Houston P. A. hosted by Laurent

Cristina Cave is the community relations manager for Baker-Ripley and she's full of advice to help people prepare their taxes for free. Baker-Ripley operates 11 Tax Centers in the Houston area, providing free tax preparation for individuals and families earning up to $58,000. Christina warns us about delays for certain refunds and how this sets the stage for fraudulent loan advance scams based on...

Christine Holland is the CEO & executive director of Rebuilding Together Houston. They have been providing home repair services at no cost to senior citizens, people with disabilities and US Military veterans for over 35 years. They were therefore well prepared to help Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey and while government money isn't coming in yet, they were able to get to work immediately wi...

Carleen Graham is the director of HGOco and Emily Wells is their programs manager and producer of Song of Houston. HGOco is the education-branch of the Houston Grand Opera and it produces shows for families. They are premiering a new child-friendly opera called "Monkey & Francine in the City of Tigers," and the performances are free on February 2 & 3. They will also be filming the pilot episode of...

Oli Mohammed is the executive director of The Houston Furniture Bank. They are celebrating 25 years of service by being on the forefront of Houston's Hurricane Harvey recovery. To date, they have distributed over 8000 pieces of furniture to help families rebuild from the flood. They are working with Houston agencies who refer their clients to the Houston Furniture Bank. It's an ongoing effort in a...

Paul Bernhard of Paul Bernard Exhibits is back to talk about the Houston Museum of Natural Science's new Weiss Energy Hall 3.0: Energy City. It's a massive, state-of-the-art techno-educational installation featuring two motion platforms and the Geovator. We're talking about 30,000 square feet - about the size of a football field – full of new exhibits, including “Energy City,” a 2500 square-foot 3...

Keith Ostfeld aka Mr. O is back! The resident Mad Scientist at the Children’s Museum of Houston is also their director of educational technology and exhibit development. Every year, the Children's Museum transform into a Holliday Wonderland set up to share the many cultures of Houston and how they celebrate the holidays. They are open late from the 22nd through the 2nd, celebrating The Season of S...

Andy Smith is with Texas Parks and Wildlife and The Battleship Texas Foundation. The Texas is the magnificent battleship commissioned in 1912 which is moored near the San Jacinto Monument. It fought in both world wars and that is merely scratching the surface of her extraordinary history. To preserve it, Andy and his team pump over 500 tons of water out of it every day and they are constantly maki...

Sarah Flournoy is the program manager of Bird Friendly Communities for Houston Audubon and Richard Gibbons is their Conservation director. We discuss the consequences of the flood on our local sanctuaries. Our area is a "highway" for migratory birds. Millions fly across the gulf coast on their way to warmer climates and urbanization has had catastrophic, damaging effects their habitat. We also tal...

Kim Tobin Lehl and Philip Lehl are the founders and co-executive directors of 4th Wall Theatre. For the past 7 years they have produced some of the best plays I've seen and this holiday, they aim to make everyone laugh with Craig Lucas' "Reckless". The show opens Friday, December 1st and runs through December 16th. We talk about the value of art companies and the great difficulties they all face t...

Dr. Melissa Joyner is a radiation oncologist and the chair of the St. Joseph Medical Center Radiation Oncology department and Dr. Daisha Hayden is a radiologist on the medical staff at St. Joseph Medical Center. They discuss the simple steps for women to follow in order to detect any cancerous lumps in their breasts as early as possible. Experts recommend that beginning at age 40, women should get...

Melissa Sanchez is the Texas public policy lead for Alzheimer's Association Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter. She updates us on a Houston's doctor's research which involve observing fruit flies infected with Alzheimer's disease. The Walk to End Alzheimer's is on November 19th at the University of Houston and they're inviting Houston to participate in a big, laid back event accessible to everyon...

Vikki Finley is the president and CEO of Arms Wide Adoption and Van Kohrt is a Firefighter who adopted a son a few years ago. He shares his poignant journey into fatherhood with a wonderful sense of humor, demonstrating the great work Arms Wide Open is doing to help children who are in our court system and in foster care, find permanent homes. The Organization offers all the necessary guidance to...

