Meet the judges for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards

Meet The Judges

Judging is underway for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards.

Editor's note: Judging is now underway for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards, and before we reveal this year's finalists, it's time to meet the decision makers.

Our 2025 judging panel comprises past award winners who represent a variety of industries and areas of expertise. They are joined by InnovationMap's editorial leaders, past and present. All are deeply engaged in the Houston innovation ecosystem.

Our judging panel will review all nominee applications submitted across 10 prestigious categories. They will determine the 2025 finalists in all categories, and they will select the winners in all but one category — our people's choice award, Startup of the Year.

Learn more about our esteemed judges below, and stay tuned for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards finalists announcement, coming in early October!

Winners will be announced live at our awards ceremony on November 13 at Greentown Labs.

Phillip Yates, 2024 Ecosystem Builder of the Year

Phillip Yates. Photo courtesy of Equiliberty

Attorney-turned-entrepreneur Phillip Yates is the founder and CEO of Equiliberty Inc., a Houston-based fintech platform that connects users with resources to build wealth. Deeply involved in the Houston innovation sector, he helped establish a pre-venture business incubator at the Houston Area Urban League Entrepreneurship Center in 2011. He has served as general counsel for the Business Angel Minority Association and Direct Digital Holdings Inc., and currently serves as chairman of Impact Hub Houston.

"My favorite part of Houston's innovative ecosystem is the growing network of resources for founders," he said. "Given our racial, ethnic, and culturally diverse population, we have a wider range of experiences and perspectives — and ideas that lead to better problem solving, creative solutions, and understanding of the needs our community."

Mitra Miller, 2024 Mentor of the Year

Mitra Miller. Photo via LinkedIn

Mitra Miller is vice president of Houston Angel Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the innovation ecosystem by supporting founders and startups with financial resources and mentorship. She is also founder and chair of Eagle Investors, a nonprofit that teaches students about the investment and innovation community, and she serves as an active mentor for numerous Houston organizations.

"Houston has the most friendly, open, collaborative, and inclusive innovation environment anywhere," Miller said. "When I ask individuals and organizations to partner on events and initiatives, they readily agree and give freely of their time and resources. There is a generosity of spirit that is very special to Houston."

Juliana Garaizar, 2024 Investor of the Year

Juliana Garaizar. Photo courtesy of Juliana Garaizar

Juliana Garaizar is founding partner of Houston energy and carbontech ecosystem builder Energy Tech Nexus. "A hands-on investor," Garaizar invests in Houston and beyond with groups such as Portfolia, Houston Angel Network, Business Angel Minority Association, and more.

"Houston has the talent, the corporations, and the great intersection of industries where innovations happen: energy, medical, and space," she said. "Houston knows how to do hard things. We are doers, and we know how to build on our key strengths and are resilient when things don't go according to plan."

Anwar Sadek, Corrolytics, 2024 Minority-founded Business of the Year and Startup of the Year

Anwar Sadek. Courtesy photo

Anwar Sadek is CEO and co-founder of Corrolytics, a technology startup that aims to solve microbiologically influenced corrosion problems for industrial assets. In 2023, Sadek made the bold decision to relocate his startup, which was founded in Ohio, to Houston. It was the winner of two Houston Innovation Awards last year.

"Houston is the energy capital of the world. For the technology we are developing, it is the most strategic move for us to be in this ecosystem and in this city," Sadek said.

Remington Tonar, Cart.com, 2024 Scaleup of the Year

Remington Tonar. Courtesy photo

Remington Tonar is co-founder of Cart.com, a unified commerce and logistics solutions provider for B2C and B2B companies. Founded in Houston in 2020 by CEO/co-founder Omair Tariq and Tonar, Cart.com relocated to Austin in 2021, before returning to its roots and reestablishing its Houston headquarters in late 2023. The fast-growing e-commerce platform was then named Scaleup of the Year in the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards.

"When we think about Houston, we think about access to at-scale infrastructure, amenities, and workforce and talent pools," Tonar said, in regards to the relocation.

Laura Furr Mericas, Interim Editor, InnovationMap

Laura Furr Mericas is interim editor for InnovatonMap.com and EnergyCapitalHTX.com. She is a longtime contributor to both sites and has reported on Houston's innovation ecosystem for InnovationMap since 2020. Previously, she served as web editor and data reporter for Houston Business Journal.

