Center For Houstons Future Inc

THE CENTER INSPIRES LEADERS TO IDENTIFY MATTERS OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE TO THE LONG-TERM FUTURE OF THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION & TO COLLABORATE IN ADDRESSING THOSE CHALLENGES

STRATEGIC PLANNING & RESEARCH: IN COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS FROM BUSINESS, COMMUNITY AND ACADEMIA, CHF WORKS TO IDENTIFY THE IMPORTANT LONG-RANGE ISSUES FACING THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION AND PROPOSE, FACILITATE, AND ACT ON PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES. WE EXECUTE DATA-DRIVEN RESEARCH AND SOLICIT A RANGE OF COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT. IN 2021, THE CENTER UNDERTOOK WORK IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS: ENERGY, ENERGY TRANSITION AND CLIMATE: WE WORK TO ENSURE THAT THE HOUSTON REGION LEADS AND THRIVES DURING THE ENERGY TRANSITION. WE ARE HELPING TO CATALYZE NEW MARKETS AND DECARBONIZATION EFFORTS LOCALLY AND ELSEWHERE. IN 2021, WE CONTINUED OUR RESEARCH EFFORTS, LAUNCHED SEVERAL NEW INITIATIVES - INCLUDING ONE FOCUSED ON CLEAN HYDROGEN; AND CONTINUED OUR COMMUNITY AWARENESS EFFORTS. WE RELEASED TWO RESEARCH PAPERS WITH UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, ONE ON CARBON CAPTURE, UTILIZATION AND STORAGE, AND THE OTHER ON CLEAN HYDROGEN. WE BEGAN COLLABORATING WITH THE GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP ON THE HOUSTON ENERGY TRANSITION INITIATIVE, A STRATEGIC REGIONAL BLUEPRINT FOR LEADING THE GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSITION. THIS COLLABORATION INCLUDED HOSTING A THREE-DAY ENERGY CONFERENCE WITH A DAY OF VIRTUAL HYDROGEN PANELS AND BEGINNING WORK ON A CLEAN HYDROGEN PLAN AND COALITION. WE CONVENED MORE THAN 150 STAKEHOLDERS TO WORK TOGETHER TO BUILD A BLUEPRINT FOR H2HOUSTON HUB, A REGIONAL CLEAN HYDROGEN HUB. WE ALSO WORKED ON A NATIONAL DELIBERATIVE POLL WITH STANFORD UNIVERSITY AND CALIFORNIA FORWARD THAT DEMONSTRATED HOW TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE; AND COMPLETED AND RELEASED A MAJOR RESEARCH REPORT FOR STATEWIDE NONPROFIT TEXAS 2036 ON THE IMPACT OF OIL PRICES ON THE STATE'S BUDGET. IMMIGRATION: WE CONTINUED TO GUIDE BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TOWARD A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IMMIGRATION IS INTEGRAL TO THE SUCCESS OF REGION'S ECONOMY AND TO BUILD CONSENSUS AROUND SOLUTIONS. WE PARTNERED AND COLLABORATED WITH A RANGE OF LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ON OUR WORK. WE RELEASED AN UPDATE TO OUR PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC MODELING THAT DETAILED THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF IMMIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION TO THE REGION'S WORKFORCE AND GDP GROWTH. WE HELD THREE MAJOR EVENTS, INCLUDING A POLICY WORKSHOP WITH NATIONAL EXPERTS THAT LED TO A REPORT OF POLICY OPTIONS; A VIRTUAL SUMMIT WITH RICE UNIVERSITY AND THE GEORGE W. BUSH INSTITUTE; AND A WORKSHOP FOR A GROUP OF COMPANY CEOS AND PRESIDENTS. WE ALSO WORKED WITH FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY, RATIONAL MIDDLE, TO PROMOTE FACT-BASED DOCUMENTARY VIDEOS, AND ENGAGED IN MEDIA OUTREACH AND OTHER THOUGHT LEADERSHIP. HEALTH: WITH UT PUBLIC HEALTH AS A CORE PARTNER, WE DEVELOPED A GRANT PROPOSAL FOR A "HEALTH EQUITY INNOVATION CLUSTERBUILT A COALITION OF MORE THAN 30 ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT THE WORK. WE SUBMITTED THE PROPOSAL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOR FUNDING. WE ALSO BEGAN A RESEARCH EFFORT ON THE INTERSECTION OF MATERNAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND HELD A ROUNDTABLE FOCUSED ON CATALYZING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT AND BUSINESS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE.

