Houston P. A. hosted by Laurent

Scott Arthur is the director of public relations for the Star of Hope Mission. We talk about their many successful services helping homeless people get back into productive lives free of substance abuse and violence. They're holding their annual banquet: "Believe" on February 10 and one of the world's greatest gospel singers is performing. We explain why we won't say her name on the air and it's a...

Dirk Van Tuerenhout is the curator of Anthropology for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. In this wide ranging interview, Dirk tells us about how tombs are uncovered around the world, how people figured out how to embalm the dead, how artists help scientists reveal what our ancestors look like and how the museum is home to some of the most beautiful fossils in the world, including a full-sized...

Elizabeth Elder is the Founder of Steel Magnolia Moms and Tiffanie Williams is serving on their board of directors. This Non-Profit has grown to support over 1000 Houston moms who are raising children with special needs. They run several programs and support groups like "Head to Heart" which provides professional psychological support with private and group therapy sessions and a fantastic summer...

Kathleen Havens is the director of curriculum & content for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. They have created a new exhibit: King Tut’s Tomb Discovery Experience which will allow you to experience what archeologists found when they opened the tomb 100 years ago. You'll get to see what it looked like with some of the burial chambers reproduced at full scale and you'll be able to touch meticu...

Scott Arthur is the director of public relations for the Star of Hope Mission. They have been serving Houston's homeless for over 115 years and if you donate just $2.80, you give them the power to serve a full meal. They have great power with our help! They have a Christmas catalogue to make donations easy and these acts of generosity are wonderful Christmas gifts you should consider. Scott also s...

Sonja Gee is the President & CEO of Memorial Assistance Ministries. They help families obtain what they need with long term support. Starting with basic needs and benefit enrolment help and being there through employment services, financial empowerment and more. They also help with mental and physical health and Sonja explains how COVID changed their operations and how volunteers are harder to kee...

Dr. Hanh Trinh is a Team Physician and the Education Liaison for Houston Hospice. Houston Hospice is the only non-profit Hospice in the Houston area. They offer compassionate, end-of-life care for families across 13 counties. We discuss how to talk about our loved ones and how to be compassionate with people who are experiencing recent loss during the holidays. On December 1st they are holding The...

Felicia Broussard is the Chief Development Officer for Covenant House Texas and Sean Maher is the chair for Sleep Out: Executive Edition. He is also a partner RCH Energy. The Covenant House Sleep Out is an international movement of folks who sleep outside for one night to raise awareness about youth homelessness. Felicia details the powerful programs which are helping youth get and stay out of hom...

Walter Ulrich is the CEO of Medical Bridges and Akinyi Adoyo is their marketing manager. They describe how Medical Bridges is able to distribute donated medical supplies (most are from our medical center) to impoverished regions all over the world. Their mission is even larger than that as they are able to assist in times of crisis. They have sent help to the US when it was necessary and there was...

Devon Anderson is the CEO of Justice Forward. They help people recover their lives while they work through Specialty Courts programs. They help to break the cycle of incarceration by supporting them through these programs: overcoming addiction, securing housing and employment and staying away from past criminal relationships. These programs are very successful in helping individuals re-integrate i...

Our friend Steve Lufburrow is president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Houston and with him is Barbie Parker, their vice president of Fund Development and Public Relations. The pandemic hasn't slowed Goodwill down as much as you might fear. They moved all their services online, making them even easier to access. In person or online, Goodwill's services are free. They implemented Employability 1...

Dave Moss is a McDonald's Owner and Operator and founder of Hire Houston Youth. Juliet Stipeche was the Director of Education for the City of Houston when we talked about the inception of this very successful program which was born out of tragedy, Dave explains how a friend's legacy turned into one of the major job events of the year for young Houstonians. They next big job fair is at the George R...

Anne Marie Blacketer is the CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America – Texas Gulf Coast Chapter. Lupus is a rare and currently incurable disease that is not benefitting from much media exposure nor is it receiving enough research funding. The Lupus Foundation is changing this by creating support groups and sharing advice on how to alleviate Lupus symptoms. Staying active, taking medicine (although t...

