Speakers

Texas State Representative District 134
Representative Ann Johnson is a former Chief Human Trafficking Prosecutor, current teacher, and small business owner who works as an attorney in our criminal justice system for victims of sexual exploitation and those who cannot afford a lawyer. Ann is honored to have been elected to serve as State Representative for Texas House District 134 in 2020. Texas Tribune said "Democrat Ann Johnson, of Houston, offered thoughtful legislation and proved remarkably effective at working with Republican lawmakers."

Charles C. Foster Charles C. Foster is the Chairman of Foster LLP and is based in the Houston office. Recognized as a Best Lawyer in America, Chambers USA Senior Statespeople, Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Immigration Thought Leader, Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employer Lawyer – Immigration, and Top 100 attorney in Houston, his practice focuses primarily on representing multinational companies and foreign investors regarding U.S. immigration law. Charles received both his J.D. and undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He lectures frequently before legal, academic, and professional organizations in Texas, throughout the United States and abroad and has published numerous articles on U.S. immigration law. Charles has dedicated much of his career to the improvement of his community. He served as senior immigration policy advisor to President George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential campaigns and as an immigration policy advisor to Barack Obama in the 2008 campaign. He has testified before both U.S. Senate and House subcommittees on immigration matters. He is the founding Chairman of the Immigration & Nationality Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and has previously served as Chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Immigration, the Greater Houston Partnership’s Economic Development Advisory Committee and World Trade Division, the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Committee on Immigration Law, and the State Bar of Texas Committee on Laws Relating to Immigration and Nationality and is past National President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Houston Forum and the Houston Club and Board member of Ripley / Baker. He currently serves as Chairman of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston Advisory Board, of U.S.-China Partnerships; and of Americans for Immigration Reform; and Vice Chairman of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S. China Relations; Director Emeritus of the Greater Houston Partnership; Member of the Board of Directors of the Asia Society Texas Center; American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Houston Ballet, the Hobby Center for Public Policy, KIND, and the Holocaust Museum Houston. Charles also initiated and served as Co-Chairman of the George Bush Monument and the Lyndon B. Johnson Monument, as well Co-Chairman of the James Baker Monument and Robert Mosbacher Memorial Bridge advisory boards. In addition to his involvement in the community, Charles is the Honorary Consul-General for the Kingdom of Thailand and the Vice Dean of Houston’s Consular Corps. He has received several high Royal Decorations conferred by His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej as well as numerous awards including 2020 Asia Society’s Roy M. Huffington Award for Contributions to International Understanding and Immigration Reform, 2016 Interfaith Ministries Tapestry Award, 1997 Houston International Service Award by the Houston Jaycees and Consular Corps, the 2000 Distinguished Friend of China Award, the 2013 Houston Bar Association Leon Jaworski Award for community service and 1998 American Immigration Law Foundation Honorary Fellow. He has been named the nation’s “20 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys” in immigration by Human Resource Executive. His role as an immigration lawyer was featured in the 2010 film Mao’s Last Dancer. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and as a past President, he has received AILA’S 1990 Pro Bono Award for establishing ProBar in South Texas and its 1992 Edith M. Lowenstein Award for Excellence in Advancing the practice of Immigration Law and its Texas Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award. Charles is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is licensed to practice in the State of Texas and New York and is fluent in Spanish. 12/28/2020

Esmaeil Porsa, MD is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Harris Health System

Dr. Esmaeil Porsa serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Harris Health System in Houston, Texas. Prior to returning back to Houston in 2020, Dr. Porsa served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Integration Officer at Parkland Health and Hospital System where he had worked since 2007 in different capacities including the Medical Director of the Dallas County Jail Health program, Associate Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Professional and Academic Affairs and Interim Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Porsa completed a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio before earning his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School in San Antonio. He completed his training in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston where he also served as the Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Porsa completed a Masters of Public Health degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health as well as a fellowship program in primary care at the UTHSC-Houston medical school in 2005. Dr. Porsa obtained his MBA degree in Healthcare Leadership from University of Texas in Dallas in 2017.
Dr. Porsa has a special interest in improving community health through addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and healthcare delivery in correctional setting. He currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and is a member of the Certified Correctional Health Care Professional Board of Trustees for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC).

Joy Ashby Cornthwaite, MS RD LD CDE, has expertise in the fields of medical nutrition therapy, diabetes nutrition and wellness program education. She earned her Master’s in Clinical Nutrition at Florida State University and her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from Rice University.

She has worked to promote and develop programs to impact positive outcomes for patients with acute and chronic diseases. Her work includes the development and presentation of programs in adult obesity, childhood obesity and diabetes self-management. She was also a core team member of the inaugural group of Canyon Ranch Institute’s Savannah Life Enhancement Program, providing an integrative wellness program focusing on empowering participants to embrace healthy behaviors and lifestyle changes through health education and knowledge.

Ms. Ashby Cornthwaite is passionate about her children, family and nutrition education. She is a self-proclaimed foodie and enjoys the cultural diversity and dialogue that food opens up between people. She encourages changing lives one meal at a time and enjoys the role it plays in wellness in addition to the treatment and prevention of chronic disease, especially diabetes.

She is enthusiastic about patient care and education. She sees her role as medical nutrition therapist and diabetes educator an excellent opportunity to empower patients and support them as they embrace a life of wellness and health.

Sally S. Davis RN MSN: Sally has been a member of the Amazing Place team for the past ten years and is currently serving as the Connections Director for Amazing Place. In this role, she is managing the Amazing Place Connections Programs which encompass a myriad of community education programs and family caregiver support programs. She is a member of the Amazing Place Speaker’s Bureau and has developed and presented on a variety of topics that promote strategies to improve and maintain cognitive health. Sally is an UCLA Certified Memory Trainer and leads memory training courses for adults “north of 50.” Sally received her BSN from DePauw University and her Master’s in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.