Events

Michael Landrum is presiding Judge in the 113^th Civil District Court, in Harris County.  He has held this bench since his appointment by Governor Rick Perry in May, 2013.

Michael is a native Houstonian. He grew up in the Spring Branch area and attended Memorial High School.  He received his B.A. from The University of St. Thomas and a law degree from the University of Texas.

Michael Landrum holds specialist certifications in the fields of Civil Trial Law and Civil Appellate Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. 

Before being sworn in as judge, Landrum dedicated his legal career to representing businesses and business people in matters involving a wide variety of transactional, litigation and appellate matters.

In addition to his official duties, Landrum teaches a class about American courts at Houston Baptist University, serves as judicial liaison to the Houston Young Lawyers Association, lectures in continuing legal education programs, judges student mock trial and moot court competitions, and is active in Houston Bar Association activities.

Danny Kahalley, Director of Admissions at Saint Thomas’ Episcopal School, has

fifteen years of experience in education administration and has worked for

numerous schools and colleges in Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas at the primary,

secondary, undergraduate, and graduate level. He has his bachelor’s degree from

Rhodes College and master’s degree from the University of Alabama. His

daughters, Lydia and Islay, both attend private schools in Houston, and wife, Lisa,

is an Associate Professor of Pediatric Psychology.

Specialist Steven C. Baskis successfully completed Infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2007 and went on to deploy with the U.S. Army’s distinguished 4th Infantry Division, a unit that crossed the Normandy beaches in World War II. While serving as a Personal Security Specialist in 2008, Baskis was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device during military operations in Baghdad, Iraq. May 13th, 2008 marked the day in which Baskis lost his sight and suffered multiple shrapnel injuries to the head, neck, arms and legs which resulted in significant blood loss, hearing loss, loss of smell and nerve damage to left arm. Steve explains how this traumatic experience has forever changed his sight and vision. “I may have lost my physical ability to see, but I have a new vision, a new perspective to guide me through life and all of it’s amazing challenges.

After war and debilitating injuries, Steve has gone on to climb 2 of the 7 tallest mountains in the world which include Mount Elbrus in Europe and Kilimanjaro in Africa. A documentary titled “High Ground”, captures Steve and 11 veterans’ amazing journey to climb a 20,000 foot Himalayan peak, Lobuche, which sits in the shadow of Mount Everest. Another documentary Steve had the opportunity to be featured in is “On Me”. The film follows five completely blind veterans down a stretch of white water river rapids in Montana. Baskis has found a love for adventure and physical challenge. Actively pursuing half marathons, a half ironman, cycling nearly 800 miles from the capital of Canada to the capital of The United States, snow skiing down cold mountains in Colorado and white water kayaking 226 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, are just a few of Steve’s thrilling adventures.

“I now want to give back to the people who have helped me, through my foundation called Blind Endeavors”, Steve says. The Blind Endeavors Foundation’s main purpose centers around educating, conducting research and making more people aware of what is possible, no matter the level of adversity faced.

Ryan Dolibois is currently the Executive Director and Superintendent for Yellowstone Schools—a unique school model in the heart of Houston’s Third Ward. Founded in 2002, the campus now includes Yellowstone Academy, a private Christian school for students in preK-4th grade, and Yellowstone College Prep, a public charter school growing to serve students in 5th through 12thgrade. This public/private co-location is the first of its kind in the state of Texas. This year, Yellowstone is serving nearly 600 students and alumni from Houston’s inner-city. 

Ryan’s twenty-year background in education includes teaching, fundraising, strategic planning, and executive leadership in both public and private schools in Houston. He began his career as a Teach for America corps member, where he was named first year Teacher of the Year for the state of Texas. For a decade, he then helped lead the growth of YES Prep Public Schools, a Houston charter school system. During his time as YES Prep’s VP of Advancement, he helped the organization raise over $80 million as it grew from a single school with 350 students to a school system serving thousands of students across the city. Ryan is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. He and his wife, Kim, have three children. 

