3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Dr. Evan Collins of Houston Methodist, Margarita Kelrikh of Pillsbury, and Howard Berman of Coya Therapeutics. Photos courtesy

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes a new innovator in residency, a Houston startup lawyer, and a neurodegenerative therapeutics CEO.

Evan Collins, innovator in residency at Houston Methodist

Dr. Evan Collins, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the Houston Methodist Hand & Upper Extremity Center, was named the hospital's first innovator in residency. Photo via drevancollins.com

Dr. Evan Collins, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the Houston Methodist Hand & Upper Extremity Center, is the inaugural innovator in residency at Houston Methodist Center for Innovation.

What does an innovator-in-residency do? Collins sat down with InnovationMap to explain. His role, he explains, is to encourage other clinicians to get involved in the innovation process, particularly using digital health care programs.

“When you look at all the technology, especially the digital technology that's being applied [in medicine], and the future of digital technology, whether you define it as AI or other variations, having a clinical perspective to vet a lot of these possible solutions, as opposed to just keeping it on the administrative side of things, has greater value,” he says. Read more.

Margarita Kelrikh, counsel at Pillsbury

Margarita Kelrikh joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss her career, legal tips for startups, and why she's dedicated to the Houston startup community. Photo courtesy

After working at WeWork and its upstart competitor for several years, Margarita Kelrikh realized it was time to move back into a law firm where she could help more early stage Houston startup clients. She recently joined Pillsbury's Houston office as counsel.

"I realized I wanted to work with the people who I worked with in the past, and the only way I could do that is if I went back to a law firm," she says, explaining that working in house means you can only have one client: your employer. "It's about having that variety and being able to work with a wide array of people."

Kelrikh shares some of her go-to startup legal advice on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast, and she emphasizes how ready and willing she is to serve the Houston startup community. Read more.

Howard Berman, CEO and co-founder of Coya Therapeutics

Coya Therapeutics is looking into how a trendy weight loss drug could complement its Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Photo via LinkedIn

Glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, agonists are all the rage right now thanks to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Though they’re currently being prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, a Houston company reports that it may have found another use for GLP-1s.

Coya Therapeutics, a publicly traded clinical-stage biotechnology company, has filed intellectual property protection for a combination of its proprietary COYA 301 and GLP-1. Coya’s team believes that combining COYA 301, a low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) intended to enhance the anti-inflammatory function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), with GLP-1 could be a game-changer in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

According to Coya’s CEO, Howard Berman, “We believe that combination immunotherapy approaches will evolve to play a meaningful role in treating complex immune-based diseases that are driven by a host of pathophysiologic mechanisms.” Read more.

Coya Therapeutics is looking into how a trendy weight loss drug could complement its Alzheimer’s disease treatment. Photo via Getty Images

Houston therapeutics innovator looks into GLP-1 drugs for Alzheimer’s treatment

drug discovery

Glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, agonists are all the rage right now thanks to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Though they’re currently being prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, a Houston company reports that it may have found another use for GLP-1s.

Coya Therapeutics, a publicly traded clinical-stage biotechnology company, has filed intellectual property protection for a combination of its proprietary COYA 301 and GLP-1. Coya’s team believes that combining COYA 301, a low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) intended to enhance the anti-inflammatory function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), with GLP-1 could be a game-changer in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

How does GLP-1 amplify the positive results already noted for COYA 301? The company will soon release phase 2 data for IL-2 in patients with Alzheimer's. Through distinct mechanisms, the pair of drugs could synergistically combat inflammation. That means that neurodegenerative maladies such as Alzheimer’s are just the beginning. The drug combination could also fight autoimmune and metabolic conditions. This isn’t the first combination therapy for Coya — Coya 302 is a pairing of LD IL-2 and CTLA-4 Ig that has also racked up some success in human trials.

