1001 Preston, Suite 911, Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 274-7000
[email protected]

Harris County

Community Flood Resilience Task Force

Members

Apply to serve on the Community Flood Resilience Task Force

Applications to the Task Force are accepted on a rolling basis, through the Office of Boards and Commissions. Vacancies are filled through this pool of candidates when they occur.

Apply Here

MEMBERS

The Community Flood Resilience Task Force (CFRTF) is carried out through two governing committees and four thematic committees that meet regularly. The inaugural five members of the CFRTF were appointed by Commissioners Court in the Fall of 2020 and are responsible for appointing the remaining twelve members.

The seventeen (17) members of the CFRTF are committed to serving the community, and represent the geographic, gender, age, racial, and ethnic diversity of Harris County. These members are flood survivors, community organizers, engineers, advocates, technical experts, working together to reduce flood risk for all Harris County communities.

These members bring an expanded set of skills that are necessary for shifting Harris County’s approach beyond traditional engineering to the full scope of flood resilience. This full set of understanding—from qualitative and quantitative data to nature-based solutions, consensus-building, public health, and community leadership—allows the Task Force to provide holistic feedback on Harris County’s on-going efforts.

Membership

THE EXECUTIVE COMITTEE

Dr. Pamela Hernandez

Chair

Dr. Pamela Hernandez

Chair

Pamela Hernandez, Ph.D. is principal researcher and founder of Educo Research, a research firm that builds human capacity and social change through research. She has fifteen years of experience in higher education institutions, and working with various agencies across the U.S. in fields such as educational research, assessment and evaluation, as well as leadership development, multiculturalism, diversity, and social justice training

Mary Anne Piacentini

Vice Chair

Mary Anne Piacentini

Vice Chair

Mary Anne Piacentini, President and CEO, Coastal Prairie Conservancy, coordinates its land protection programs and conservation assistance to landowners, establishes community partnerships and relationships with stakeholders, and oversees the operations and programs of the agency. She has a master’s degree in planning from Harvard University and is currently a board member of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation.

Chris Valdez

Secretary

Chris Valdez

Secretary

Chris Valdez (he/him) is a Houston native and dedicated advocate for community-led change. With a strong background in communications, campaign management, and capacity building, he works to advance justice across health, climate, and economic equity. Chris, his partner—a public interest attorney—and their daughter enjoy spending time in and around the region's waterways, including Buffalo and White Oak Bayous near their home.

APPOINTED MEMBERS

TBD

County Judge's Office

TBD

County Judge's Office

Chris Valdez

Precinct 1

Chris Valdez

Precinct 1

Adam Eaton

Precinct 2

Adam Eaton

Precinct 2

Bob Rehak

Precinct 3

Bob Rehak

Precinct 3

Bob Rehak has more than 50 years of experience in communications. After seeing thousands in his area flooded during Harvey, he launched ReduceFlooding.com, a website dedicated to helping people understand the causes of flooding as well as mitigation possibilities.

Andrew Juan

Precinct 4

Andrew Juan

Precinct 4

with 10+ years of experience, specializes in flood mitigation, driven by his childhood experiences in flood-prone Jakarta, Indonesia. As an Associate Research Scientist at the Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas (IDRT), he focuses on radar-based flood warning systems, watershed analysis, and urban flood risk assessments. Post-Hurricane Harvey, Dr. Juan actively engages in regional flood impact analyses and community-centered resilience projects, contributing to IDRT's mission of creating resilient Texas communities through evidence-based solutions.

Manik Mitra

City of Houston

Manik Mitra

City of Houston

Manik Mitra, PE,PMP, CFM, CPESC, ENV SP, is a Managing Engineer with City of Houston, Transportation and Drainage Operations and has over 13 years of experience in planning and design of stormwater and wastewater infrastructure and facilities. He has a Bachelor of Science in Water Resources Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh, and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas, A certified Floodplain Manager, a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and an Envision Sustainability Professional.

AT-LARGE MEMBERS

Bill Callegari

Bill Callegari holds a BS from Louisiana State University and an MS Civil Engineering from the University of Houston. He has been a Licensed Professional engineer for over 50 years. He also holds “Double A” Certifications in water and wastewater operations. Early in his career, he served as design engineer and project manager for water and wastewater facilities. In 1974 Mr. Callegari founded AM-TEX Corporation, which provided operations and management services to utility districts and municipalities throughout Texas. As President and CEO, he pioneered AM-TEX's growth as a major force in the state and national water industry. He currently owns WC Engineers, which provides engineering consulting services for municipal and commercial projects, water and wastewater system planning and design, and coordination and management of public infrastructure.

Chuck Stilwell

Chuck is an Environmental Engineer who has worked for over 35 years on large scale environmental restoration projects, including many involving water resources. his experience includes managing the design and construction of projects which restored large landscapes and watercourses damaged by industrial activity, many being restored to a natural setting. He also lives adjacent to the Buffalo Bayou, and his home was flooded in Hurricane Harvey. He has kept abreast of Houston's flood issues and possible solutions for the last 10 years, including many different areas of Harris County.

Conception Esparza

A retired educator from Houston Community College (HCC) Northeast, she has been a resident of Aldine since 1979 and currently presides over the Castlewood Civic Club. Connie holds positions on various boards, including: the Aldine ISD Board of Education since November 2017, the Mexican American School Boards Association, Aldine Education Foundation, and the East Aldine Arts Council. She is also a member of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Association for Student Advancement. Recently honored with the East Aldine Education Partner Award for Excellence in Education.

Dr. Allie Falender

Dr. Allie Falender is the Nature and Energy Program Director at The Nature Conservancy

Texas. She earned her BA from Oberlin College with a double major in Biology and

Sociology and PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Allie

has served on several non-profit boards in Houston including Collaborative for Children, the

American Leadership Forum and Congregation Beth Israel.

