer centers and research organizations. Her research and leadership have been acknowledged by several awards including the R. Lee Clark Research Faculty Award and the John Mendelsohn Award for Leadership from the cancer center, the BioHouston Women in Science with Excellence (WISE) Award and the Paul E. Darlington Mentorship Award from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Dent was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Marcia Faschingbauer is the president and CEO of Excargo Services Inc., a transportation logistics company that provides expert intermodal, drayage, transloading and warehouse solutions for major importers and exporters to and from the Port of Houston and area rail terminals in Texas and the bordering states.

In 1979, Marcia started a business to provide reliable transport of export containers after seeing the need in her family’s food business. The young company did so well that it acquired Excargo Services Inc. from her family just four years later in 1983. As CEO, Marcia grew Excargo with a strong focus on safety, communication, and service excellence. Today, Excargo is known for all three: its outstanding customer service, its robust data systems and its stellar safety record among trucking companies in North America.

A native Houstonian, Marcia is committed to the community. She contributes her time and resources to the industry she loves, as well as to her passions: the arts, education and gardening. Marcia is a past chair of the Texas Trucking Association and currently serves on the boards of the American Trucking Associations, Greater Houston Port Bureau, Southwest Movers Foundation, University of Houston Supply Chain Advisory Board and Mercury Chamber Orchestra. In addition, she is a member of several business organizations including the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

Marcia graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and has completed executive programs at Rice University’s Jones School and Dartmouth’s Tuck Business School. She resides in Houston with her husband. They enjoy traveling, the outdoors and the arts.

 

Office Managing Partner

Dentons

Laura Gibson is an attorney with the international law firm Dentons. She is the Managing Partner of the Houston office. She also is the head of the Employment and Labor practice team in Houston. Ms. Gibson has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2001. She has extensive trial and appellate experience handling complex commercial litigation and arbitrations in areas involving employment, banking, energy, securities, copyright and communications law. Texas attorneys have elected Laura to be president of the State Bar of Texas, and she currently serves in that role.

Recognition
Honors and Awards
• Best Lawyers in America
• Employment Law – Individuals, 2018–present
• Employment Law – Management, 2011–present
• Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2011–present
• Ranked, Texas, Chambers USA, Labor and Employment, 2022
• Recognized as a Super Lawyer, Law & Politics Magazine, 2004 and 2007–2021
• Houston Business Journal Women Who Mean Business Award, 2020
• University of Houston Law Center Pro bono/Community Service and Leadership Award, 2021
• Trailblazer Outside Counsel of the Year, State Bar of Texas – Texas Minority Counsel Program, 2013
• President’s Award, Houston Bar Association, 2011, 2013
• “Women on the Move,” Texas Executive Women, 2012

Memberships
• State Bar of Texas, Current President
• University of Houston Law Center Alumni Board, Board of Directors, 2011-Present
• Association of Women Attorneys, President, 2011-2012; Member, 2003-Present
• College of the State Bar of Texas, Member, 2003-Present
• Houston Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section, Past Chair, 2006-2007; Member, 2000-Present
• State Bar of Texas, Executive Committee, 2013-2015; 2017-2020
• State Bar of Texas, Chair of the Board, 2018-2019
• State Bar of Texas, Director, District 4, 2012-2015; 2016-2019
• Houston Bar Association, President, 2015-2016
• Greater Houston Partnership Executive Women’s Partnership Committee, Past Chair, 2011; Member, 2007-2015
• Greater Houston Partnership, Leadership Council, 2010-2011
• State Bar of Texas, Advertising Review Committee, Member & Past Chair, 2004-2010
• Houston Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
• Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow

Prior and Present Employment
Ms. Gibson is a former adjunct professor of trial advocacy for the University of Houston Law Center. She also taught as an instructor at the NITA National Session, the Southern Regional Trial Advocacy Program at the SMU School of Law and the University of Houston Deposition NITA Program. Prior to joining Dentons, she was a founding partner at Ogden, Gibson, Broocks, Longoria & Hall, LLP.