BUSINESS/CIVIC LEADERSHIP FORUM: EVERYTHING WE DO IS DESIGNED TO SUPPLY LEADERS WITH SOLID DATA, AND TO NURTURE AND DEVELOP THE TALENTS THAT CREATE VISIONARY LEADERS. WITH OUR TWICE-ANNUAL LEADERSHIP FORUMS, WE IMMERSE PROVEN PROBLEM SOLVERS IN THE ISSUES. WE ARM THEM WITH DATA, INTRODUCE THEM TO THE EXPERTS, PROVIDE CONTEXT AND INFORMATION, AND THEN SEND THEM ON "LEARNING JOURNEYS" TO GRAPPLE WITH THE ISSUES AND PROBLEMS FIRST-HAND. WE INSPIRE THESE DIVERSE LEADERS TO BECOME JUST AS PASSIONATE ABOUT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AS THEY ARE ABOUT THEIR BOTTOM LINES. FOR BOTH EMERGING AND PROVEN LEADERS, OUR BUSINESS/CIVIC LEADERSHIP FORUMS DEVELOP A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHALLENGES IN OUR COMMUNITY AND FOSTER A NEW SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FUTURE. IN 2021, WE HELD TWO SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP FORUMS IN A VIRTUAL FORMAT THAT DREW A DIVERSE CLASS OF PARTICIPANTS TO HEAR HIGH-LEVEL SPEAKERS SUCH AS HOUSTON CHIEF OF POLICE TROY FINNER, PRESIDENT OF PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY DR. RUTH SIMMONS, HARRIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER ADRIAN GARCIA, AND ELENA MARKS, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF EPISCOPAL HEALTH FOUNDATION. OUR TWO COHORTS GRADUATED 59 PEOPLE, WITH OUR OVERALL ALUMNI NETWORK HITTING 1,233 BY THE END OF 2021. OUR ENGAGED AND EXPANDED ALUMNI LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE DELIVERED GRADUATE-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING, SUCH AS WEBCASTS PROGRAMMED BY AND FOR GRADUATES. OUR GRADUATE NETWORK CONNECTS TO THE CENTER'S BOARD VIA DESIGNATED BOARD SEATS, AND WE FOLD INTO THE LEADERSHIP FORUM AREAS IN OUR STRATEGIC INITIATIVE PROGRAMS WHEN POSSIBLE.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: THE END GAME IS FINDING AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS. CREATING COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND DIALOGUE IS A KEY TO SUCCESS. WE DO THIS BY HOSTING HIGH-IMPACT, THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP EVENTS AND OTHER TARGETED EVENTS AROUND ISSUES BOTH RELATED TO AND OUTSIDE OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVE TOPIC AREAS. WE ALSO ENGAGE IN THOUGHT LEADERSHIP VIA TRADITIONAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA. IN 2021, CHF WE PRODUCED 7 WEBCASTS WITH NATIONALLY KNOWN SPEAKERS, INCLUDING CLIMATOLOGIST KATHERINE HAYHOE, TUFT UNIVERSITY'S AMY JAFFE, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL'S REBECCA HENDERSON AND HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISES CEO ANTONIO NERI. TOPICS INCLUDED CLIMATE AND ENERGY AS WELL AS GENERAL LEADERSHIP TOPICS. OUR EXECUTIVES OR OUR WORK APPEARED ACROSS VARIOUS MEDIA OUTLETS, LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL, 50 TIMES; AND WE PARTICIPATED IN MORE THAN 25 EVENTS SUCH AS WEBCASTS, PANELS AND CONFERENCES.