According to Coya’s CEO, Howard Berman, “We believe that combination immunotherapy approaches will evolve to play a meaningful role in treating complex immune-based diseases that are driven by a host of pathophysiologic mechanisms.”

He goes on to add that the company has already had success with targeting “multiple, independent, and non-overlapping immune pathways simultaneously” with COYA 302, a combination of COYA 301 and CTLA-4 Ig, commercially known as Abatacept. That pairing is currently being evaluated in numerous neurodegenerative disease models, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases.

“We will continue to expand our portfolio with additional synergistic drug combinations with COYA 301,” Berman adds.

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Matthew Kuhn of Taurus Vascular, Tim Boire of VenoStent, and Howard Berman of Coya Therapeutics. Photos courtesy

3 Houston health tech innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes three health tech innovators celebrating milestones for each of their companies.

Matthew Kuhn, co-founder and CEO of Taurus Vascular

Taurus Vascular is one step closer to stopping abdominal aortic aneurysms for good. Photo courtesy of TNVC

A Houston biotech company has won the Texas A&M New Ventures Competition (TNVC). Taurus Vascular took home $30,000 for its first-place victory.

Taurus Vascular is working on a new solution to stopping abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) before they rupture and become potentially fatal. The company arose out of the TMC Innovation Biodesign Program. Fellows Matthew Kuhn and Melanie Lowther had a year to bring a company to fruition. The highly qualified team can boast of Kuhn’s more than 40 patents and Lowther’s former role as director of entrepreneurship and innovation at Texas Children’s Hospital.

The competition’s intense process included presenting to commercialization experts across several rounds. In fact, vetting takes four months and includes coaching to help competitors thrive in their pitches. Read more.

Tim Boire, CEO and co-founder of VenoStent

VenoStent has raised additional funding. Image courtesy of VenoStent

A clinical-stage Houston health tech company with a novel therapeutic device has raised venture capital funding and secured a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

VenoStent Inc., which is currently in clinical trials with its bioabsorbable perivascular wrap, announced the closing of a $20 million series A round co-led by Good Growth Capital and IAG Capital Partners. The two Charleston, South Carolina-based firms also led VenoStent's 2023 series A round that closed last year at $16 million.

Additionally, the company secured a $3.6 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant from NIH, which will help fund its multi-center, 200-patient, randomized controlled trial in the United States.

Tim Boire, VenoStent CEO and co-founder, describes 2024 so far as "a momentous year" so far for his company. Read more.

Howard Berman, CEO and co-founder of Coya Therapeutics

Coya Therapeutics announced an expanded research collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, as well as funding from the Johnson Center. Photo via LinkedIn

A clinical-stage Houston biotech company has expanded its collaboration with Houston Methodist Research Institute, or HMRI.

Coya Therapeutics is already sufficiently established to be publicly traded since late 2022, but there’s always room to grow. With the help of a new sponsored research agreement, Coya will work on multiple initiatives. Coya is led by co-founder and CEO Howard Berman, who was inspired by his father’s dementia diagnosis.

"I was interested in what I could do for my dad," Berman said on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that he met with renowned Houston Methodist researcher and neurologist, Dr. Stanley Appel, who showed him that he was not only working on treatments that could help Berman’s now-deceased father, but that he’d been able to stop the progression of ALS. Read more.

Coya Therapeutics announced an expanded research collaboration with the Houston Methodist Research Institute, as well as funding from the Johnson Center. Photo via TMC.edu

Houston neurodegenerative company expands research collaboration with Houston Methodist

growing biz

A clinical-stage Houston biotech company has expanded its collaboration with Houston Methodist Research Institute, or HMRI.

Coya Therapeutics is already sufficiently established to be publicly traded since late 2022, but there’s always room to grow. With the help of a new sponsored research agreement, Coya will work on multiple initiatives. Coya is led by co-founder and CEO Howard Berman, who was inspired by his father’s dementia diagnosis.

