John Blackmon, originally from North Carolina, has a BA in architecture from the School of Design at North Carolina State University and at Masters Degree from Columbia University. After ten years in New York City, John moved to Houston in 1997 and opened his own practice in 2001. In addition to sitting on Workshop Houston’s board, John sits on the Modern and Contemporary Arts Subcommittee at the MFA Houston.
Helen Winkler Fosdick has been involved in arts organizations beginning with John and Dominique de Menil at the University of St. Thomas, Rice and the Rothko Chapel. Helen was a founding director of the Dia Art Foundation, and through that, worked on large-scale permanent projects with a number of artists. Helen is actively engaged in supporting various non-profit projects. She joyfully learned about Workshop Houston early on and continues to admire and support their mission.
Sam Jones has been actively engaged with Houston non-profit organizations for the past 20 years, including most recently, Artist Rescue Mission, Nameless Sound, Project Row Houses, and Workshop Houston. For ten years he was Technical Director/Preparator at DiverseWorks where he was an integral part in many outreach programs designed to mentor at risk youth. After leaving DiverseWorks, Sam moved to Northeast China to teach English. Currently Sam is an artist working out of his home studio and is primary caregiver to his 8 year old son, Jack.
Veon McReynolds is a dedicated community activist in the Third Ward, and founder of Tour de Hood, a group which organizes bicycle rides for the neighborhood. Veon holds a Ph.D. in Community Psychology from UT Austin, and is Interim Director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at Texas Southern University, where he has worked for seventeen years. Veon has worked with numerous organizations that focus on his interests in inner-city community organizing, bicycling, and health.
Patti Melcher is the CEO of EIV Capital Management Co., LLC which manages a private equity fund focused on investments in the energy industry. She has been actively engaged in the non-profit community in Houston with a particular interest in organizations serving children and in education. In 1997, she co-founded the Joy School to serve the needs of children with learning differences. Patti is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.
Frank Montgomery grew up in Houston. He is the managing partner of a closely held real estate investment firm. Frank’s firm owns and operates income producing real estate in the Museum District of Houston. He is involved with several local, nonprofit organizations and has a particular interest in early education. Frank is a graduate of Wabash College in Indiana.
Tarik Ward is a former rocket scientist from Long Island, New York. He moved to Houston in 2003 to work at NASA and has secretly always wanted to be a teacher. He has been involved in education in some way or another, be it tutoring, student teaching, or volunteering, for over 15 years. In addition to his service with Workshop Houston, he is an adviser for Families Empowered, an organization that helps parents choose the best schools for their children. He is currently a consultant at Deloitte Consulting and is a graduate of MIT and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Jill Whitten is the co-owner of Whitten & Proctor Fine Art Conservation. She studied studio art at UT and received a Masters in conservation from Buffalo State College in New York. After moving to Houston in 1998, she worked with Legacy Land Trust and the Houston Parks Board to found Freed Art and Nature Park in the Woodland Heights. For the past two years Jill has served on the board of the foundation that oversees Peckerwood Garden. She is enthusiastic about the creative youth-centered mission of Workshop Houston.