Dr. Pamela Hernandez

Mary Anne Piacentini

Stephany Valdez

Stephany Valdez is a Houston-based community advocate from Laredo, Texas, working

at the intersection of environmental justice, transportation equity, and climate resilience.

She focuses on uplifting frontline communities impacted by flooding, pollution, and

highway

Tracy Stephens

Tracy Stephens is the President of Sunnyside Civic Club, Gulfgate TIRZ Board Vice Chairman, Infrastructure Rehab and Development Chairman for South Park Community, ACTS Board Research Coordinator, and worked for the City of Houston Public Works and Engineering Specialized Maintenance District Supervisor for Streets, Drainage Construction and Rehab.

PREVIOUS CONTRIBUTORS

Adriana Tamez

Adriana Tamez is a Houston Community College Trustee, and President and CEO for the Tejano Center for Community Concerns (TCCC) providing overall management of the non-profit organization and its nine service programs. Essential to this work has been nurturing and creating partnerships at all levels to meet the needs of our most vulnerable populations in our county.

Bill Callegari

Precinct 4

Bill Callegari

Precinct 4

Bill Callegari is a long-time citizen of Harris County, including 40 years residence on the Katy Prairie. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer, and also served as the Texas State Representative representing Katy and Cypress for fourteen years, from 2001 to 2015.

Billy Guevara

Dr. Denae King

Dr. Denae King is a native Houstonian and an environmental justice researcher at Texas Southern University. She earned a Ph.D. in environmental science/toxicology from the University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston, School of Public Health and works on environmental health projects in Houston’s underserved communities plagued with cumulative environmental exposures and recurring flooding.

Dr. Earthea Nance

Dr. Earthea Nance is a published author, scholar, registered civil engineer, and certified floodplain manager with over 30 years of experience. She earned her PhD from Stanford University, and after Hurricane Harvey she served on the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium.

Dr. Joseph Colaco

Dr. Joseph Colaco holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and is President of Colaco Engineers and Professor of Architecture at the University of Houston. Dr. Colaco brings over 50 years of engineering experience related to flood resilience and mitigation and was a founding member of the Hurricane Research Center at Texas A&M. Most recently he served as an expert panelist for the webinar on Hurricanes and Tornadoes through Florida International University.

Elaine Morales-Díaz

Elaine Morales-Díaz is the Director of Partnerships and Policy at Connective where she leads collective initiatives and local policy recommendations focused on community resilience, recovery, and the continuous improvement of social services. With a background in Architecture and Community Planning, Elaine has worked on equity building initiatives that support access to affordable housing, advance just disaster recovery practices, and address community development issues through participatory design and planning.

Iris Gonzalez

Iris Gonzalez is the founding Coalition Director for The Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience (CEER), an advocacy collaborative working on environmental justice policy solutions in the greater Houston region. She has over 10 years experience in program development, program management, coalition building, grant-making, fundraising, and community engagement.

Johana Clark

City of Houston

Johana Clark

City of Houston

Johana Clark is the Senior Assistant Director managing Stormwater Operations with Houston Public Works which oversees the daily operations of the City’s critical drainage system infrastructure. Johana has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the National University of Colombia and a Master of Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Kenneth Williams

Chair

Kenneth Williams

Chair

Ken Williams is a founding director of the Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council, Vice-President of Super Neighborhood 48 Trinity-Houston Gardens, and a community servant/activist/resident.

Laura Patiño

Laura Patiño is the Chief Resiliency Officer for the City of Austin. Prior to joining the city of Austin, Laura served as the Deputy Resiliency Officer for the City of Houston and helped to develop and implement the Resilient Houston strategy and the Climate Action Plan while tying in Harvey Recovery efforts city-wide.

Lisa Gonzalez

Precinct 2

Lisa Gonzalez

Precinct 2

Lisa Gonzalez is President of the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), a nonprofit sustainability research organization. Lisa is a longtime resident of East Harris County and as a coastal scientist, focuses on climate resilience and intersections between natural ecosystems and the built environment.

Mashal Awais

Chair

Mashal Awais

Chair

Mashal Awais is the watershed specialist at Bayou City Waterkeeper, where her work focuses on the pursuit of healthy waters, ecosystems and communities throughout the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed. She holds a Masters in Environmental Analysis from Rice University, and has over 8 years experience working alongside environmental justice and frontline communities

Michael Bloom

Michael F. Bloom, P.E., ENV SP, CFM, directs the sustainability practice of R. G. Miller Engineers, Inc. and is Vice President - Technical of the Houston Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a nationally recognized expert in resilient and sustainable infrastructure planning and design with 29 years of professional experience.

Shirley Ronquillo

County Judge’s Office

Shirley Ronquillo

County Judge’s Office

Shirley Ronquillo is a Harris County community organizer, East Aldine resident and co-founder of the Houston Department of Transformation. After Hurricane Harvey, Shirley recognized the need to work with residents to advocate for equitable flood mitigation and encourages residents to raise their voices.

Yasmeen Davila

Yasmeen Dávila is a multi-diciplinary non-binary queer artist and organizer in Houston, Texas. Having lived through various hurricanes that passed through Houston, they have set their pursuits to advocate for the neglected neighborhoods that experience floods and chemical exposures before, during, and after hurricane season.

Jennifer Hundl

is recognized as a skilled engineer and project manager.Outside her professional endeavors, Jennifer actively supports nonprofits dedicated to green space preservation, agriculture, Western heritage, and animal rescue. With a history of board service and volunteering, she has been instrumental in organizations like the Greens Bayou Coalition and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.