"I was interested in what I could do for my dad," Berman said on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining that he met with renowned Houston Methodist researcher and neurologist, Dr. Stanley Appel, who showed him that he was not only working on treatments that could help Berman’s now-deceased father, but that he’d been able to stop the progression of ALS.

The treatments that Coya is developing are targeted at using regulatory T cells (Tregs) to fight both system inflammation and neuroinflammation. That means that maladies in their sights include neurodegenerative, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases, all of which may be caused by dysfunctional Tregs. Specifically, those might include currently hard-to-fight battles like ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

With the expanded partnership, "the development and production of exosomes from patients’ regulatory T cells will be funded by the Johnson Center for Cellular Therapeutics with participation of the SRA," according to a news release.

Coya’s therapeutic platforms include Treg-enhancing biologics, Treg-derived exosomes, and autologous Treg cell therapy. The new joint effort with HMRI will focus primarily on advancing the exosome technology in the direction of a first-in-human clinical study that will explore novel, synergistic drug combinations with one of Coya's lead candidates, COYA 301. Biologic combinations form the basis of Coya’s approach in addressing the complex pathophysiology of diseases, but they also create future opportunities for strategic collaborations.

COYA 301 is the company’s proprietary investigational low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2). It’s designed to enhance the anti-inflammatory function of Tregs and is administered subcutaneously.

Hopefully, it will follow the success of COYA 302, which is not yet approved by the FDA or any other agency, but is well on its way, thanks to results from a proof-of-concept, open-label clinical study that evaluated commercially available LD IL-2 and CTLA-4 Ig in a small cohort of patients with ALS, conducted at the HMRI. During the 48-week treatment period, patients tolerated the treatment well and showed significant amelioration in the progression of the disease.

As Coya advances its therapies, ALS and other neurodegenerative ailments could one day be far less doom-filled diagnoses.

The ultimate who's who of 2023 — these are our favorite Houston Innovators Podcast guests of last year. Photos courtesy

Editor's Picks: 7 favorite Houston Innovator Podcast episodes of 2023

year in review

Editor's note: In 2023, I recorded 50 episodes of the Houston Innovators Podcast — a weekly discussion with a Houston innovator, startup founder, investor, and more. I've rounded up seven podcast episodes that stood out for me looking back at the year of recordings. Scroll through to see whom I selected and stream their individual episodes, and tune into the last episode of the year where I explain why I enjoyed each conversation.



Episode 174 - Rolling out nationwide - Mike Francis and Carrie Horazeck of NanoTech

NanoTech's Chief Commercial Officer Carrie Horazeck and Co-Founder and CEO Mike Francis join the Houston Innovators Podcast to celebrate the nationwide launch of their roof coating product. Photo via LinkedIn

A Houston startup is celebrating its nationwide launch of its flagship product that coats roofs to reduce energy waste.

NanoTech's Nano Shield Cool Roof Coat is a unique product that can be added onto roofs to reduce energy waste on buildings. Co-founder and CEO Mike Francis and Chief Commercial Officer Carrie Horazeck joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to share more details about the product.

"It's just a coating that can go on top of existing structure — any type of commercial roof," Horazeck says on the show. "We have a pretty good amount of data from 2022 showcasing that we can reduce HVAC consumption within the building by about 30 to 40 percent.

"Our clients really see a immediate benefit in their energy bill, and, of course, if you reduce the HVAC consumption, that automatically translates to a decrease in your scope one emissions," she continues. Continue reading.


Episode 181 - Gearing up for high-speed global travel - Sassie Duggleby of Venus Aerospace

Sarah "Sassie" Duggleby of Venus Aerospace joins the Houston Innovators Podcast this week. Photo courtesy of Venus

Sarah "Sassie" Duggleby is on a mission to get people home in time for dinner — whether they are traveling around the world or working for her business. That's why she founded Venus Aerospace, which is developing hypersonic space planes. It's also why she relocated the company from the West Coast to Houston.