Angie Gildea is the KPMG Energy, Natural Resources & Chemicals (ENRC) National Sector Leader. Gildea is responsible for the strategy, growth and revenue of the energy sector in the U.S. Her leadership and record of outstanding client service are founded in deep knowledge and experience in helping global energy companies succeed and grow over the past 20-plus years. Gildea and her teams focus on positioning KPMG clients at the forefront of the energy transformation. Gildea also serves as KPMG’s global account leader for a Fortune 20 company and is an active member of the KPMG Global Energy leadership team.

Deeply committed to serving the community, Gildea has devoted her time to multiple non-profits over the years—serving on the board of trustees for River Oaks Baptist School, board of directors for Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Trees of Hope, an organization serving Houston’s largest homeless shelter. She is also a former member of the Junior League of Houston.

Angie has been honored for her service to the profession, advancement of women, and the community, and has received multiple awards, including Hart Energy’s Oil and Gas Investor 2022 Influential Women in Energy, named a 2020 Women who Mean Business Honoree by the Houston Business Journal, and named a 2020 Honoree by the Junior League of Houston.

Janet Gurwitch is a highly successful corporate executive with over 25 years of experience in the beauty industry. She is currently an operating partner with Advent International, a Boston-based private equity firm, where she focuses on the beauty & wellness consumer sector.

Gurwitch is the founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier Cosmetics & Skincare, a global brand of high-end niche cosmetics. Gurwitch managed and oversaw Laura Mercier’s day-to-day business operations, strategy development and retail negotiations.

Gurwitch joined forces with famed makeup artist Laura Mercier in 1996 after realizing the imminent paradigm shift in the beauty industry that was propelling niche lines to the forefront of the cosmetics business. The combination of Gurwitch’s business savvy and foresight coupled with Mercier’s talent provided a solid foundation for a strong, growing business based on technique and a high-quality product. She sold Laura Mercier in 2008. In September 2021, Advent acquired Laura Mercier, bareMinerals and Buxom from Shiseido and formed Orveon Global, where Gurwitch currently serves as Senior Advisor.

Prior to founding Laura Mercier, Janet Gurwitch was the Executive Vice President of Neiman Marcus, where she established the merchandising strategy from 1992-1995.

Today, Gurwitch is an investor in and on the Board of Directors of Olaplex (OLPX) and the Houston Astros baseball team. She formerly served on the boards of consumer brands Tatcha, Drybar, First Aid Beauty, Dollar Shave Club and Urban Decay Cosmetics as well as the public company La-Z-Boy.

Gurwitch’s personal community involvement includes the President’s Leadership Council for Houston Methodist Hospital; trustee for Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; chairing the Hermann Park Conservancy dinner event in 2018; and chairing the Community In Schools’ (CIS) annual event in 2015. She has also served as Underwriter for the Drawing Institute for the Menil Collection, and she’s an avid supporter of the Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera.

Vice President & CMO at Astoundz

Leisa Holland-Nelson is a native Houstonian, an entrepreneur, a speaker, broadcaster and mentor to women in business, a proud mother of Laura Max Rose, mother-in-law of Ben Rose, and grandmother of their three daughters, Selma, Violet and Jolene Rose, and a fairly new wife to Bob Bowman, with a passion for serving her community. (She has always done well by doing good!)

After 25 years in the Fashion business, Leisa initiated her highly successful entrepreneurial career by launching RentTheSite.com in 2004. Today, she is vice president, and CMO of ASTOUNDZ, a digital marketing firm, specializing in Organic SEO, Pay per Click Advertising, Social Media, and responsive websites.

Leisa is also the author and voice of “Women Mean Business”, an online weekly segment focusing on “Extraordinary Women doing Extraordinary Things”, on YouTube and podcast. Over 100,000 have downloaded episodes of Women Mean Busine$$$ since the show’s inception.

