Meet our Board

Jamal Cyrus

Jamal Cyrus was born in Houston, TX. He received a BFA from the University of Houston in 2004 and an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. In 2005 he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and in 2010 he was an Artist in Residence at Artpace San Antonio. Cyrus has won several awards, including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, the Artadia Houston Award, and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. He has participated in national and international exhibitions, including The Freedom Principle: Experiments in Art and Music, 1965 – Now, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, IL (traveled to ICA Philadelphia, 2016); Arresting Patterns, ArtSpace, New Haven, CT (traveled to the African American Museum in Philadelphia, 2016); two exhibitions at The Studio Museum in Harlem (both 2013); the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (2012); and the New Museum, New York (2011).

Andrew Davis​

Andrew Davis is Dean of the College of the Arts at the University of Houston. His work focuses on integrating interdisciplinary training opportunities into the curriculum and on establishing the arts as a leading force for social engagement and community impact. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Immanuel and Helen B. Olshan Foundation, Music Doing Good, the PhiBeta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Houston, and the Texas Society for Music Theory. A music theorist by training, he is the author of two books and numerous articles on the opera and instrumental music of the 19th century.

Kate Dearing Fowler

Kate Dearing Fowler is the Executive Director of The Jerry C. Dearing Family Foundation and Founder of Houston Improvement Project, an organization that revives and restores Houston’s nonprofit-owned community spaces. A Houston native, she grew up through the public-school system in Cy-Fair ISD and graduated from Tulane University with BAs in Communications and Spanish. She lives in the Heights with husband Stephen and their dogs Lucy and Susan and cat Jonas.

Katy Goodman

Katy grew up in Oakland, California, before attending Oberlin College, where she graduated with a B.A in Politics. Her studies and work have centered on creative communities, civil society, and education.  She is a founder of Workshop Houston, where she was Co-Director until 2015, and also works as a development consultant for many Houston-area non-profits.

Elizabeth Herndon

A native Houstonian, Elizabeth received a B.A. from the University of Texas and an MBA from Duke University. She became interested in Workshop Houston after being introduced to the organization through The Children’s Fund, where she and her husband Rogers have served on the board for over five years; including last year as co-presidents. A former Zoo Friends member, she has also served on the founding board for Heartgift Houston and enjoys volunteering at the Houston Foodbank and her children’s school. She loves raising her three daughters, Lola, Charlotte, and Frances.

Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Mary Hale is a leading real estate broker, community leader, fourth-generation Houstonian, and a graduate of the University of Texas.  She is a 28-year member of the UT Health Science Center Development Board, serves on the UT School of Nursing Partner Board, Medical School Advisory Council, UT Chancellor’s Council, and Medical School Scholarship Committee, and belongs to the Faculty Wives.  She raised the first $3 million for the laboratory for The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases and co-chaired the first IMM capital campaign.  Mary Hale is a member and past chair of The Menil Collection’s development, real estate and corporate committees, and serves on the boards of Friends of Smither Park, and the advisory board for Asia Society, Houston.  She raised the essential funds for the lot purchase and building of the new Looscan Library in 2004; is a former board member of Houston Ballet, Christ Church Cathedral Vestry, and The Garden Club of Houston, and served on the Rice University Centennial Committee.

Roxanne Tizravesh

Roxannne is an attorney at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she practices complex commercial litigation. As a Houston native and a public interest advocate, Roxanne is committed to helping under served communities overcome obstacles, including through both her pro bono legal work as well as her volunteer efforts with students to help bridge the gap. That dedication led Roxanne to be a pro bono leader at her firm, for which she has achieved numerous awards; further, she was the first Akin Gump Fellow at Her Justice- a New York based non-profit- where she first-chaired numerous family -law and immigration cases for low-income women and victims of domestic violence. Roxanne received her B.A. in History with honors from New York University and her J.D. from University of Texas School of Law,

Dr. Desmond Lewis

Desmond Lewis is the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor of College Readiness at Houston Community College.  With 25 years of higher education experience, Dr. Lewis has extensive knowledge in the areas of developmental education, accelerated learning program design, English, History, ESOL, Music Business, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Dr. Lewis is committed to student success and equity. As such, he is a Fellow of the New Leaders Academy (NLA) at the University of Michigan that focuses on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in conjunction with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. In addition, he has completed the University of California at Berkeley’s The Innovation Organization Seminar, received Diversity and Inclusion training from Cornell University’s ILR Workshop, and serves as Houston Community College’s Quality Enhance Plan’s Co-Chair. Dr. Lewis holds a doctorate in Community College Leadership from Ferris State University.

Kandice Waddy

Kandace is a Rice Business Board Fellow turned full-time Board member. As a native Houstonian who grew up partly in the Dallas area, she was excited to reconnect with her roots and give back to her local community. Her passion for the arts and her love for the education drew her to join Workshop Houston’s board. She 8 years of experience working in specialized areas of HR (data analytics and D&I) and Corporate Social Responsibility. She has a background in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Texas A&M University (B.S.) and Illinois State University (M.S.), and most recently completed her MBA at Rice University. She is set to begin her Post MBA career as a Senior Strategy Consultant at EY-Parthenon in fall 2022.

Dr. Rhoda Freelon

Rhoda is an Assistant Professor of Education Leadership & Policy Studies in the College of Education at the University of Houston. Her research interests are related to two specific areas — the exploration of educational inequality rooted in various forms of systemic oppression and the democratic engagement of youth, families, and community members in the life of schools and districts. Prior to her role with the University of Houston, Rhoda worked in the areas of early childhood care and education policy, K-12 district leadership, higher education admissions policy, youth and community-based learning, and education philanthropy. Her interest in supporting the mission and vision of Workshop Houston is connected to her previous community-based work in Chicago where she was the co-founder of a youth digital media program that supported young people in exploring critical issues impacting their community.

Mannie Fresh

Mannie Fresh otherwise known as Byron Thomas, is a multi-platinum selling music producer. Mannie was introduced to Workshop Houston 10 years ago through our CEO. Since that time Mannie has had a vested interest in the programs we offer. This year he decided to have deeper involvement by joining our board.