Major Donor/Bequest Society and VIP Reception with Cash Bar 5:45-6:45 General Reception with Cash Bar 5:30 -7:00 Dinner and Presentation 7-9:30

Fraud Prevention and Detection makes the business owner aware of internal and external fraud, corruption, asset misappropriation and financial fraud. We will also discuss the Fraud Triangle which are the components that lead to fraud. Steps to Prevention and Detection, (1) communication, (2) checks and balances, (3) follow through. Being aware of how and why fraud is committed can save the business ten’s if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fiduciary Fraud - Black's Law Dictionary defines fiduciary as, “a person who is required to act for the benefit of another person on all matters within the scope of their relationship; one who owes to another the duties of good faith, trust, confidence and candor; one who must exercise a high standard of care in managing another's money or property.” The presentation will (1) identify various contexts in which a fiduciary duty exists, (2) determine how the actions and inactions of a fiduciary can cause a breach of fiduciary duty, (3) recognize how breaches often lead to fraud, losses and damages, (4) recognize that civil breach of fiduciary duty claims can prove invaluable in preparing a criminal theft or embezzlement case. J. Richard Claywell, CPA, ABV, ASA, CBA, CVA, CM&AA, MAFF, CFD, ABAR richard@biz-valuation.com 281 488-7531

Lisa is the Director of Development for Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston and has been an advancement professional in higher education, healthcare, community service and the arts for 30 years.  She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego (Ah-swee-Go) and LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Lisa enjoys a long history in Rotary - Her father Richard was a Rotarian, her family hosted numerous exchange students and she too was a Rotary exchange student to Cape Town, South Africa.  Lisa was a member of the Cortland Rotary Club, co-chaired the youth exchange committee and subsequently served as club president in 2001.  She is now a member of the Galveston Rotary Club.  She moved to Texas nearly three years ago to join her brothers who have settled in Galveston.

Lisa is here today to share the powerful story of Shriner’s Hospital for Children and their mission of “Love to the Rescue!”

JuliAnna Jelinek serves as Executive Director of The Arbor School. Previous to assuming this role, she served as The Arbor’s Chief Development Officer for two years. As Executive Director, Ms. Jelinek is responsible for overall management of The Arbor including operations, brand management, business development, and public engagement. Prior to joining The Arbor, Ms. Jelinek spent over seven years in business development and fundraising for public policy and advocacy groups in Arizona, California, and Washington D.C.

Barry Ward, the Executive Director of Trees for Houston since 2008. Founded in 1983 as the Live Oak Society, Trees for Houston has expanded to plant, protect, and promote all of Houston’s urban forest. Growing with the city of Houston, they have worked to see that trees shade neighborhoods, clean air, beautify streets, and slow runoff – all vital to the beauty and well-being of our urban environment. Barry manages all conservation, project and administrative aspects of the organization which now has a 1.5 million dollar annual budget. He established and manages their 20,000 tree nursery operation.

From 1999 to 2006 Barry served with the Battleship Texas / San Jacinto Battleground Historic Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife, first as Curator and promoted to Director. In 2006 he because the Executive Director of the Battleship Texas Foundation where he served until taking the helm at Trees for Houston.

Barry’s background includes serving as Head Archivist, Assistant Curator, and Development Officer at The Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA from 1988-1995 and as part-time Historical Consultant and Site Manager if the historic Klamath Ferry Center in Stockton from 1993-1998. He served as Assistant Curator of the Houston Cultural Heritage Society from 1998-1999.

Barry has done guest appearances on PBS, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

Barry is also author of Stephens Brothers: A Century of Shipbuilding, published in 2002 and is a freelance writer, with articles published in the Wooden Boat Magazine, The Central Valley Harvester, Touchstone, The Caravan magazine, and others.

Nicole Normandin currently serves as the Executive Director for Stuff the Sleigh, a nonprofit organization that supports the psychosocial and emotional needs of pediatric cancer and hematology patients and families. Over the last ten years, Nicole has worked with vulnerable populations in several capacities – most recently as a Clinical Social Worker at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers and as a Community Outreach Specialist with the American Cancer Society.

Nicole has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Science in Social Work, both from the University of Texas at Austin. In May 2017, she completed the Rice University Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives. She has extensive work volunteering and serving others, including time as the President of Student Hope, a pilot program through the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

What she loves most about her role in Stuff the Sleigh is the ability to give each patient, sibling and parent a little something to make them smile despite the devastating circumstances around them. When Nicole’s father lost his 7-year battle to pancreatic cancer, her personal and professional passion for positively impacting the lives of cancer patients was reinforced, allowing her to lead the efforts made by Stuff the Sleigh.