Learning, Leading, and Listening: My Journey with the Center for Houston’s Future Business/Civic Leadership Forum

It’s been a full season—between visiting my daughter in Spain and growing Culture Grove, I also completed the Center for Houston’s Future’s Business/Civic Leadership Forum as part of the Spring 2025 cohort. This 9-week immersive program added me to a network of more than 1,400 alumni committed to creating a better future for Houston.

From day one, the Forum delivered a fast-paced and deeply engaging learning opportunity. We explored some of the most urgent issues facing our city—like climate resilience, healthcare disparities, and immigration—while connecting with some of the most thoughtful, forward-looking leaders in Houston.

And yes, it flew by. At Wednes day’s graduation ceremony and after-party, I found myself torn between celebration and sadness that it was already over.

Graduation Celebration

Why I Joined the Forum

I first learned about the Center for Houston’s Future years ago while consulting for them while I worked at a boutique firm. We helped facilitate their scenario planning work, and during the Forum, watching the very videos we helped create brought everything full circle.

I’ve always admired their mission and partnerships across Houston’s business, nonprofit, and civic sectors. I joined the Forum to expand my network—but also to deepen my connection to the challenges and opportunities shaping our city’s future.

As a cultural anthropologist and company culture consultant, I know innovation happens when we bring diverse perspectives together—and that’s exactly what this program does.

Maternal Health: A Personal Learning Journey

Each Forum participant chooses a “learning journey” topic to explore more deeply. I chose maternal health—an issue I’m deeply passionate about and one that hits especially hard here in Houston.

We’re home to the largest medical center in the world, yet we have some of the worst maternal health outcomes in the nation, particularly for Black and Brown mothers. In my final speech, I asked: How great can our healthcare be if we can’t even take care of our moms?

That question guided my exploration and reinforced my belief that systems—whether in healthcare, business, or public leadership—must be designed to serve everyone with equity and empathy.

Access & Equity in Healthcare Learning Journey Team

Houston’s Future: Lessons from the Field

The Forum took us across Houston and beyond, from historic Galveston to the halls of the Federal Reserve. A few standout experiences:

• In Galveston, we learned about the city’s economic engines—education, tourism, and port logistics—and visited an African American history museum that illuminated the island’s painful role in the transatlantic slave trade.

• At the Houston Zoo, we explored the intersection of climate change and healthcare and discovered how local health systems are working to reduce their environmental impact.

• At the Federal Reserve, we examined how early childhood education affects long-term economic health—and why investment in our youngest citizens is a matter of strategic foresight.

Each session revealed a new layer of complexity and possibility, grounded in the expertise of local leaders across industries.

Galveston Absolute Equality Mural

How This Shapes My Work

Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country—and if your team isn’t reflecting that, you’re missing something vital. Our Forum cohort mirrored that diversity, and learning from each other’s lived experiences was one of the most powerful aspects of the program.

I left the Forum with a deeper appreciation for Houston’s resilience and creativity. As one speaker put it, “We come together for each of our annual 500-year floods.” That same spirit is what gives me hope as we tackle issues like maternal mortality, the energy transition, public transportation, and equitable education.

For me, this ties directly back to my work. I often tell leaders: if you want to innovate, build a culture where people with different experiences can come together, experiment, and—even fail—in pursuit of something better.

That’s not just good for business. It’s how progress happens.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

If you’d like to hear more about my approach to leadership, systems thinking, and company culture, check out my latest podcast guest appearance, Unpacking Culture: A Chat with Dr. Kristine Gentry, or visit my podcast appearances page.

And if you’re a Houston leader looking for a way to get involved in shaping our city’s future, I can’t recommend the Center for Houston’s Future enough.

Finally, if your company is ready to cultivate leaders equipped for complexity, let’s talk.