Elisa Donovan is the Assistant Director and general counsel for the Katy Prairie Conservancy. They are online at www.katyprairie.org and you should take a look at their programs as you listen to Elisa describe how they cover subjects from restoring your land so that it is once again welcoming to cattle, game, birds and butterflies. They offer workshops and a fun and informative tour: Urban Prairie...

Beth White is the president and CEO of Houston Parks Board. They are hosting their 2017 Annual Luncheon on Tuesday, October 17. Charles Renfrow will be the guest speaker. You'll get a chance to hear updates on the progress of the massive Bayou Greenways 2020 project which is already great success. Beth reports that thanks to their initiatives, the work they've done is merely slowed down by hurrica...

Alene Coggin is the executive director of HSPVA Friends and Dr. Scott Allen is the principal of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The school is famous for offering a world class arts education as part of the public school system. Students must audition to attend and their curriculum is demanding since the art courses are essentially tacked onto a standard HISD education. With the...

Mary Collins is the president and CEO of Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Greater Houston. Jennifer Strich is their vice president of programs and she is a licensed clinician. DBSA provides free support groups to individuals affected by depression and bipolar disorders. The groups are led by licensed mental health professionals and are also there to help the family and friends of those affe...

Jim Soller is the executive director of Rebuilding Together Houston and Julie Mintzer is their communications and Advancement Manager of Rebuilding Together Houston. For more than 30 years, Rebuilding Together Houston has provided no cost home repair to thousands of low-income elderly homeowners. TO take a look at their program and apply for help, go to their website: www.rebuildinghouston.org

Rich Levy is the executive director of Inprint and the author of a beautiful book of poetry: "Why Me". Inprint just announced a new spectacular season of readings by some of today's best contemporary authors. All tickets are only $5! The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series will kick off on September 18 with readings by Nathan Englander & Nicole Krauss. Jennifer Egan & Claire Messud appear...

Dr. Vernus Swisher is the CEO of Career and Recovery Resources (CRR). With him is Cathy Mitchell, one of CRR's STAR Clients. After a period of homelessness, she overcame an addiction to crack cocaine and became a para-professional at Hastings High School. This fall, she will receive her bachelor's degree from Belhaven University. She is representative of the hard work people are willing to put in...

Paige Myrick is the executive director of Opera in the Heights, Shayna Schlosberg is the managing director for Catastrophic Theatre and Anthony Brandt is the Artistic Director of Musiqa. They are part of this year's Circle of Fifths aka Co5, Houston's best art pass. For only $119, you get to choose 5 shows (out of 10) presented by some of Houston's best companies. You also get an extra free ticket...

Leo Boucher is the director of marketing and audience development for Da Camera of Houston. They are a presenting organization who have been mixing jazz and chamber music with great success for 30 years. They are one of the best examples of how eclectic Houston's art community is, from its performers to its patrons. Check out their incredible season: www.dacamera.com As they do each year, Da Camer...

Anna Dragsbaek is the CEO of The Women's Home and Staci Young is their chief program officer. They are celebrating 60 years of serving homeless women in the Houston area, a great achievement since they are primarily funded by the community. They are one of the reasons Houston has been able to reduce its homeless population by over 60% since 2011. Their success keeps growing. They will open a new f...

Mary McIntire is the Dean of Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. They are celebrating 50 years of service to the Houston community as the area's leading program for continuing education. When Mary was named dean of the school, they had several hundred students. They now serve over 20,000 people every year in a beautiful new building on Rice's campus. There are too...

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST NOW  Melissa Sanchez is the Texas Public Policy Lead for the Alzheimer's Association Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter. Being an incurable disease which touches over 5 million Americans, Alzheimer's is starting to receive wider attention and our awareness of the need for research is growing. Melissa explains how the disease leaves families in need of support groups and how...

Keith Ostfeld aka Mr. O, is the resident mad scientist and the director of educational technology and exhibit development for the Children's Museum of Houston. It’s one of the best places to take your kids (and yourself) this summer and we get to geek out over their awesome Sci-Fi Summer event which lasts through Labor Day weekend. They’re open for free on Thursday evenings so you can take your wh...