Welcome
Founded in 2013, the University of Houston’s Board of Visitors is a presidentially-appointed advisory board of private sector thought leaders with a broad array of expertise, interests and connections. Members of the Board of Visitors act as university champions serving as ambassadors and strategic partners for the University of Houston.
To find out more about the Board of Visitors and other volunteer opportunities at the University of Houston please contact our office at bov@uh.edu
or call 713-743-9116.
Aylwin Lewis (’76, M.B.A. ’90)
Chair, Board of Visitors
Former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Potbelly Corporation
Steve Stephens (’80)
Past Chair, Board of Visitors
Chief Executive Officer
Amegy Bank
Victor Barcot (’95, M.B.A. ’97)
Managing Director
Houlihan Lokey
Jeffery Beauchamp (’69, M.S.M.E. ’73)
Entrepreneur and Private Investor
Clark Beecher (’00)
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Beecher Reagan Advisors, LLC
Maury Blackman (’92)
President and Chief Executive Officer
Premise Data
Robert Boblitt, Jr. (F.S. '81)
President
Silver Eagle Beverages LLC
J. Downey Bridgwater (’84)
President, Houston Market
Comerica Bank
Carlos de Aldecoa Bueno
President and Chief Executive Officer
Gulf Coast Distillers
John Butler, Jr.
Chairman
J.R. Butler & Co.
Meredith Chastang
Senior Account Director
PaperCity Magazine
Arturo Chavez ('90)
Senior Principal
Page
Kim Clarke (’81)
Vice-Chair, Student Success Task Force
Chief Human Resource Officer
Kirby Corporation
Judy Cook (J.D. ’89)
Co-Chair, Nominations Committee
Vice President and Secretary
Mark and Judith Cook Foundation
Marcus Cosby
Senior Pastor
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Thasunda Duckett ('96)
President and Chief Executive Officer
TIAA
Anette Edens (M.B.A. ’77, M.Ed. ’89, Ph.D. ’94)
Licensed Psychologist
Aggie Foster (’78, M.B.A. ‘86)
Community Volunteer and Arts Patron
Lily Chen Foster (M.A. ’92)
Retired Actress and Community Volunteer
Lance Funston (’67)
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Core Care America and Ultimark Products, LLC
Jo Furr (M.Ed. ’95)
Community Volunteer, Former Teacher and HISD Advanced Academics Supervisor
Stephen Greenlee
Former President of ExxonMobil Upstream Business Development Company
Bernard Harris, Jr. (’78, M.B.A. ’99 UHCL)
Chief Executive Officer
National Math + Science Initiative
Elvin Hayes (’85)
President
King’s Valet and Rossi, USA
Craig Jones
Vice-Chair, Power Athletics Task Force
President and Chief Executive Officer
Long Lake Ltd., Woodmere Development Co.
Walter Jones (’65)
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WestStar Mortgage Inc.
Manmohan Kalsi (M.S.M.E. ’70, Ph.D. ’75)
President
Kalsi Engineering, Inc.
Robert Kneppler (’85)
Chair, Student Success Task Force
Managing Director
Marsh Wortham, a division of Marsh USA, Inc.
Glenn Lilie (Honorary Doctorate Degree ’16)
Chief Executive Officer
G. Terrell Ventures Inc.
Wayne Luckett (’74)
Incoming President, UHAAF
President and Chief Executive Officer
Branwar Wine Distributing Co.
Nick Massad, Jr. (’73)
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Liberty Hospitality, Inc.
Elizabeth McIngvale (Ph.D ’14)
Founder
The Peace of Mind Foundation
Director
McLean OCD Institute || Houston
Jerad McMayon (’00)
Vice Chair, Third Ward Economic Empowerment Task Force
Co-Founder and Partner
OFS Energy Fund
David McMenamin (’74)
Former Managing Partner of Carson Wealth
Sonny Messiah-Jiles (’74)
President
Defender Media Group
Laura Murillo (’89, M.Ed. ’98, Ed.D. ’03)
President and Chief Executive Officer
Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Judy Nyquist
Chair, Public Art Task Force
Community Volunteer and Arts Patron
Marvin Odum, III (M.B.A. ’95)
Chief Executive Officer
816 Group
Pamela Chambers O’Rourke (’95)
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
ICON Information Consultants LP
Richard Earl Penick (’78)
Former President of Maintenance Supply Headquarters
Jack Pogge (’75)
Former President, Chief Operating Officer and Director of CSG Systems International, Inc.
Ricky Raven (’83, J.D. ‘86)
Co-Chair, Nominations Committee
Partner
Reed Smith LLP
Maria Rios (FS ’88)
Owner and President
Nation Waste Inc.
Lillie Robertson
Philanthropist
Samuel Schreiber (’74)
Senior Advisor, Trustar Bank
Darryl Schroeder (’69)
Chief Executive Officer
Lonestar Energy Fabrication
Helen Shaffer
Vice-Chair, Third Ward Schools Task Force
Community Volunteer and Arts Patron
Former Director of Religious Education
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
Gregory Shoemaker (’79)
Former Global Head of Supply Chain of Hewlett Packard Inc.
