Speakers

Space City Weather portal discussion. Hurricane and storm  forecasting. What does the climate future hold for the Gulf Coast.

Robert Westheimer is a fourth generation Houstonian who is currently serving as a volunteer at the Holocaust Museum Houston. He retired from Arthur Andersen & Co., after serving as a Partner and Practice Director in the firm’s Business Consulting Practice.  Since retirement, Robert founded a Christ-centered 501(c)3 organization, Newspring, which focuses on economic development for an underserved population in the Spring Branch area.  In addition, Robert has published two books, “When God Calls, How Do You Answer?” and “Dangling,” and also authors Bible-based short stories. He is married to LaNoe Bolling Westheimer and has two children and three grandchildren.

Jennifer Battle, MSW

Jennifer is the Vice President of Community Access and Engagement at The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD in Houston, Texas.  Jennifer is proud to help support Harris County and the surrounding region’s mental health by overseeing operations of 988 for 49 Texas counties and 24 hour Crisis Lines for 7 Texas Local Mental Health Authorities. Jennifer led the development of the first of its kind in the nation 911/Behavioral Health co-located response system in partnership with Houston Police and Fire Departments and the Houston Emergency Communications Center.

Jennifer’s team offers a robust mental health and suicide prevention training portfolio to individuals, universities, businesses, faith communities and non-profits as well as coordinates and delivers information and awareness about behavioral health in culturally appropriate and community centered ways across the county.

In addition to these projects, Jennifer serves in several national roles including the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the National 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. She also serves on the Clinical Advisory Council for Crisis Text Line, the Board of the National Association of Crisis Center Directors and the Board of the Texas Alliance of Information and Referral Systems.

Brandin is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in education, data analysis, and community outreach. His experience spans over several years, holding various strategic roles within the Houston based non-profit, OneGoal, where he currently serves as the Senior Director of Data & Learning. Parallel to his role at OneGoal, Brandin also serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Team Catapult, a non-profit organization that seeks to facilitate a lifestyle of health and fitness for physically challenged individuals. At Team Catapult, Brandin works tirelessly to connect these individuals with opportunities, training, education, accessibility, and funding, enabling them to compete at various levels of athletics, demonstrating that disabilities are no limit to an individual's capabilities. Brandin is the vice-president of Freaks Run Club, the largest running group in Houston, who meet every Friday night at a different brewery or bar around Houston, supporting local businesses and introducing people to new places. Brandin mobilizes the run club's large member base to give their time, talent, and treasure to community organizations throughout Houston each quarter.

Prior to his current roles, Brandin amassed a wealth of experience in the education sector, serving as a College & Career Readiness Advisor at Familypoint Resources and as a teacher in Spring Branch ISD and Houston ISD. These roles, combined with his current responsibilities, demonstrate Brandin's dedication to fostering educational and personal growth, both in the classroom and the wider community. With his diverse experience and commitment to service, Brandin continues to make a significant impact in the lives of many. 

And in his spare time he is running every single street in Houston. 

Running every part of it, learning its history, people and places and giving back to it through local non-profits.Brandin is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in education, data analysis, and community outreach. His experience spans over several years, holding various strategic roles within the Houston based non-profit, OneGoal, where he currently serves as the Senior Director of Data & Learning. Parallel to his role at OneGoal, Brandin also serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Team Catapult, a non-profit organization that seeks to facilitate a lifestyle of health and fitness for physically challenged individuals. At Team Catapult, Brandin works tirelessly to connect these individuals with opportunities, training, education, accessibility, and funding, enabling them to compete at various levels of athletics, demonstrating that disabilities are no limit to an individual's capabilities. Brandin is the vice-president of Freaks Run Club, the largest running group in Houston, who meet every Friday night at a different brewery or bar around Houston, supporting local businesses and introducing people to new places. Brandin mobilizes the run club's large member base to give their time, talent, and treasure to community organizations throughout Houston each quarter.

Prior to his current roles, Brandin amassed a wealth of experience in the education sector, serving as a College & Career Readiness Advisor at Familypoint Resources and as a teacher in Spring Branch ISD and Houston ISD. These roles, combined with his current responsibilities, demonstrate Brandin's dedication to fostering educational and personal growth, both in the classroom and the wider community. With his diverse experience and commitment to service, Brandin continues to make a significant impact in the lives of many. 

And in his spare time he is running every single street in Houston. 

Joe Barnes is the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at the Baker Institute. Since
coming to Rice University in 1995, he has written extensively on
international economics, with a focus on the geopolitics of energy. In
addition to numerous institute studies, Barnes’ work has also appeared in
The New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, Survival, Oil and Gas Journal,
Energy Markets, the Newsletter of the Royal United Services Institute, the
SAIS Policy Forum Series and the National Interest. He is a contributor to
three volumes: “Energy in the Caspian Region” (Palgrave Press), “United
States Tax Reform in the 21st Century” (Cambridge University Press) and
“Natural Gas and Geopolitics from 1970 to 2040” (Cambridge University
Press).
Barnes is also faculty advisor to the Baker Institute Student Forum. From
1979 to 1993, he was a career diplomat with the U.S. State Department,
serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. His last
assignment in the State Department was with the Policy Planning Staff.
Barnes is a graduate of Princeton University.

Tommy McClelland assumed duties as Rice’s Vice President and Director of Athletics on August 14, 2023, coming to South Main from Vanderbilt where he has served as Deputy Athletic Director at Vanderbilt since 2020.
At Vanderbilt, McClelland provided oversight of the transformational Vandy United campaign. The largest athletics fundraising campaign in school history, Vandy United raised over $300 million to support the construction of new and renovated athletic facilities at the university.
McClelland comes to Rice as the Owls embark on a historic new chapter as members of The American Athletic Conference, a role he knows well having guided Louisiana Tech’s transformational entry into Conference USA as the Bulldog’s Director of Athletics from 2013 to 2020.
Louisiana Tech thrived under his leadership, underpinned by his philosophy of building champions on the playing fields, in the classrooms, and in life.

McClelland earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern State in 2004 and completed his master’s degree in sports administration in 2005. He walked on to the Demons football team and eventually earned a scholarship. He also competed in the javelin for the Northwestern State track and field team.  McClelland is also a 2012 graduate of the Executive Program of the Sports Management Institute and attended instruction at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.

McClelland is married to the former Jessica Stokes of Garrison, Texas. They have two sons, Lawson and Grayson.