Events

Christof Spieler, PE, LEED AP is Vice President and Director of Planning at Huitt-Zollars, working on land use, transportation, and open space planning. He is currently serving as project manager of the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation consortium, a group of experts in hydrology, ecology, and urban planning that are working to assist decision makers and the public to address flooding in the Houston region. He teaches in Architecture and Engineering at Rice University, served on the board of  Houston METRO from 2010 to 2018, and has contributed to national APTA and NACTO standards. Spieler holds a BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Rice.

Nate Arneson serves as the Community Liaison at United Against Human Trafficking.  He primarily works to support the coordination of the Houston Rescue & Restore Coalition, expand Community Engagement Initiatives, support outreach events, and implement demand-reduction programs.  This is Nate’s first year living in Houston, Tx.  Prior to living in Houston, Nate and his Wife lived in Guatemala as Peace Corps volunteers working with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to improve the overall health of rural communities living without vital resources.

Chris Peifer was named City Manager of West University Place in November 2015.

Chris's experience is both extensive and varied, having served as City Manager, Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director at West U, and Deputy City Manager in League City. Prior to his positions in Administration, he directed the Public Works Departments in League City and was the Assistant Director in Sugar Land. His public service is even more varied with experience in public works, finance/accounting (including contracting with various regulatory agencies under the Department of Treasury during the banking crisis, related to deregulation), economic and community development, finance, real estate and construction. In West U, his major focus areas include fiscal strength and process improvement, as well as strategic resource and infrastructure development.

Chris attended Albright College in Reading PA, where he earned his bachelors of Science degree. In the course of his career, he has supplemented his collegiate education with courses varying from public works to public administration, obtaining certifications in the Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act, and the Public Investment Fund Act. He is also a Certified Emergency Program Manager.

Throughout his career, Chris has been highly involved in municipal professional associations, including serving as a Board Member for the Texas Municipal Utility Association.  He is a member of the International and Texas City Manager Associations, the American Public Works Association, the American Water Works Association, the Texas Water Utilities Association and a host of other municipally oriented associations.

Chris will retire from the City this coming January.

Adam W. Richard is the Head of Distribution at Entoro Capital. He is co-founder & partner of Sutton Stone, founder of the Houston Bitcoin Meetup, co-founder of the Houston Ethereum Meetup, and previously co-founded and was CEO of Volt markets (Boost VC, Plug & Play, and Creative Destruction Labs alumnus), and was co-founder and CTO of Metal Networks, Inc. (Surge Accelerator alumnus). Adam has been a CTO, CPO, software project manager, start-up adviser/mentor, brand strategist, web developer, UX & UI designer, graphic designer, photographer & cinematographer. 

Joe Haralson has been a Ranger since 1981. This makes him one of the force’s most senior Rangers, and he is one of the best.

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.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force Reserve.

Former airline pilot with 5,000+ hours flying time.

Seventeen years in airline ground operations.

Past Trade Show Director with the United States Air

& Trade Show, Dayton, OH, sixth largest in the

world.

Presently, a Living History Volunteer at the Lone Star Flight Museum

offering first person presentations on General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle.

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.