In service to the community, Leisa serves on several Boards of Directors including the American Cancer Society, where she is Board Chair for 2023-24, as vice-chairman of the American Leadership Forum, as Chair Emeritus of the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Immediate Past Board Chair of AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse), 2021-22. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Baylor College of Medicine’s Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, the Holocaust Museum, Goodwill Houston, and Hermann Park Conservatory .

She has been honored as one of Houston’s Treasures, Houston’s Fifty Most Influential Women, a GHWCC Breakthrough Woman, an ABC, Channel 13/Crohn’s and Colitis’ Woman of Distinction, and a Houston Business Journal Woman Who Means Business, an Interfaith Ministries Animeal’s Champion, a Virtuosi of Houston’s Outstanding Mother, and The Assistance League of Houston’s final Mary Jo Peckham Award, among many others. Always aware of what is important in life, Leisa Holland-Nelson has used her entrepreneurial skills and instincts to help other women in business and her passion for being of service to better the lives of many.

Vicki Hollub is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxy. She has been a member of Oxy’s Board of Directors since 2015. During her 35-year career with Oxy, Vicki has held a variety of management and technical positions with responsibilities on three continents, including roles in the United States, Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Most recently, she served as Oxy’s President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s oil and gas, chemical and midstream operations.

Vicki previously was Senior Executive Vice President, Oxy, and President, Oxy Oil and Gas, where she was responsible for operations in the U.S., the Middle East region and Latin America. Prior to that, she held a variety of leadership positions, including Executive Vice President, Oxy, and President, Oxy Oil and Gas, Americas; Vice President, Occidental, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations, Oxy Oil and Gas; Executive Vice President, California Operations; and President and General Manager of the company’s Permian Basin operations. Vicki started her career at Cities Service, which was acquired by Oxy.

Vicki serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin and the American Petroleum Institute. She is chair of the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community and a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Vicki holds a Bachelor of Science in Mineral Engineering. She was inducted into the University of Alabama College of Engineering 2016 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

She is the chair of the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and the U.S. chair for the U.S.-Colombia Business Council. Ms. Hollub is also a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and the World Economic.

Kelley Lubanko was born in Colorado Springs, CO but moved to Texas by the time she was two, growing up in Houston. She is a graduate of the University of Houston. She and her husband of forty years met in Houston and have two daughters and four grandchildren.

Kelley is active on the boards of the Children’s Assessment Center, where she is Secretary, the Houston Ballet, where she serves as VP of Trustee Development, and the Houston Zoo. Nationally, she is a board member of the American Brain Foundation.

Kelley is passionate about causes involving children, wild animals and the arts, and tries to live by Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given, much will be required.”

Founding Partner

McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy LLP

Sharon E. Murphy is a founding partner with McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy LLP (MJLM), a Houston, Texas-based consulting firm. Established in 1999, the firm is ranked among the three largest African American owned consulting and business advisory firms in the country. She is also a partner at McConnell & Jones LLP (MJ), MJLM’s affiliate certified public accounting (CPA) firm that was established in 1987 and ranked as one of the largest CPA firms in Houston in 2017.

With more than 30 years of professional experience, Sharon heads the firm’s education practice and is responsible for a national clientele that has included 20 of the nation’s top 100 school districts in 13 states. She also oversees complex, large-scale engagements for federal agencies with nationwide scope. Sharon has been a panelist at national meetings for Council of Great City Schools and the National School Board Association addressing issues on public education.

Sharon serves on the Board of Directors of Unity Bank. She has also dedicated her time to serving on nonprofit boards in service to the community, including her current role as a board member for The Ensemble Theater and The Women’s Home, and former board chair of American Leadership Forum.

Sharon has been recognized as one of the “Top 30” Most Influential Women by D-Mars.com, and a “Woman of Distinction” by the Houston Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and Houston’s ABC affiliate, KTRK Channel 13. She has also been the recipient of the Building Block Award by Child Builders, Houston’s advocates for mental health in children.

