About

Brandon Mack is a college admissions professional, educator, activist, and entrepreneur.  His most recent position was as Interim Director of Operations at the International Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization dedicated to providing professional development opportunities for individuals who work with international students.  Prior to that position, Mack was an Associate Director of Admission & Coordinator of Transfer Admission at Rice University. 

He has been in the field of college admissions for 13 years. Mack worked specifically on international recruitment in Africa, domestic recruitment strategies, and building counselor relationships.  He has also worked on minority recruitment initiatives, community based organization partnerships, and community outreach efforts to educate students on highly selective college admissions. He also oversaw and managed the transfer admission process and was the liaison to the Rice School of Architecture. Mack has started his own consulting business, B. Mack Strategies, which provides consulting on college admissions, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), politics, and meeting/dialogue facilitation services.

In addition to his day job, Brandon Mack is a community activist and sociologist dedicated to issues related to the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. He has conducted research on effemiphobia, the negativity related to effeminate gay men. His work has been featured in a GLAAD Media Award winning article and he has presented his work at national conferences such as the National  LGBTQ Task Force: Creating Change and NBJC's Out on the Hill. He was a lead organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston. Screening Committee Chair of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus. He was the Research Coordinator for the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.

Mack graduated from Rice University in 2006 with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology & Political Science.  In 2013, Mack earned a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration & Supervision from the University of Houston.  He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Houston. 

Christopher L. Lester, M.A. grew up in NE Harris County. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma (Norman) with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in African and African-American Studies. He graduated with a M.A. in Counseling from Prairie View A&M University. He is an experienced professional in the financial planning industry. His diverse background spans creative arts, counseling, consulting, healthy hair care, physical health, nonprofit and grassroots organizations, corporate environments, and entrepreneurship. He is a strong advocate for community abundance and wealth-building. A licensed financial professional with WFG as well, Christopher’s mission is to inclusively empower individuals and families to achieve financial security and prosperity. Through personalized financial planning, strategic investment advice, and comprehensive wealth management services, he aims to guide our clients towards their financial goals. He is committed to fostering financial literacy, promoting sustainable wealth-building practices, and ensuring a legacy of financial well-being for future generations.

Christopher has always believed in getting involved in community and standing up for justice-no matter how small the outcome. He has been involved in Student Councils and other government organizations while growing up. Christopher heavily does community work with AHF’s BLACC and continues to build lasting rapports with organizations that serve Houston and surrounding communities.

Christopher is also the visionary and CEO of Bradley Lester Unlimited, LLC, an organization dedicated to empowering the community through comprehensive education in financial literacy, mental health awareness, spiritual enrichment, creative dance expression, beekeeping stewardship, and herbalist practices. Among Christopher's many business accomplishments and acumen, being an active father, son and Baba brings him the greatest fulfillment.

“I understand and know what discrimination looks and feels like due to my identity. Each person has a story to tell. Each person has a destiny to fulfill. Some crowns are heavier than others, yet we all have the right to have needs met, experience fairness while living a wholesome life. Knowledge is said to be power. The real power is in applied knowledge."

Diamond Stylz has been one of the long-standing voices of the millennial black trans community.

She started her activism at 17 when she won a First Amendment rights lawsuit against the Indianapolis Public School system in 1999, a victory that allows her to go to the prom in a gender-affirming gown instead of a tuxedo. At 19, she was the first openly trans woman to attend the legendary HBCU Jackson State University where she honed her passion for activism and education.

For more than a decade, she has use social media platforms like Youtube to document and archives trans leadership and cultural event around the globe. She has produced and appeared on CNN, ABC, BET, and Hulu but recently she consulted with Insider to create the most comprehensive database around trans homicides and their outcome thus far. Currently, Diamond is the Executive Director of Black Trans Women Inc, a national non-profit that is led by Black trans women focused on social advocacy, positive visibility, and building strong leadership among Black trans advocates, activists, and our allies.

Diamond is the host and producer of the award-winning podcast Marsha's Plate, a weekly exploration of politics and pop culture from a trans-pro-black feminist lens that has garnered over 1 million streams. 

Jeremy is senior director of development for the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, and he has over 12 years of experience in major gift fundraising with a specialty in corporate and foundation giving.

Prior to joining the Meadows Institute, Jeremy served as the Assistant Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In this role, he built MD Anderson’s corporate giving program from inception, securing major philanthropic investments to fund medical research, cancer prevention and screening initiatives, and numerous other programs centered around health disparities and population health.

In his role at the Meadows Institute, Jeremy works to develop and implement plans to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects, including individuals, foundations, and corporations, for The Hackett Center for Mental Health and the Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center.

Jeremy has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Houston, and he is a Certified Public Manager through the Hobby School of Public Affairs. In 2020, he was selected as a Davoudi Scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He previously served as Chair of Mayor Turner’s LGBTQ Advisory Board for 3 years, and currently serves UH’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Dean’s Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Impulse Group - Houston. He was appointed to Harris County’s LGBTQIA+ Commission in late 2023.

Jeremy is married to an elementary school music teacher and lives with their dog, a very smart miniature Schnauzer named Toby McDog.

Kylie McNaught is the Texas Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. She is a dedicated public servant with nearly a decade of experience working in Texas politics and advocacy. Kylie is joined the PPGC team in March of 2023, after serving as the Executive Director of the Harris County Democratic Party (HCDP) from 2021 to 2023. 

Prior to her time at HCDP Kylie worked as the Legislative Director for State Representative Jon Rosenthal for over three years. She also worked on the Legislative Study Group (LSG) under Chairman Garnet Coleman. Her other previous work includes campaign management, grassroots organizing, and volunteer management. 

