Members

Jacquie Baly is currently the President of BalyProjects. She began her career as a city and regional planner, then served as Vice President of the Greater Houston Partnership before her public service as Governor Rick Perry's appointee on water and wastewater issues, then-Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Sugar Land. She is currently an adviser to Governor Greg Abbott on Higher Education initiatives.

Jacquie has won numerous awards, including Top Ten Business Owner in the Country by the National Association of Women Business Owners, One of the Most Influential Blacks by CORE media and USA Today, Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce Role Model Honoree, St. Jude's Children Hospital Philanthropist of the Year, Crohn's and Colitis Woman of Distinction, and University of Houston Alumni Association's "Rising Star" and Black Alumnus of the Year awards. A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, she holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a master's degree in Public Administration. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate at the University of Southern California. She has taught public policy at the University of Houston for over 15 years and served as a Faculty-In-Residence at the University of Texas in Austin.

Felicia L. Harris, PhD, is a writer, speaker, and associate professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, where she teaches courses in communication and serves as the Interim Director of the Center for Latino Studies. Her scholarship explores issues of race, representation, culture, and community in mass media and higher education, and has been published in academic journals including The Black Scholar, The Review of Communication, and FIRE!!! The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies. In addition, Harris has contributed op-eds and editorial content to popular publications including HuffPost, Faithfully Magazine, the Our Bible App, and more. Harris’s first book, First in the Family: Biblical Truths for Cycle Breakers, was published in September 2021 by Leafwood Publishers.

Ellen Cohen has lived and worked in the city of Houston for the past 45 years. She served for 10 years as the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, and for 18 years as the CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center, working with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. In 2006, she was elected as the Texas State Representative for District 134. After serving two terms in the Texas Legislature, Ellen continued her public service career at home. She ran for Houston City Council and was sworn into office in January 2012 as the Council Member representing District C. Ellen was honored to serve as Houston’s first Jewish Mayor Pro Tem from 2016 through the end of her term on Council, when she was term-limited in December 2019.

A lifelong advocate for gender equality, Ellen was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the National Violence Against Women Advisory Council. She also served on the Governor’s Planning Council for the STOP Violence Against Women campaign and was appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas to the Gender Fairness Implementation Executive Committee.

Ellen currently serves on the Houston Forensic Science Center Board of Directors. A 53-year breast cancer survivor, she also serves on the Memorial Hermann Health System’s Government Relations Committee.

Rosalinda Ramirez-Benito is a Health plan sales coordinator who represents Tricare Prime plan -USFHP (Uniformed Services Family Health Plan) at Christus Health and a Texas License Insurance Independent broker.

Rosalinda believes that her experience as a health insurance broker and her marketing skills are the main foundation to be part of the network opportunities to inform the community about all the variety of health options, financial support and to educate and inform families about the importance to choose the right health coverages that best fits their needs. She is an accomplished and successful network, marketing and sales professional. Rosalinda has been part of the YES PREP Public Schools as a family fellow member and a Texas Charter Schools Association member. She also holds a General Lines license for the state of Texas and possesses 20 years of customer service experience and extensive knowledge on all matters involving the health industry.

Tammi Wallace (she/her) is the Co-Founder, President & CEO of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.  Her passion for economic inclusion, focused on the LGBTQ+ Business Community, has been a driving force in the Chamber's growth since the launch of the organization in 2016.  Tammi is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ business community at local, state, and national levels and she has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ community for over two decades.  Tammi brings a strong combination of strategic thinking, project management skills and a collaborative mindset through her varied leadership roles, over her career, in education management, government, financial services, nonprofit management, management consulting and public policy.

Marlisa Briggs is the President of the North Houston Association (NHA), overseeing all aspects of the membership-based non-profit organization that works to maintain a positive business climate in north Harris County and Montgomery County through work with both the private and public sector. She is a FEMA-certified Public Information Officer, has received the Texas Water Development Board’s Raincatcher Award, a Houston Press Club award, and is a graduate of Leadership North Houston. Briggs is a member of H-GAC’s Transportation Advisory Committee, serves on the boards of the Klein ISD Education Foundation and Houston Stronger, serves in numerous TxDOT project stakeholder groups, and volunteers at her church. She is a University of Texas at Austin graduate with a Bachelor of Journalism.

Sonia Lopez has dedicated her life to public service. She is a lifelong resident of the Eastex Jensen area and a product of Houston public schools. Sonia graduated from South Texas College of Law, The University of Texas at Austin and Houston's High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (now High School for Law and Justice). Sonia serves as an Assistant General Counsel for Lone Star College System District. Prior to this, Sonia served as in-house attorney for the Houston Federation of Teachers and as Chief of Staff to State Representative Ana Hernandez. She is a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow, an organization that includes less than 1/3 of 1% of Texas lawyers.

Sonia is active in the Eastex Jensen Super Neighborhood Council and is passionate about helping her community. For over a decade, she has been the volunteer Project Administrator for the National Hispanic Institute’s youth leadership program providing leadership training to hundreds of young Houstonians. She brings over 20 years of volunteer experience of working with families across Harris County.

Dr. Murillo is born and raised in Houston’s East End and earned a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degree from the University of Houston where she earned the Distinguished Alumni Award and the President’s Medallion. Her personal and professional archives are housed at University of Houston. Both of her daughters graduated from St. John’s School in River Oaks. Marisa graduated from Columbia University with a mechanical engineering degree and is an Astrophysics Researcher. Mia is a junior highest honors student at Georgetown University where she is studying government.

Dr. Laura Murillo has served as the President and CEO of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce since 2007 and has become among the most influential Chambers in the country. She is a #1 International bestselling author (U.S., Canada, and Australia) of the book LEAD IN LIFE, People. Passion. Persistence: Succeed in the New Era of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion .

Joy is the Founder of Joy of Consulting, a management consulting firm and on the go GLAM™, an on demand platform that delivers beauty services to men and women in the comfort of their home, office, or hotel. Joy is an advocate of entrepreneurs and small businesses and serves on a number of small business councils and has a strong commitment to working with organizations that develop female entrepreneurs.

Her personal development continues with being a part of Leadership Houston, Class XXXVI and the Inaugural Class of Leadership ISD. Joy was honored by the City of Houston for her leadership in entrepreneurship. February 4, 2020 was named “Joy M. Hutton” Day. In honor of this day, she launched the LeadHERship Fund, a micro grant fund for female entrepreneurs. She was recently named to Inc. Magazine’s 2022 Female Founders 100 List.