"We knew we had to find a location where we could test our engine and still be home for dinner," Duggleby says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "Our company vision is 'home for dinner.' We want to fly you across the globe and have you home for dinner. And, if you work for us, we want you home for dinner."

Venus's technology enables this revolutionary travel through its supersonic combustion engine — more akin to a rocket's engine than an airplane's — that allows for travel at a higher elevation, she explains on the show. Jet engines rely on air outside of the aircraft to combust, and rocket engines work with a system that supplies air internally. And, as Duggleby explains, the engine can go further with the same amount of fuel, so it's a more sustainable way of traveling too. Continue reading.


Episode 182 - Stopping neurodegenerative diseases in their tracks - Howard Berman of Coya Therapeutics

For Howard Berman, CEO and co-founder of Coya Therapeutics, commercializing his company is personal. Photo courtesy of Coya

When Howard Berman sought out renowned Houston Methodist researcher and neurologist Dr. Stanley Appel, he was looking for treatment for his father, who was suffering from dementia. He wasn't looking for a job, but Dr. Appel had other ideas and asked Berman to meet with him.

"I was interested in what I could do for my dad," Berman says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, explaining how he took the meeting with Dr. Appel, who then presented him with some of his research. "By slide five my jaw had hit the ground.

"He had shown that he could stop the progression in one of his early trials of ALS," Berman says.

Not too long after that meeting, Berman, who founded digital health platform imaware, joined Dr. Appel to lead commercialization of Coya Therapeutics, a biotech startup that raised over $20 million in venture funding before going public a few months ago. Continue reading.


Episode 187 - Bridging the gap to innovation - Ramanan Krishnamoorti of University of Houston

Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at the University of Houston, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to talk about the university's dedication to helping the city become an innovative force. Photo via UH.edu

Ramanan Krishnamoorti has had a varied career in academia, from an engineering professor to nanotech research. While he never made the transition from researcher to entrepreneur, he managed to snag a CEO title at the university about a decade ago: Chief energy officer.

Since then his role has expanded to include advancing UH's innovation of all kinds — from health tech to the arts — as vice president of energy and innovation at UH. In his role, he oversees the UH Technology Bridge, a lab and coworking space for tenants just a short drive away from UH's main campus, as well as future plans, like a new central campus hub for innovation that's in its early stages of development.

"What we really need at the university today is to bring innovation — which tech transfer is a piece of — and connect that to real-world challenges to deliver what the world needs, which is talented folks delivering new innovative, entrepreneurial, or intrapreneurial programs," Krishnamoorti says on this week's episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. Continue reading.

Episode 193 - Innovating in the East End - Erik Ibarra of Magnolia Fund and ORDRS

Erik Ibarra's latest venture is to give agency to residents in the neighborhood he grew up in. Photo courtesy

Innovation isn't always tinkering with tech or programming software, although serial entrepreneur Erik Ibarra knows that world well. Sometimes it's about rethinking how a community improves and develops without doing the residents a disservice.

That's why Ibarra started Magnolia Fund, a mission-driven investment fund dedicated to enriching the East End community and preserving the neighborhood's culture and history. Ibarra, who has lived in the area the majority of his life, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast, that he's looking to turn residents into investors.

"Our investors from the neighborhood, today they walk around and look at their house and say, 'I own that,' and that's great," Ibarra says. "In the future, our investors should be able to say that, and then point to a building and say, 'I own a portion of that building too. And I helped that small business over there.'" Continue reading.


Episode 198 - The undeniable impact of AI - Anshumali Shrivastava of ThirdAI CorpEpisode 198 - The undeniable impact of AI - Anshumali Shrivastava of ThirdAI Corp

Anshumali Shrivastava joins the Houston Innovators Podcast to share the revolutionary work ThirdAI is doing for artificial intelligence. Photo via rice.edu

Anshumali Shrivastava's career has evolved alongside the rise of artificial intelligence. Now, he believes his company represents the future of the industry's widespread implementation.