Natalie Harms, Inaugural Editor, InnovationMap

Natalie Harms is the inaugural editor of InnovationMap.com, spearheading its launch in 2018 and shepherding its growth through 2024, as well as overseeing sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com. Prior to InnovationMap, Harms was associate editor for Houston Business Journal. She now covers the hotel and tourism industry as a reporter for Hotel News Now.

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Over 500 members of Houston's innovation community showed up to celebrate the best and brightest of the ecosystem. Photo by Emily Jaschke/InnovationMap

Nominate top innovators for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards by Aug. 31

Calling All Innovators

Editor's note: Houston innovators, this is your reminder that the nomination period for the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards closes on Sunday, August 31. Please provide your nominations for Houston's best and brightest innovators and innovative companies at at this link. Our panel of judges will review the nominees to determine the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards finalists and winners. Finalists will be named in early October, and winners will be revealed in November.

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Calling all Houston innovators: The Houston Innovation Awards return this fall to celebrate the best and brightest in the Houston innovation ecosystem right now.

Presented by InnovationMap, the fifth annual Houston Innovation Awards will take place November 13 at Greentown Labs.

The awards program will honor the top startups and innovators in Houston across 10 categories, and we're asking you to nominate the most deserving Houston innovators and innovative companies today.

This year's categories are:

Minority-founded Business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by BIPOC or LGBTQ+ representation.
Female-founded Business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by a woman.
Energy Transition Business, honoring an innovative startup providing a solution within renewables, climatetech, clean energy, alternative materials, circular economy, and beyond.
Health Tech Business, honoring an innovative startup within the health and medical technology sectors.
Deep Tech Business, honoring an innovative startup providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges, including those in the AI, robotics, and space sectors.
Startup of the Year (People's Choice), honoring a startup celebrating a recent milestone or success. The winner will be selected by the community via an interactive voting experience.
Scaleup of the Year, honoring an innovative later-stage startup that's recently reached a significant milestone in company growth.
Incubator/Accelerator of the Year, honoring a local incubator or accelerator that is championing and fueling the growth of Houston startups.
Mentor of the Year, presented by Houston Community College, honoring an individual who dedicates their time and expertise to guide and support budding entrepreneurs.
Trailblazer, honoring an innovator who's made a lasting impact on the Houston innovation community.

Nominations may be made on behalf of yourself, your organization, and other leaders in the local innovation scene. The nomination period closes on August 31, so don't delay — nominate today at this link, or fill out the embedded form below.

Our panel of esteemed judges will review the nominations, and determine the finalists and winners. Finalists will be unveiled in early October, and the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards winners will be announced live on November 13.

Tickets will go on sale this fall. Stay tuned for that announcement, as well as more fanfare leading up to the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards.

Interested in Innovation Awards sponsorship opportunities? Please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

Do you think you know the best of Houston's innovation community? Now's your chance to shine the spotlight on a deserving innovator. Photo by Emily Jaschke/InnovationMap

Nominations launch, tickets open for 2024 Houston Innovation Awards

call for submissions

Update: The nomination period has closed. The original article is below.

Calling all Houston innovators — InnovationMap needs your help identifying the best and brightest in the Houston innovation ecosystem.

For the fourth year, InnovationMap is hosting its signature awards program that will recognize the top startups and innovators in Houston. The awards program will be on Thursday, November 14, at the Texas Medical Center's Helix Park. Tickets and tables are on sale now.

The nomination period — which includes submitting nominations on behalf of yourself or others — will close September 10. Nominees will be sent an application, which will be due September 23. A panel of judges will review the applications and finalists will be announced and notified ahead of the event.