Kylie holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Houston and is currently working toward her Doctor of Public Health at UT Health. She previously sat on the board of Clinic Access Support Network (CASN), an organization in Houston that provided practical support to abortion patients. She has an extensive campaign background, with work as field director for Rosenthal for Texas, deputy campaign manager for Eliz Markowitz for Texas and field manager for Beto O’Rourke for Senate. 

María C. González is currently the Martha Gano Houstoun Research Professor in Literary Criticism at the University of Houston with expertise in American literature, Mexican-American novelists, Chicanx writers, and Feminist and Queer Theory.  

Gonzalez is the author of Contemporary Mexican American Women Novelists: Toward a Feminist Identity and co-editor of Voices Breaking Boundaries’ three volume series collection of transnational art and essays, Borderlines.  Currently completing a book on the influence of Chicana lesbian writers and queer theory in Chicanx literary studies, Gonzalez has also written essays or presented on ethnic and gender curricular expansion, pedagogy and LGBT Studies, as well as on political activism.  

A political activist and past president, vice-president, screening chair, and board member of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, Gonzalez is the treasurer of Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars.  She is also a civic activist and has served as a Precinct Chair for the Harris County Democratic Party and a Presiding Precinct Election Judge in her neighborhood.

Matthew Donovan is a Houston-based leader whose work bridges technology, business, and community impact. 

He currently serves on the board of the Eastwood Civic Association, where he co-chairs the neighborhood’s historic home tour, and was a founding board member of Lambda NextGen, an organization dedicated to cultivating Houston’s next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders. Passionate about building inclusive spaces, Matthew has led initiatives that bring neighbors together, celebrate local history, and support civic engagement.

Ramiro Fonseca is Director of Outreach and Engagement for Tejano Center for Community Concerns. In this role, he is responsible for leveraging relationships to elevate the organization’s brand, maximize impact, and support the organization’s expansion plans. Ramiro facilitates communication between Tejano Center, families, current and prospective partners, volunteers, and the broader community. He was most recently Community Engagement Manager at GRADcafé by Project GRAD, a program of Tejano Center, which provides intergenerational college, career, and workforce training resources for residents of Harris County and beyond.

Formerly in banking, Ramiro has worked closely with the education community locally and community partners where he actively promotes higher education in underrepresented communities. He understands the importance and the strength in building partnerships to improve communities and their quality of life.

Ramiro has served on community and service organization boards including the Houston Hispanic Forum, Legacy Community Health, the Holocaust Museum Latino Initiatives Advisory Committee, the Houston Botanic Garden, and currently chairs the Houston Police Department’s Eastside Division Positive Interactive Program.

Ramiro holds his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Our Lady of the Lake University.

Thomas, a graduate of Texas A&M University, Class of '02, left the corporate world to pursue his passion of connecting people with the resources they need to pursue their goals. After nearly 15 years of working in Human Resources across various industries, Thomas brings his experience of helping business leaders translate their version into action and is working to have EconomiWorks, a company he founded in 2018, serve as a new engine for that service offering.

He believes in the old saying "work hard, play hard," so when he's looking for inspiration on how to satisfy all the many stakeholders of EconomiWorks, he enjoys time with his friends, family, and dogs, as well as "relaxing" while running, swimming, biking, practicing yoga, and podcasting about LGBT+ history. He is the host of the widely popular podcast, "Let's Talk About Gay Stuff" which discusses historical events and people in LGBT+ history & culture.

Ryan C. Wilson is a small business owner and nonprofit management consultant. Ryan began his 20-year LGBTQ+ nonprofit career as Co-President of Clemson University’s Gay-Straight Alliance and as Safe Zone Coordinator for the University of South Carolina. He served as president of the board of both the South Carolina Pride Movement and the Harriet Hancock LGBT Center. Ryan went on to become Executive Director of South Carolina Equality, advancing the cause of marriage equality nationally as well as pushing for non-discrimination protections and hate crime laws at the state level. He later joined the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), working in the field for almost a decade advocating for LGBTQ+ people at the local, state, and Federal level. During his time as Associate Regional Campaign Director at HRC, Ryan focused on Southern states, including a stint as a member of the team working to protect HERO – the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. Ryan also has experience advising local communities on ways to increase their HRC Municipal Equality Index score by taking steps to pass pro-LGBTQ+ policies and ordinances at the local community level. 

Ryan joined the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce team in December 2023 and serves as Director of Corporate Relations, engaging with the Chamber's large employer members known as Impact Partners. Ryan has a passion for helping advance LGBTQ+ inclusion work within large employers across the region to help employees feel a better sense of belonging and helping them reach their full potential so that our community can thrive. Ryan also believes in the power of spending with intentionality, and supporting local and minority owned businesses whenever possible. 

Ryan made Houston his home in 2017 where he currently lives with his fiancé Zach and their cat Jakie O. Ryan enjoys cooking, playing video games like Fallout and Baldur's Gate, collecting both Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia, and exploring the diverse array of arts, food and cultural events that Houston constantly offers.

Victoria Cordova (she/her/hers) is a native Houstonian who started her public service career at Houston City Hall. She is a public affairs leader with experience in communications, local government and higher education.

Victoria is the director of communications and marketing at the Hobby School of Public at the University of Houston, where she oversees the promotion of the school's interdisciplinary curriculum, training, research and experiential learning opportunities. She previously served in the public affairs division at the Harris County Sheriff's Office, raising awareness of the agency’s services and partnerships to enhance public safety and build community trust. She also previously worked at Houston Public Media, the local NPR and PBS affiliate.

Victoria received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in political science from Sam Houston State University. She is a fellow on the Houston Public Media Foundation Board and a member of the League of Women Voters of Houston and Women Professionals in Government. She also teaches American government as a lecturer at her alma mater.