Shrivastava, who's also a professor at Rice University, founded ThirdAI, pronounced "third eye," in 2021 to democratize artificial intelligence through software innovations. As Shrivastava explains on the Houston Innovators Podcast, AI processes have historically been run on larger, less accessible computing hardware. ThirdAI's tools are able to run on a regular central processing unit, or CPU, rather than the more powerful graphics processing unit, or GPU.

"We focus on the problems that people are facing in the current AI ecosystem," Shrivastava says on the podcast. "Right now, if you are to build some of the large-language models and (linear programming) models, you need a lot of computing power, dedicated engineers to move it, and, even if you are using fully managed services, it's costly and there are a lot of privacy implications because you have to move data around." Continue reading.


Episode 212 - The 'frivolous' lawsuit over DEI funding - Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore of Hello Alice

Hello Alice Co-Founders Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore join the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the lawsuit they're facing. Photo courtesy Cayce Clifford/Hello Alice

For years, Hello Alice has been helping small businesses across the country get equitable access to funding and support. Now, the Houston tech company is facing its own obstacle: An affirmative action lawsuit.

"I don't think in a million years that we ever expected anything like this," Elizabeth Gore, co-founder and president of Hello Alice, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. "There's surprise, then there's fear, and then there's anger. But now on the other side of it, we're emboldened, confident, and more passionate than ever."

America First Legal's lawsuit against Hello Alice and its partner, Progressive Insurance, alleges that their program to award10 $25,000 grants to Black-owned small businesses constitutes racial discrimination. AFL was founded by former Trump Administration adviser Stephen Miller and features a handful of other former White House officials on its board. Continue reading.

Houston's health tech and startup ecosystem has some recent news to catch up on. Photo via Getty Images

Houston health tech startups announce exec, funding — plus more innovation news

SHORT STORIES

Houston startup founders have been moving and shaking in the local innovation ecosystem — from growing their executive boards to raising fresh grant funding.

In this roundup of Houston startup and innovation news, a startup opens a crowdfunding round, a Houston hospital system taps into new technology, and more.

Coya Therapeutics names new president and chief medical officer

Fred Grossman will assume his new role next week. Photo via LinkedIn

Coya Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: COYA), a revolutionary biotech company based in Houston, named Dr. Fred Grossman as president and chief medical officer. The clinical-stage company, which has developed a biologics therapy that prevents further spreading of neurodegenerative diseases by making regulatory T cells functional again, announced the closing of its $15.25 million IPO in January.

According to the company, Dr. Grossman's position, which was held by Dr. Adrian Hepner, is effective July 17.

“We are grateful for Dr. Hepner’s leadership and excellence in positioning Coya and look forward to having him continue to collaborate with the company in moving our assets forward," Howard H. Berman, CEO of Coya, says in a news release. "We also welcome Dr. Grossman, who brings decades of clinical development experience and successful execution."

Dr. Grossman has held executive positions at Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sunovion, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, and Mesoblast Inc. (NASDAQ: MESO), developing allogeneic cellular therapies for inflammatory diseases.

CellChorus receives another SBIR grant

CellChorus, a biotech startup operating out of the University of Houston Technology Bridge, has secured additional funding. Photo via Getty Images

Fresh off a $2.3 million grant last month, Houston-based CellChorus, a single-cell analysis company, has another grant to celebrate.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded CellChorus a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to advance development of its Time-lapse Imaging Microscopy In Nanowell Grids, known as TIMING. The funding will be used to develop novel microscale arrays to support scaling dynamic single-cell analysis.

“This funding will further development of novel arrays to build on the success of our early access laboratory based in Houston,” says Mohsen Fathi, head of technology at CellChorus, in a press release. “This project will support scaling the only platform that can evaluate migration, contact dynamics, killing, survival, subcellular activity, and biomolecule secretion for the same individual cell over time and in high throughput to improve development and delivery of novel therapies.”