This year's categories include a few new awards — as well as the return of some crowd favorites. Nominees can be submitted to multiple categories. The 2024 Houston Innovation Awards include:

Minority-founded business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by BIPOC or LGBTQ+ representation
Female-founded business, honoring an innovative startup founded or co-founded by a woman
Energy transition business, honoring an innovative startup providing a solution within renewables, climatetech, clean energy, alternative materials, circular economy, and beyond
Health tech business, honoring an innovative startup within the health and medical technology
Deep tech business, honoring an innovative startup providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges
AI/data science business, honoring an innovative startup utilizing artificial intelligence and data science within a tech solution
Scaleup of the year, honoring an innovative later stage startup that's recently reached a significant milestone in company growth
Community champion organization, honoring a corporation, nonprofit, university, or other organization that plays a major role in the Houston innovation community
People’s choice: Startup of the Year, a startup celebrating a recent milestone or success and the winner will be selected by the community via online portal and announced at the event
Ecosystem builder, honoring an individual who has acted as a leader in developing Houston’s startup ecosystem
Investor of the year, honoring an individual who is leading venture capital or angel investing
Mentor of the year, honoring an individual who dedicates their time and expertise to guide and support to budding entrepreneurs

Additionally, the awards gala will honor an innovator who's made a lasting impact on the Houston innovation community. While you may nominate an individual for the Trailblazer Award via the online form, the judging committee will not require applications or nominations for this category and will be considering potential honorees from the ecosystem at large.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, including the opportunity to sponsor any of the above award categories, please reach out to sales@innovationmap.com.

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Texas ranks as the No. 13 most innovative state in 2026 study

innovative states

During a SXSW reception March 12 at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott hailed Texas as the No. 1 state for innovation. Personal finance website WalletHub doesn’t see it that way, though.

A new study from WalletHub assigns Texas a No. 13 ranking for innovation among the states and the District of Columbia. D.C. comes out on top, followed by Massachusetts, California, Colorado and Washington. Mississippi appears at the bottom of the list.

Texas earns an innovation score of 49.56, compared with 69.13 for top-ranked D.C. In two broad categories, Texas ranks 12th for human capital and 13th for innovation environment.

To identify the top places for innovation, WalletHub evaluated the 50 states and D.C. by reviewing 25 key indicators of innovation friendliness. The indicators include:

Share of STEM professionals.
Forecast for Share of STEM professionals
Forecast for STEM jobs
Eighth-grade math and science performance
Concentration of tech companies
R&D spending per capita
Share of science and engineering graduates age 25 and over
Average internet speed
Venture capital funding per capita

“The most innovative states are especially attractive to people who have majored in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as they offer abundant career opportunities and investment dollars, both for jobs at existing companies and for startups,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report.

“These states also instill young students with the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce, skills which are useful whether or not they pursue a STEM career,” he added.

Texas zeroes in on semiconductor industry

On the innovation front, Abbott and other state leaders have focused intently on growing the state’s semiconductor industry, which generates roughly $30 billion to $60 billion in economic activity per year. Texas ranks among the top states for semiconductor manufacturing, with major operations in North Texas and Central Texas.

To bolster the industry, Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act into law in 2023. The law established the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, which issues grants for semiconductor research, design and manufacturing, and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium, which advises the governor and state legislators on matters related to the semiconductor sector.

Among the consortium’s appointed representatives are:

Joe Elabd, vice chancellor for research at the Texas A&M University System
David Staack, deputy vice chancellor for research at the Texas A&M University System
Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at the University of Houston
Magesh Rajan, vice president for research and innovation at Prairie View A&M University

Semiconductor companies with a presence in the Houston area include chip manufacturer NVIDIA, which is building an AI supercomputer factory in Houston; Labtopia, a tech staffing firm that does business in the semiconductor sector; Microchip USA, a distributor of semiconductors and other electronic components that opened an office in Kingwood last year; and Infineon Technologies, which designs, develops, and manufactures semiconductors.

The Greater Houston Partnership touts the Houston area’s track record as an innovation hub.

“As a home to world-changing innovations and a talented labor pool, Houston has been an attractive region for innovation and startups across all key industries for years,” the partnership says, “and as a major player as a center of activity for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Houston fuels energy innovation

As for energy innovation in the Houston area, Abbott last month announced a 455-megawatt, $617 million natural gas plant that Houston-based NRG Energy is building at its Greens Bayou facility in north Harris County is now a designated project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program. JETI offers economic incentives for qualifying projects.

The NRG plant is expected to begin generating power for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in 2028.

Other energy innovators in the Houston area include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Occidental’s 1PointFive subsidiary, Schneider Electric, Shell, AB Energy USA, Fervo Energy, Solugen and Syzygy Plasmonics.

