Events

Mr. Thompson is a native Houstonian who graduated from Lamar High School and the University of Texas with a degree in finance. He joined his brother at Thompson-Hanson in 1994 and moved with his wife and three children to West University Place in 2002. He is currently involved with landscape, nursery and growing industries along with restaurants, real estate, farming and ranching. Mr. Thompson's interest include health, nutrition, regenerative agriculture, vintige cars, aviation and golf. The intiatial seed money for Thompson-Hanson with their father's lawn mower!

Kristen Leach is the executive director of Kinetic Kids Houston, a nonprofit organization that offers sport, recreational and fine art programs for kids with special needs.  Kristen founded Kinetic Kids Houston in January 2024 and started programming in March. Kinetic Kids serves our local special needs community by allowing kids to get off the sidelines and develop into athletes under the watch care of coaches and pediatric therapists.

Director, Global Cybersecurity Program and Assistant Professor of International Studies at the University of St. Thomas. Currently teaching courses on Cyber Warfare, Introduction to Enterprise Cybersecurity, Cyber Ethics, Digital Governance, and Geopolitical Risk. Mr. Botts is a lecturer at the Women’s Institute of Houston teaching a course entitled The World According to Eric.

• Will Rommel, Project Advisor with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, will present on the Clean and Green Program at the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The Clean and Green program is responsible for the clean-up and maintenance of 10 miles of waterway that lead to the Gulf of Mexico, and the team captures ocean bound plastic waste and other litter using a variety of techniques and innovations.

The talk will focus on Cristo Rey Jesuit College Prep in Houston - a short history of how the school came to be, a snap-shot of the students we serve, and our innovative Corporate Work Study Program which helps make a private school education accessible to families who typically cannot afford one.

Place: Verde Garden

2817 W. Dallas St. Building C

Houston, TX 77019

281-974-5181

www.verdegardenhtx.com

Date: Thursday 1/23/25  5:15PM

We have reserved the couches in the cocktail room (1st room to the right at you enter).

Happy hour is 3 to 6PM.

Make sure to try one of their frozen flaming drinks!!! 

Their ceviche is delicious.

Great ambiance with eclectic decor!

At Small Places, we develop high impact urban farms in low access communities. We are passionate about cultivating healthy neighborhoods via nourishing food and engaged communities; ultimately renewing the bond between people, place and food. Small Places has been actively involved in the East End of Houston helping with food insecurity across the food desert in 2nd ward, and I believe our work aligns with the values and interests of your club members.

ANNE WHITLOCK has lived and worked in
five countries, starting in the Peace Corps in
Mali, West Africa and then moving to Chad,
Costa Rica, Mexico and back to the US. She
speaks fluent Spanish, some French and a
smattering of Bambara. These experiences
gave her a sense of what it’s like to be pulled
from one’s roots and transported to a new land
with cultural and language barriers.
She has served as Founding Director of
Connect Community since 2016, a holistic
revitalization effort in Gulfton/Sharpstown
based on the Purpose Built Communities
model. The model focuses on building great
communities by wrapping around schools to
build aligned health and wellness
infrastructure, a cradle through career
education pipeline, economic vitality and
mixed income housing options.
She has the privilege of working with
newcomers from all over the globe who have
landed in Houston to seek better opportunities
for themselves and their families.
Prior to Connect Community, she worked as
the Program Director for the Community Clinic
Funders’ Collaborative at the Harris County
Healthcare Alliance working to improve
sustainability and collaboration in the Houston
healthcare safety net system. She worked at
the Baker Institute and led the America’s
Project seminar for “Young Leaders” from
throughout Latin America. She also rode the
dot.com boom and bust wave in the mid-90’s
and survived her husband’s congressional
campaign in 2008.
She currently serves on the boards of the
Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Brazos Bookstore,
and UT Children’s Learning Institute and
served on the boards of Vecino Health
Centers and the East End Foundation.
She is married with three adult children and
lives in a converted fire station in the East End
of Houston.
 

: This presentation will share a bit about the history of Undies for Everyone, founded in Houston, TX in 2012, and how we have grown into an organization distributing close to 2 million pairs of undies a year. It will discuss the various programs we run, and the many ways to get involved.

With over 30 years of management, community fund raising and communications experience, Sally Tyler is a seasoned development professional. 