According to the release, the company is receiving more than $274,000 as a part of the grant, but CellChorus has the potential of receiving up to $2 million from the second phase.

“This award builds on our recent funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to advance development of a dedicated instrument platform for TIMING,” says Daniel Meyer, CEO of CellChorus, in the release.

Memorial Hermann partners with TMC-backed virtual OB-GYN care

Two Houston-area hospitals now have access to this digital health startup's platform. Photo via Getty Images

The Memorial Hermann Health System has entered into a partnership with Washington, D.C.-based Babyscripts, a virtual care platform for managing obstetrics. The company is backed by the Texas Medical Center's venture fund and has existing ties to the city.

"Memorial Hermann strives to make Greater Houston a place where every woman's pregnancy, delivery and postpartum experience is successful and safe. This innovative partnership is a continuation of that commitment," says Dr. Victoria Regan, vice president of Women's and Children's Services at Memorial Hermann, in a news release.

Now, Memorial Hermann patients will be able to access Babyscripts myJourney, an app that delivers educational content, email campaigns, satisfaction surveys, appointment reminders, and more. The first two hospitals to receive access are Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, with plans to expand the program.

"The ability to access adequate prenatal and postpartum care is one of the largest predictors of maternal and infant health outcomes," says Anish Sebastian, CEO and co-founder of Babyscripts in the release. "With Babyscripts, Memorial Hermann is able to streamline the maternal health experience across their system, adding opportunities for access and providing consistent, high-quality pregnancy care to all patients, regardless of race, income, geography or risk."

Earn Your Freedom launches crowdfunding campaign with Houston nonprofit's support

Earn Your Freedom is looking for financial support from its community. Photo via houston.impacthub.net

Earn Your Freedom, a Houston startup that's gamifying personal finance education, has launched its first crowdfunding campaign in partnership with Impact Hub Houston.

The goal for EYF is to raise $100,000 to support its gaming programs with local schools. Impact Hub Houston is the fiscal sponsor for the raise, which is officially live and open for contributions.

The innovative and interactive web and mobile video game, which officially launched earlier this year to celebrate Financial Literacy Month, was designed to help kids build a strong foundation in money management, economics and investment in a fun and engaging way. It features challenges and real-world scenarios such as renting a first apartment, opening a first bank account, budgeting at the grocery store, buying stocks and index funds and renting or buying real estate.

“We envision a society where financial literacy is accessible to all, and where individuals are enabled with the tools to take control of their financial futures," says Keely McEnery, EYF co-founder and COO, in a press release. "We are bridging the gap between education and application, stepping in before the real-world consequences take place.”

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Diversity-focused sports tech accelerator opens applications to Houston innovators for the first time

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A global organization has announced it's opening applications to its equity-focused sports tech accelerator to Houston founders for the first time.

Thanks to a collaboration with Impact Hub and Black Ambition, the adidas Community Lab has expanded its footprint and is now accepting applicants from new markets, including Houston, Toronto, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New York, for its 2024-2025 cohort.

The initiative, which has been running for three years, has a goal of supporting Black and Latino/a/e founders with mentorship, pitch training, event programming, and networking. The eight-month program also has $75,000 in grant funding to dole out to participants as well.

“As Community Lab enters its third year, we are thrilled to cultivate a larger cohort of social entrepreneurs who share our vision of removing barriers to accessing sport for the communities we collectively serve,” Ayesha Martin, senior director of adidas Purpose, says in a news release.

Both the global organization of Impact Hub and the local group, Impact Hub Houston, are involved in the collaboration.

“Impact Hub is thrilled to partner and support this third iteration of adidas Community Lab, empowering visionary leaders who are advancing SDG3 —Good Health and Wellbeing — and SDG10 — Reduced Inequalities," Michelle Avalos, co-founder of Impact Hub Houston, adds. Together, we’re helping entrepreneurs create equitable access to sports and foster healthier, more inclusive communities for all."