Michele Verma, Ph.D.
Chair, Third Ward Schools Task Force
Community Volunteer
Anthropology and Education, Ph.D.
Bridget Wade
Owner
Bridget Wade Designs
Bruce Williamson (M.B.A. ’95)
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Southcross Energy Holdings
Drue DaSilva (’93, M.S. ’99)
President
UH Alumni Association Foundation
Leslie Flynne
President
Houston Public Media Foundation
Tom Hetherington
President-Elect
UH Law Foundation Board
Shazia Khan (’84)
Secretary, UH Alumni Association Foundation
Leonard Roth
Chairman and President
UH College of Business Foundation
Laurie Rutherford (’86, M.B.A. ’91, M.S. ’04)
Immediate Past President
UH Alumni Association Foundation
Michael Sachs (’97)
Member-At-Large
UH Alumni Association Foundation
Vissett Sun (’93, O.D. ’95)
Past President and Board Member Foundation for Education and Research in Vision, Inc.
Richard Whiteley (’93, J.D. ’99)
Treasurer
UH Alumni Association Foundation
Alvin Zimmerman (’64, J.D. ’67)
Chair
UH Foundation
DON BACIGALUPI (’83)
Founding President, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
FRED S. COUPLES (FS ’80)
President, Couples Bates Golf Design Group
RICHARD "RACEHORSE" HAYNES (J.D. ’56)
Attorney, Richard Haynes & Associates PC
ERIC M. HILTON (HONORARY DOCTORATE ’85)
Former Vice Chairman, Hilton Hotels Corporation
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM P. HOBBY (HONORARY DOCTORATE ’97)
37th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Hobby Communications
REVEREND WILLIAM LAWSON (HONORARY DOCTORATE '93)
Pastor Emeritus, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
CARL LEWIS (FS '82)
President and CEO, Carl Lewis Entertainment Group
JOHN T. MCNABB II
Founding Chair, Board of Visitors
Chairman, Corporate Finance, Growth Capital Partners LP
DARYL WILKERSON (FS ’80)
Vice President, Support Services, University of Chicago Medicine
BOARD OF VISITORS TASK FORCES
POWER ATHLETICS
CHAIR: GREGORY SHOEMAKER (’79), VICE CHAIR: CRAIG JONES
OBJECTIVES
- Support and promote the University of Houston Department of Athletics mission – Building Champions for Life – by engaging with the student-athlete experience at UH.
- Energize the UH fan base and the City of Houston to maximize revenues that can be re-invested ensuring sustained success by helping fill athletic venues.
- Allow student-athletes to develop and compete on the national level by supporting the development and maintenance of state-of-the-art athletic facilities.
- Ensure that UH students, student-athletes and constituents are part of a Tier One, nationally relevant athletics program by attracting and retaining top athletic leadership.
PUBLIC ART
CHAIR: JUDY NYQUIST
OBJECTIVES
- Provide insight into developing and reviewing strategic partnerships and prospects to support the Public Art program and its funding priorities.
- Foster and strengthen engagement opportunities for visitors and the community to tour the collection, exhibitions and explore the System’s collection.
- Support strategic programs and events related to the 50th Anniversary milestone.
- Advocate for the Public Art program, both locally and nationally, bringing awareness to thecollection and its exhibitions.
STUDENT SUCCESS
CHAIR: ROBERT KNEPPLER (’85), VICE CHAIR: KIM CLARKE (’81)
OBJECTIVES
- Partner with Career Services to review and expand external contacts for student opportunities, identify industry gaps for connections, and participate in professional volunteer training opportunities.
- Explore opportunities to support student recruitment efforts by leveraging contacts in Houston and other markets.
- Support the continued growth of the Scarlet Seals of Excellence, a program in which students demonstrate learning outside the classroom in preparation for post-graduation opportunities.
THIRD WARD ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
CHAIR: AYLWIN LEWIS (’76, M.B.A. ’90), VICE CHAIR: JERAD MCMAYON (’00)
OBJECTIVES
- Encourage the creation of partnerships between UH and the community.
- Provide insight into developing and growing programing, in partnership with the C.T. Bauer College of Business, through small-to-medium sized business incubation programs such as the SURE™ program and The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship.
- Illuminate the strengths of Third Ward businesses for increased business activity between the UH business community and Third Ward enterprises.
THIRD WARD SCHOOLS
CHAIR: MICHELE VERMA, VICE CHAIR: HELEN SHAFFER
OBJECTIVES
- Create a lasting relationship between the UH community and the Third Ward community through outreach and service-learning that results in increased student success and college andcareer readiness.
- Develop partnerships between UH and the Third Ward community to support the identified needs of Third Ward Schools.
- Promote impactful collaborations between UH, UH College of Education, and the Third Ward Community to support, effect, and communicate progressive change in Third Ward.