Executive Vice President & CEO

Memorial Hermann Foundation

Anne E. Neeson serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Memorial Hermann Foundation.  In her role as EVP and CEO of the Memorial Hermann Foundation, Anne is responsible for driving the strategic philanthropy growth plan for Memorial Hermann Health System, the largest not-for-profit health system in Southeast Texas.

Anne partners with hospital and service line leaders to provide philanthropy support for 17 hospitals, school based health clinics, the Red Duke Trauma Center and Memorial Hermann Life Flight and Trauma Services to guide Memorial Hermann Foundation’s work to advance the mission of Memorial Hermann Health System around key strategic priorities and legacy of world-renowned patient care, research and education.  Under Anne’s leadership the Susan and Fayez Sarofim Pavilion at Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center opened just in time to serve the community during the height of the pandemic.  The work within the walls of the tower is transformational in providing the region with extraordinary life-saving care for the most critically ill and injured patients.

Prior to joining Memorial Hermann in 2017, Anne served as the Vice President of Donor Relations at the United Way of Greater Houston, where she created fundraising and marketing programs and initiatives building the largest Alexis de Tocqueville Society, Women’s Initiative and Young Leader affinity groups in the nation. She championed key initiatives like the United Way HELPLINE/211 Texas responding to one million calls annually, United Way Bright Beginnings helping more than 15,000 kids with a great start as learners and United Way THRIVE helping more than 100,000 families get on the road to financial security, all supporting a stronger Greater Houston community. Most notably, raising more than $1.5 billion during her 30-year career there.

 

Anne’s distinguished work with both United Way and the Memorial Hermann Foundation taps into her passion for a community she has proudly served her entire career. Additionally, Anne extends her experience and skills by serving on the boards for the American Leadership Forum, Wesley Community Center, the Joella and Stewart Morris Foundation, the Advisory Board of the Children’s Museum of Houston, Theatre Under the Stars and is a devoted mentor for Memorial Hermann Women Leaders.

 

Anne holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University. Among her affiliations and awards, Anne is a member of the United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society, United Way Women’s Initiative, American Heart Association Circle of Red, GHP Executive Women’s Partnership and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She has been cited as one of the city’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Women’s Magazine, selected as a Woman on the Move by Texas Executive Women and is a senior fellow in the American Leadership Forum, Class XXXVII. She is also a Eucharistic Minister at All Saints Catholic Church.

Shavonnah brings two decades of B2B and B2C experience in the technology, energy, aviation, heavy manufacturing, and professional services sectors to her board portfolio. She has experience working with PE-backed firms, privately held organizations, start-ups, and Fortune 500 organizations in America, EMEA, and APAC.

Currently, Shavonnah serves as the Founder and CEO of SNR Creative, a boutique marketing and communication firm. At SNR Creative, Shavonnah and her team provide the full range of marketing and communication services to companies of all sizes and backgrounds.
Shavonnah is a skilled public speaker and workshop facilitator and is a highly sought-after instructor at the University of Houston Small Business Development Center (UH SBDC). At the UH SBDC, Shavonnah leads marketing classes, workshops, and 1:1 coaching sessions geared at helping small business owners streamline their marketing functions.

Shavonnah is passionate about community engagement and advocacy. She is currently serving with the Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston Clean City Commission, Houston Police Department’s Independent Oversight Board, UT Health IMM, and SEARCH Homelessness. Additionally, she has established endowments at UT Health and at the University of Arizona.

Shavonnah has a B.A. in Communications from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas-Houston. As a continuous learner, she also has certificates from the Center for Creative Leadership, Cornell University, and Harvard Business School. Shavonnah is an American Marketing Association (AMA) member and has achieved the Professional Certified Marketer distinction through that organization.