Applications are open online now until September 23.

Founded by Pharrell Williams, Black Ambition will also collaborate with the program this year on key programing sessions. The organization invests funding and resources into Black and Hispanic entrepreneur-founded startups.

"Black Ambition was founded to create the space, bespoke opportunities and relationships needed for underrepresented founders to excel, uninterrupted. We are excited to partner with adidas Purpose to extend elements of our renowned, global founder support model to social impact entrepreneurs positively transforming their communities through sports and wellness," says Jermeen Sherman, managing director at Black Ambition.

City of Houston grants $100,000 to 10 innovative arts organizations

civic support

Ten Houston individuals and nonprofits are beneficiaries of grants totaling $100,000 for efforts to furthers cultural tourism and resilience throughout the City of Houston.

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) awarded the funds through the Initiative, a competitive grant program administered by Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) and funded by a portion of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax.

The application period is open three times annually and grant funding falls into three categories: Art + Neighborhood Cultural Destinations, Art + Disaster Resilience Awareness, and Art + Conference Tourism.

Here is a look at the winners and the projects that will be created with these grants.

Art + Conference Tourism

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
This week, from September 16-19, the museum, in partnership with Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy (HFTC) and artist Theaster Gates, hosts Houston’s edition of the renowned Black Artists Retreat (B.A.R). The initiative explores the concept of “Black Land Ownership and Space: Black Stabilization and Determination." The four-day event brings together speakers, panelists, and experts from Houston and across the country to elevate and inspire the brain trust in local Black and BIPOC artists, creatives, and intellectuals. Programming occurs in Houston Freedmen’s Town, POST Houston, and CAMH.

One Sample Cultural Foundation
The organization will use its grant to produce the Ethnography of Afro-Venezuelan Music, a multidisciplinary educational conference that includes videos, music, and dance that exploring the syncretism of African culture and European religious practices in Venezuela through music. This free event will take place twice — at the Institute of Hispanic Culture of Houston on October 10 and at Teatro Bilingüe de Houston on April 13, 2025. The project aims to strengthen ties between the African American and Venezuelan communities and promote a dynamic cultural exchange.

SoulSista Art Foundation
The organization hosts a conference highlighting Houston’s contributions to the new music business at Houston Warehouse Studio on November 11. Free and open to the general public, it will include performances from selected poets and Afrobeats artists who have been recognized over the years in Houston, along with a DJ and food trucks. Donations will be accepted.

Art + Neighborhood Cultural Destinations

DaCamera
The music organization will use its grant for a series of jazz concerts at the historic El Dorado Ballroom in Third Ward. DaCamera at The Eldorado: Rising Jazz Stars features up-and-coming jazz artists from around the country, providing a new opportunity for Houstonians to experience the next generation of outstanding jazz talent. Concerts begin in October and run through May 2025. All performances will be pay-what-you-can.

Dance Afrikana
A curated exhibition, digital dance archive, and a book are planned as part of the organization's Black Dance in Texas multidisciplinary project. Documenting the rich history of Black dance in the state, this project is an extension of the research project by Dance Afrikana’s founder and Scholar-in-Residence for Rice University’s CERCL Program at the African American History Research Center Gregory Campus.

Norma Jo Thomas
The composer's original musical, Carol of the Bells, will have its world premiere on December 14 at the C. Lee Turner Performing Arts Center on the campus of Lone Star College. The holiday offering is part of Thomas' ongoing tradition to bring cultural programming to the community, and is part of an Acres Homes community collaboration.

The Pilot Dance Project

Celebrated Houston-based choreographer Cynthia Garcia presents Loteria, which brings to life the characters of the traditional Mexican board game. In an urban landscape of constant gentrification, often cultural signifiers, customs, and traditions are left behind to show the legacies of cultural communities. The work will be performed at two major cultural events in gentrified neighborhoods that have histories as Mexican and Mexican American neighborhoods, MECA’s Day of the Dead Festival in October and the MD Anderson YMCA’s annual posada in Near Northside in December.