Christine Holland is the CEO of Rebuilding Together Houston. They are Disaster Recovery Experts they celebrating serving the Houston area for 40 years. They help the most vulnerable among us (the elderly, veterans and others fallen on hard times), with repairs to their homes. Making homes safer, more comfortable and more prideful is their mission. We discuss the importance of homeowner's pride and...

Jacque (Jacky) Daughtry is the executive director of Literacy Now. Since the pandemic has accelerated the decline in reading abilities among children, Literacy Now has created programs to help kids keep up with their reading levels. From Lunch Brunch Mentoring, Parent Partnerships and the Reading Express Mobile Classroom, these highly successful programs are powered by volunteers. Literacy Now is...

John Huckaby is the CEO of AIDS Foundation Houston. We discuss the beginning of his tenure which coincided with the beginning of the pandemic and how they kept their programs going during lockdowns. There is great news about treatments, including the free B.E.S.T. Box, an at-home HIV Testing kit, STI treatment, the PrEP program which is a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis treatment that comes in a daily pi...

Rana McClelland is the President and CEO of Houston Hospice, and Dr. Elizabeth Strauch is their medical director and vice-president medical affairs. They offer a beautiful and hopeful picture of what it is like to work in hospice care. Houston Hospice is a nonprofit organization that provides uncompromising, compassionate, end-of-life care to patients and families across 13 counties in Texas. Sinc...

Barry Ward is the executive director of Trees For Houston. They will plant 1 million trees in Houston in the next decade and we discuss how this is made possible in one of the most philanthropic cities in the world. Houston's can-do attitude is like a superpower. We also discuss how planting trees restore some natural habitat for the billions of migratory birds who stop over in our area every year...

Adam Farris is the founder and President of Younique Abilities and an autism advocate. He lives with Tourette syndrome and autism and he talks about how his company gives opportunities to people living with special abilities and how his dad helped him overcome Tourette by taking him out in public when he was young. With Adam is his dad, Anthony Farris, who is a case manager for Casa de Esperanza d...

Walter Ulrich is the CEO of Medical Bridges and he has vivid stories to tell of operating a non-profit dedicated to exporting medical care to the poorest corners of our planet during a pandemic. He starkly contrasts the challenges of operating in a pandemic versus in normal times. The troubles in our shipping supply chain is literally preventing Medical Bridges from saving lives. Because the USA's...

Sean Maher is the co-chair for Sleep Out: Executive Edition for Covenant House Texas. He is also a Partner RCH Energy and is the demonstration of how citizens can help their community. The Covenant House Sleep Out Executive Edition is an international movement of individuals sleep outside in the same conditions as the homeless so participants can raise funds and awareness for homeless youths. Sean...

Maisha Colter is the CEO for Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA). She brings a message of hope during the immense surge in crime that has come with the pandemic and the lock downs (domestic abuse is up %40 in the Houston area) but help is available. No one deserves to be abused and we can know the signs – especially isolation. Through education we are able to help each other. However, it will...

Sargent David Miller of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office tells us about the 5th Annual Sharing is Caring Food Drive on October 30th. He founded this food drive which has been a great success. It benefits Mission Northeast which offers job training, adult GED and ESL classes onsite, Thanksgiving and Christmas distributions, monthly home delivery of food and other assistance for senior and dis...

Every day, hundreds of inmates are released from prison in Houston. They often have no place to go, only the clothes on their backs, and $100 to their names. The pandemic made this re-entry into free life even more challenging, which is when services like CrossWalk Center step in to help. They help returning citizens rebuild their lives by giving them the tools to break the cycle of recidivism. Th...

Tama Lundquist and Tena Lundquist Faust are co-presidents of Houston Petset. They advocate for Animals and their right to live free from cruelty. It's a big problem in Houston where stray dogs are the number one cause for people to call the police. There are so many neighborhoods in our city where people can't get to the bus station, kids can't play in the street, all because stray dogs make it to...