Connie Roque Steward is an Exxon Mobil retiree with 32 years of service in Human Resources.  Following retirement Connie joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP), which is an international Catholic organization dedicated to serving those in need.  Since 2019 Connie has served as President of SVDP St. Monica Conference.  Under her leadership, the Conference was recently awarded a 6-month, $10,000 per month grant to provide rental and utility assistance to residents of the Acres Homes community.  The Conference also distributes food weekly to 150 families.  Connie serves as District 1 Spiritual Advisor and secretary on the SVDP Archdiocesan Council Board.  On the national level, she is currently serving as Co-Chairman of the African American Task Force.

Connie has been a dedicated member of St. Monica Catholic Church over 40 years.  She served on the Pastoral Council, co-chaired the church’s 50^th anniversary committee and the church directory committee.  For thirteen years Connie has chaired the Hospitality Ministry’s bazaar fundraiser, generating ~$50,000 for the church.   Due to 40+ years of dedicated service to the parish, she was recognized as one of the Living Legends of St. Monica Catholic Church.  With over 30 years of membership in Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary, Connie served as Grand Lady, Treasurer, Secretary and member of the Board of Directors.  At the 2019 National Convention, she was awarded the Silver Medal, which is presented to the member from the state of Texas who provided outstanding service to the church, noble order and the community.  Recently Connie was  exemplified into the meritorious 4^th Degree Ladies of Grace of the Knights of Peter Claver.

Connie is a 1968 business administration graduate of University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  While at USL she was a charter member of Epsilon Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., where she served as the first President.   She is a 50-year, Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.  From 2015 to 2018 she was the Regional Treasurer for the International Region.  She served as President of the Ivy Educational and Charitable Foundation of Houston, Inc. (IEACF) which is the charitable arm of Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter. During COVID-19 pandemic, she led and sustained the organization through virtual platforms, volunteer efforts and virtual fundraising. Connie was also able to maintain and award traditional IEACF scholarships, establish three new scholarships and introduced the 40^th Anniversary Inaugural cookbook.  The “Connie Steward” scholarship was established to recognize her contributions during these turbulent times.

In 2012 Connie was recognized as a University of Louisiana Foundation Endowed Professorship Donor.  Through her contributions and other matching contributions, she established a $100,000 endowed professorship.  Funds from this endowment are used annually to honor outstanding professors in the College of Business.

Connie and her husband Bruce are the proud parents of Reggie and his wife, Sonja and Chad, and his wife, Angelina.  They have four grandchildren, Sophia, Amber, Alexis and Reggie III (Trey).

 

Dr. Alvia Wardlaw is a nationally-recognized historian, scholar, educator, curator, museum director and leading expert on African, African American, and Modern and Contemporary art and history. In addition to her many career accomplishments, she is a dedicated humanitarian, philanthropist and activist for the advancement of art and culture in Houston and beyond.

Born on November 5, 1947 to Virginia Cage and Alvin Holmes Wardlaw, Alvia grew up in Houston’s Third Ward and was a graduate and class salutatorian of Jack Yates High School (1965). She received a B.A. Degree in Art History from Wellesley College (1969); an M.A. degree in Art History from New York University Institute of Fine Arts (1986); and became the first African American to earn a PhD in Art History at The University of Texas at Austin (1996).

Dr. Wardlaw worked as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1972) and as associate curator of Primitive Art and Education (1974). She subsequently served as an adjunct curator of African American Art at the Dallas Museum of Art and was named curator of Modern and Contemporary Art for the MFAH (1995), where she organized more than 75 exhibitions on African and African American art until 2009. Her many exhibitions include African Tribal Art (1973); Roy DeCarava: Photographs (1975); Ceremonies and Visions: The Art of John Biggers (1980); Homecoming: African American Family History in Georgia (1982); John Biggers: Bridges (1986); Black Art Ancestral Legacy: The African Impulse in African American Art (1989); The Art of John Biggers: View from the Upper Room (1995); The Quilts of Gee’s Bend (2002); Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art (2003); Notes from a Child’s Odyssey: The Art of Kermit Oliver (2005); Thornton Dial in the 21st Century (2006); and Houston Collects: African American Art (2008). Dr. Wardlaw’s groundbreaking exhibition The Quilts of Gee’s Bend (2002), a collection of abstract quilts by talented quilters from rural Alabama, broke attendance records at major museums across 11 cities and received the International Association of Art Critics Award (2003).