University of Houston Foundation
Seven-time Grammy Award-winner Terence Blanchard will engage communities from Third Ward and downtown Houston in a series of events. In addition to performing a concert, the jazz legend will collaborate with University of Houston and University of Houston-Downtown students. Performance will take place November 7, 8, and 10 at the Wortham Theater Center or at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. A fireside chat and workshop are also part of the visit.

Art + Resilience Awareness

Group Acorde
The organization's Batimento Cardiaco is a new work that depicts Houstonians' mental health before, during, and after a natural disaster occurs. It will premiere at the MATCH October 3 and 4, and feature musicians, two contemporary dance choreographers, and a visual artist who've collaborated on this important work. Sets and costumes are made of recyclable materials. A discussion will follow the performance. Rehearsals streamed on Group Acorde's social media will give audiences a look at the work as it develops.

Lance Flowers
The artists solo exhibit, Take Me As I Am, takes place simultaneously at the Hogan Brown Gallery in Third Ward and Yale University’s Institute for Sacred Music. It's a collection of new 2D works, videography, music, and photography pieces highlighting Third Ward and its community, and all the materials used will be gathered from the Third Ward. It's curated by gallery director Robert Hodge. The Yale portion of this show has received its own funding.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

How to prepare your business for severe weather, according to this Houston expert

guest column

Unprecedented severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense. Proactive business planning is critical to navigating what Mother Nature has in store for us.

In Houston, severe weather can impact operations any time of year, not just hurricane season, so now is the time to incorporate any fresh lessons learned during Hurricane Beryl into your plans. Employers are responsible for safeguarding their employees and assets during these emergencies, which requires establishing an emergency action plan as a foundation of preparedness.

Develop an Emergency Action Plan

If your business does not have an emergency action plan (EAP), today is the perfect time to start it so you are prepared with a response strategy. This clearly written plan is a blueprint for how your business will react and protect employees when severe weather strikes. The more detailed the EAP, the better you and your employees will respond in a time of crisis. Within the EAP, it is important to outline specific protocols, designate key roles and responsibilities and establish communication channels for employees and clients. As power can be an issue during severe weather events, outlining various communication channels is helpful.

Identify Key Employees

During an emergency, you need to know who has the authority to make the decisions that impact your employees and your business. The designated person needs to assess the situation, determine whether employees should work remotely or shelter in place, and communicate these decisions clearly and quickly. This person is usually on the leadership team and can be trusted to make clear decisions, act promptly and communicate effectively to mitigate undue risks.

Implement Regular Emergency Training

Practice makes perfect. A plan on paper is the first step, but it must be practiced and drilled so everyone knows what to do, asks questions and makes any needed adjustments, all when the stakes are not as high. Familiarity with emergency procedures through periodic training and drills allows employees to practice evacuation routes, assembly points and safety protocols.Incorporating local emergency responders in safety drills familiarizes employees with the roles and responsibilities of each group. Through this emergency training, your teams will become confidently prepared to calmly respond to emergencies.

Provide a Swift and Orderly Response

Proactively thinking through and planning for location-specific emergency situations allows business owners to mitigate risks associated with severe weather events and quickly respond when a crisis strikes. When your business is prepared, there is less downtime and disruption to business operations, it protects physical assets, and most importantly, it prioritizes the safety and well-being of employees.

Houston experiences a wild mix of severe weather situations, which makes proactive business planning and preparedness even more critical. Prioritizing EAP development and implementation, designating responsible decision-makers, conducting regular training and drills, and ensuring clear communication channels sets the stage for a resilient organization in severe weather. Additionally, establishing a clear EAP helps foster a culture of safety and readiness that can significantly protect lives and livelihoods during times of crisis.

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Ray Brock is a director of safety services with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace.

This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

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