One promising area for energy innovation in Houston is carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS). A new study from the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and Deloitte Consulting says the Houston area is positioned to take a leading role in the development of CCUS, thanks to the region’s chemical and refining industries, energy infrastructure, energy-heavy workforce and access to global markets.

“With supportive policy, continued innovation, and strong industry partnerships, we can accelerate [CCUS] deployment, create new low-carbon value chains, and ensure Houston remains at the forefront of the global energy transition,” said Jane Stricker, HETI’s executive director and senior vice president of energy transition.

Uber rolls out women-only ride preferences to Houston users

Women Preferences

Houston women riders and drivers can now be matched to other women on the Uber app. The ride-hailing giant has expanded its pilot program nationwide in response to customer safety concerns.

“When women riders and drivers told us they wanted more control over how they ride and earn, we listened,” wrote Uber in a blog post announcing the move. “That feedback led to Women Preferences, features designed to give women the choice to ride with other women. Since our first pilots last summer, we’ve heard just how much that choice matters — from feeling more comfortable in the back seat to more confident behind the wheel.”

According to Uber, passengers can request to be matched with a woman driver by requesting an on-demand ride, scheduling a trip in advance, or setting a preference within the ride app. If wait times are longer than anticipated, the rider can opt to be paired with a driver of any sex.

Uber says it began offering the rides in 2019, after women in Saudi Arabia gained the right to drive. Since then, it has rolled out the program in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Africa — although in some countries, only drivers can make the match.

The move forward on Women Preferences comes despite a pair of lawsuits aimed at Uber and its main competitor, Lyft. According to Time reporting, the plaintiff’s lawyers argue that women-only rides unfairly limit the volume of rides for male drivers and reinforce gender stereotypes about men.

Lyft rolled out its similar program, Women + Connect, in 2023. The initiative is slightly more expansive than Uber’s preferences, allowing both women and nonbinary people to participate.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

6 Houston entrepreneurs land on coveted Inc. Female Founders 500 list

the future is female

Six Houston female entrepreneurs and innovators were named to the 2026 Female Founders 500 list.

The annual list compiled by Inc. Magazine recognizes female founders based in the U.S. who have built businesses that have moved their industries forward. The group collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, according to Inc. Five Houstonians were named to the list last year.

"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list," Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc., said in a news release. "The honorees on this year's list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they're showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like."

The Houston founders are:

Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Houston space tech and engine company Venus Aerospace. Duggleby also serves on the Texas Space Commission board of directors.
Stephanie Murphy, CEO and executive chairman of Aegis Aerospace, which provides space services, spaceflight product development, and engineering services. Murphy also serves as chair of the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium Executive Committee.
Laureen Meroueh, CEO and founder of Hertha Metals, which has developed a cost-effective and energy-efficient process that converts low-grade iron ore of any format directly into molten steel or high-purity iron in a single step.
LaToshia Norwood, managing partner of L'Renee & Associates (LRA), a full-service project management consulting firm.
Lauren Rottet, president and founding principal of Rottet Studio, an international architecture and design firm focused on corporate, lifestyle and hospitality projects
Nina Magon, founder and CEO of Nina Magon Studio / Nina Magon Consumer Products, a residential and commercial interior design company. She also co-founded KA Residences earlier this year.

"Grateful to be recognized again on the Inc. Female Founders 500," Duggleby said in a LinkedIn post. "The best part of building Venus Aerospace has been working with an incredible team pushing the boundaries of flight—and helping bring more women into aerospace along the way.

Meroueh, whose company emerged from stealth last year, voiced a similar push for bringing more women into the fold.

"We've seen a 7x jump in female-led IPOs over the last decade, from just two in 2014 (less than 1% of all IPOs) to 14 in 2024 (nearly 9% of all IPOs). Progress is happening," Meroueh shared in a LinkedIn post. "Yet, less than 1% of venture funding in hard tech goes to female-founded companies. But as my friend Ana Kraft says, the right man for the job may be a woman."

Twenty-nine Texas female founders made this list, including Amber Venz Box, founder of the Dallas-based LTK shopping platform, and Cheryl Sew Hoy, CEO and founder of Austin-based Tiny Health, a fast-growing at-home microbiome health platform. See the full list of winners here.

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