Dr. Wardlaw began teaching as a professor of Art History at Texas Southern University in 1972, playing a vital role in shaping a world-class art program and mentoring countless students for major careers in the arts. Recently, Dr. Wardlaw expanded the arts curriculum at TSU to include a minor degree in Museum Studies.

In 2000, Alvia became curator and Executive Director of the University Museum at Texas Southern University, an institution central to the conservation, preservation and exhibition of African and African American art and artifacts. During her tenure, Alvia has raised over a million dollars on behalf of the University Museum through donations, biennial fundraisers and grants. Alvia has single-handedly supervised generations of students interested in conservation, curatorial practice, museum preparatory training and provided a myriad of opportunities for their future careers in the arts.  In November 2022 Alvia served as the Honorary Chair for the United Negro College Fund “A Mind Is Black Tie Gala.”  Through her efforts they raised close to $600,000.

An outstanding scholar, Dr. Wardlaw has researched, written, and published notable essays, books, and exhibition catalogues. Honors and awards include a Fulbright Fellowship (1984), Fulbright Award (1997), American Leadership Forum (2001), Texas Women’s Hall of Fame (1994), Award of Merit from the University of Texas, and the Ethos Founders Award from Wellesley College. She was recognized as an African American Living Legend by African American News and Issues, and was named Texas Southern University’s Research Scholar of the Year (2009). In 2021, Dr. Alvia Wardlaw was honored by Art League Houston as the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts Leadership for a career spanning five decades. Alvia has made an indelible mark upon the modern art world, and is praised for her tireless, relevant and critical work in adding to the American art canon the art of so many under-celebrated African American artists such as John Biggers, Thornton Dial and Kermit Oliver.

As a member of the Port City Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, Alvia has been instrumental in advancing the organization’s commitment to increase and expand art activities and engagement throughout underserved communities. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Wellesley College, her alma mater.

Alvia is an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She is a proud mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and a dedicated daughter and caregiver to her ninety-five year old father. Alvia lives and works in the beloved historic Third Ward neighborhood that she grew up in.

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. is an internationally renowned neurogeneticist and the founding director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital. She is also an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). In addition, Dr. Zoghbi is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a trustee of the American University of Beirut, Rice University, and The Rockefeller University.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr. Zoghbi received her undergraduate degree in biology from the American University of Beirut and began medical school there in 1975. The civil war in Lebanon broke out during her first year of studies. After she spent a semester living in the basement of the university to stay safe, Dr. Zoghbi moved to the United States, where she transferred to Nashville’s Meharry Medical College.

Dr. Zoghbi completed a pediatric residency and a residency in pediatric neurology at BCM in 1985. Seeing children with incurable, inherited neurological diseases and not being able to provide them with hope piqued her interest in research and led her to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular genetics under the mentorship of the preeminent geneticist Dr. Arthur Beaudet. She joined the Baylor’s faculty as an assistant professor in 1988. Dr. Zoghbi’s research spans neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration, and has led to key discoveries in Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 1, Rett syndrome, Bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. She has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications in top-tier journals.

In 2010, Dr. Zoghbi founded the Duncan NRI at Texas Children’s Hospital to develop treatments for brain disorders, which impact one billion people, including 300 million children. Under her leadership, the NRI has grown to over 30 principal investigators and 300 research trainees with a track record of groundbreaking discoveries, including:
• 60+ genetic mutations that underlie neurological diseases—10% of all those known worldwide.
• A master gene that holds the key not only to a rare pediatric neurological disorder, but also to adult-onset diseases like Parkinson’s.
• The use of an established cancer drug to treat forms of severe childhood epilepsy.
• A neural circuit in the brain that controls addiction and eating disorders.

 

In addition to the Brain prize, Dr. Zoghbi has received several prestigious international awards and honors.