Richard McNamara – Houston Parks Board, Director of Capital Projects

Richard is an engaged team player who advocates for the professional growth of his peers and understands the needs of the park system. As Director of Capital Projects, he works closely with the Projects team to oversee and manage Houston's Bayou Greenways and the Beyond the Bayous initiative. Richard brings over 28 years of experience as a Landscape Architect to Houston Parks Board. Raising his family in a neighborhood where parks and trails are plentiful drives his desire to provide safe, accessible, outdoor opportunities for all Houstonians.

Kendric D. Jones was born and raised in the inner city of Houston, Texas and graduated from Lamar High School and Prairie View A&M University where he served as the
Student Body President and current City Council member of Prairie View, Texas.

In his stellar public service career, Kendric has been a staunch advocate to ensure students, middle-class families, and seniors can enjoy the best quality of life. He holds a 
bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Prairie View A&M University. Kendric is now the Youngest County Commissioner in the State of Texas committed to
progress, transparency, and fierce advocacy as Waller County Commissioner for Precinct 3. He believes the role of government is supposed to be of the people, by the
people, for the people therefore him serving his community is not only his responsibility but his call in life.

Carol Ellinger Haddock is Director of Houston Public Works, the largest American Public Works Association accredited agency in the nation.  Carol leads almost 4,000 employees in transforming the culture and operations of the Department, with the purpose: “Together we create a strong foundation for Houston to thrive.” Houston Public Works includes water and wastewater systems, street and storm drainage systems and regulation of both public and private development.  The Department has an annual operating budget of $2.1 billion and an annual capital budget of nearly a billion dollars.

Carol has been at the City for nearly seventeen years and was promoted to Director in 2017.  She has led the organization through a cultural transformation by providing resilience training for all employees. Streamlining operations and equipping employees with new skill sets, has allowed the Department to move forward from Winter Storm Uri, COVID-19, and Hurricane Harvey. Houston Public Works has set records for treatment of drinking water in a day, reduced environmental impacts in both the wastewater and stormwater systems, maintain a next-business-day pothole repair program 99% of the time and supported more than $6 billion in development. Carol worked with City leaders to sign a historic consent decree with the federal government to upgrade Houston’s wastewater system. The Northeast Water Purification Plant expansion is currently the largest progressive design-build project of its kind in the U.S. The goal of the project is to increase surface water usage while reducing the Houston region’s dependence on groundwater.

Through Carol’s leadership, Houston Public Works employees have been empowered to take on additional leadership roles in the Department and throughout the country in professional organizations. When other cities or agencies have complex problems to solve, they often turn to Houston for advice and guidance.

Carol is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas with a Civil Engineering Bachelor’s degree from Rice University and has a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Houston. Prior to joining Houston Public Works, Carol worked in private consulting, for the Harris County Flood Control District, and as a Congressional Fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. She is married to Will Haddock, a Houston bankruptcy attorney.