Her career encompasses community representation and foundation and corporate fundraising for Texas’ top-ranked hospital, Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, five years as Charity Review Manager for the Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston & South Texas, four years as Executive Director of Executive Service Corps of Houston, one of 21 nationally-affiliated nonprofit consulting firms with 80 consultants, 10-member board, advisory council, and staff of three.  She served four years as Executive Director of Memorial Park Conservancy, managing a staff of six and hundreds of volunteers, supporting one of the largest urban parks in the U.S., raising $7 million of the $10 million goal in two years, and four years of major gift fundraising, initializing endowments, preparing strategic, marketing and development plans and membership programs, serving as media liaison and spokesperson, setting the stage for a $50M transformational gift.

In the early 90’s, she led a $3 million capital campaign for the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center and an $11 million capital campaign for the Children’s Museum of Houston.  At a private girls’ school, St. Agnes Academy, she managed a development staff of five as a high school administrator, its annual fund and a $9 million capital campaign. She participated in the first $500 million campaign for Rice University. 

She conceptualized/managed many special events including “A Conversation With a Living Legend" for Henry Kissinger, General Norman Schwarzkopf, and General Colin Powell. She assisted with Polo on the Prairie, and numerous cultivation and third-party events for the nationally first-ranked University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Society for the Performing Arts, one of the largest arts presenters in the southwest.  

Her crisis management experience with flood recovery efforts following Tropical Storm Allison, Hurricane Katrina, Ike, Rita and two fires at St. Agnes Academy intensified her leadership, creativity, communication and problem-solving skills.

She was an active member of AFPHouston and a CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive). Additionally, she worked with AmeriCorps at Houston Audubon Society, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center and Memorial Park Conservancy. Her work with city, state and national leaders aided numerous positive city, museum, school and university capital improvements. 

Mr. Lord retired from the US Department of Justice in 2004 after serving as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division for almost thirty years. He began as a Special Attorney in the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section in 1970 serving in Strike Forces in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

He is a 50 year member of the State Bar of Texas, Vietnam War veteran and educated at Southern Methodist University (BA-1963) and The University of Texas School of Law (JD-1966)

Sophia Ortega is a dynamic young leader in the hospitality industry, serving as the Director of Communications at H Town Restaurant Group. Sophia, the daughter of renowned restaurateur Tracy Vaught and Chef Hugo Ortega, grew up in the vibrant world of Houston's restaurant scene. She has been immersed in the business since childhood, giving her a deep understanding of the culinary world, which is reflected in her hands-on approach to creating memorable experiences for guests and staff alike.

Sophia specializes in marketing and IT and oversees holiday and special event planning, website design, guest communications, social media, email campaigns, and menu design and development. She has recently started stepping back from her marketing duties to focus on harnessing her leadership skills. She leads staff meetings, projects monthly sales, calculates and tracks labor costs, and shadows her mother and CEO, Tracy Vaught, to learn more about finances, leases, deals, loans, and land ownership. Sophia is a proud graduate of Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. She holds a Master of Science degree in Hospitality Management, which complements her rich industry experience.

With her unique blend of creativity, business awareness, and family tradition, Sophia continues to shape the future of the H Town Restaurant Group brand and ensure its place at the forefront of Houston's culinary landscape.

Blake is the youngest person to be inducted into Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty Circle of Excellence. He is a recipient of the Houston Association of Realtors "Top 20 under 40" award, and has been recognized as a "Rising Star Real Estate Agent" by Five Star Professional. Blake is a proud supporter of all Houston sports teams and attends UH Cougar football games when he can. A long-time musician, he plays guitar in his free time.

Jan Smulcer and Donna Passmore are the Co-Founders and Co-Directors of Values through History, an educational nonprofit in Houston, Texas. In addition, both are co-authors of “Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route and the Franco-American Alliance 2018" and ¨ Essential Allies 2024." 

Ms. Smulcer has a background in historical research and writing, business management, curriculum development, and graphic design, multi-media productions, restoration, and historic preservation. She is a graduate of University of Houston in Liberal Arts Studies.

Ms. Passmore is an attorney with a background in criminal and constitutional law, education, curriculum development, history, research & writing, and multimedia production.  She received her J.D. from Indiana University McKinney School of Law, where she was Associate Editor of the Law Review, and her MA and BA, with honors, from Vanderbilt George Peabody College of Teachers.

Both Ms. Smulcer and Ms. Passmore are recently certified in Leadership Excellence for Non-Profits by Rice University.  Their associations include the American Friends of Lafayette, American Society of the French Legion of Honor. the NSCDA Colonial Dames. the Daughters of the American Revolution. the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association. 

Ms. Passmore and Ms. Smulcer will present a brief, fast-moving account of the remarkable life of the Marquis de Lafayette and his unending devotion and contributions to the United States of America.  2025 is the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's return to America, and he is being celebrated this year in towns and cities across our country.