Lisa Gagnon, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Executive Director of Marketing, PR and Presentations
Lisa Gagnon is the executive director of marketing, PR and presentations for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In her position, she oversees all marketing efforts for the Show, including advertising, public relations, communications, and broadcast and audio-visual components.
Prior to her role at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Gagnon was vice president of marketing at the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee, overseeing all brand and marketing activities for the Host Committee, including Super Bowl LIVE, the ten-day fan festival.
She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in business administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She and her husband live in Houston with their 8-year-old daughter.
Sarah Gibson, Houston Rockets, Senior Director of Suite Activation and Development
Sarah Gibson is a strategic thinker and trusted advisor. A revenue generator and brand ambassador. She is focused on organic growth and partners with CEOs, executives, and solopreneurs to increase their bottom line and strengthen connections with their clients, customers, and peers. For over a decade, Sarah has fostered relationships with some of Houston’s most invested, high-profile business leaders – directly translating those relationships into strategic partnerships that deliver a significant ROI.
Sarah knows what truly drives the suite partnership experience – and it’s not what’s happening on the court. It’s how well you connect with your clients. How you embrace and highlight each of them. It must be done in a way that is genuine, sincere, and thoughtful. Game wins come and go but strong relationships will always outperform the odds. Sarah has built her career on creating best-in-class creative thinking and performance techniques. She provides coaching, training and development for staff while advancing the business needs of the Rockets front office.
Sarah holds a BA in political science from the University of Texas. So the obvious next step for her was a career in basketball! She resides in Houston with her advertising husband, Andrew, and 18 month old daughter, Fiona.
Valerie Holland, Houston Dynamo, Senior Manager of Community Relations and Corporate Communications
Valerie Holland began her career at Kroenke Sports and Entertainment as an intern in the Community Relations department before moving to Inside Sales for the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. Her hard work led to a position as a Season Ticket Representative for both teams, serving more than four years including through the NBA and NHL’s most recent lockouts. In 2012, Holland was offered the chance to rejoin the Community Relations and Kroenke Sports Charity Department, where she spent the next two years running the community programs for the Colorado Rapids and Colorado Avalanche, and assisting with fundraising events for all four teams owned by Stanley Kroenke.
In 2014, Holland moved to Texas to be the Premium Service Coordinator for the Houston Dynamo and BBVA Compass Stadium. She managed the Premium department for two years before transitioning to her current role as Senior Manager of Community Relations and Corporate Communications.
Holland was born and raised in Colorado, where she received her undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and her MBA from the University of Colorado. She now happily resides in Houston.
Nina Jackson, SMG-NRG Park, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
As SMG-NRG Park’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Nina Jackson is responsible for all collateral materials, website development and maintenance, media relations, social media, facility advertising as well as event advertising and marketing.
After assisting in securing the management contract for the then Astrodomain Complex, Jackson joined the staff at NRG Park in 2000 as Marketing Manager moving on to be Senior Marketing and Public Relations Manager landing as Director. As Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Jackson has assisted in securing some of the biggest sporting events in the country including the Big 12 Conference Football Championship (2002 and 2005), Super Bowl (XXXVIII and LI), NCAA Division I Men’s Regional Basketball Tournament (2008, 2010 and 2015), and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four Tournament (2011 and 2016).
Ms. Jackson, a native Houstonian, began her career in public assembly facility management in 1986 when she became accounting manager for Houston’s premier venue, The Summit (aka Compaq Center). This position led her to the corporate office as corporate controller and then as director of business development. In this role, Jackson was responsible for developing and coordinating the MBE/WBE programs at various new and existing facilities as well as working to secure private management contracts for new and/or existing facilities that were being municipally managed.
During her tenure in public assembly facility management at the corporate level, Jackson had the opportunity to assist with the “Grand Openings” of numerous facilities, represent the company at numerous trade shows including National League of Cities, National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners, Congressional Black Caucus and participated as a panel member and VIP at M.U.S.T. (Mayor’s Urban Symposium & Tournament). She also had the opportunity to interact with political leaders at the highest levels and worked on Houston’s Super Bowl Host Committee. Jackson’s professionalism, people skills and high energy level have been important assets throughout her career and she uses her industry experience and financial background to capitalize on opportunities and solve problems in her current capacity.
In addition to her responsibilities at NRG Park, Jackson is also one of four Regional Directors of Marketing and Public Relations for SMG’s corporate office. Her zone is comprised of approximately 20 venues that she provides marketing leadership and assistance to.
Jackson received a BBA in Accounting from Sam Houston State University. A “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Unversities,” Jackson graduated with honors including National Dean’s List and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Jackson is currently Vice Chair and Finance Committee Chairman for the Board of Directors for the St. Paul Industrial School, serves on the Board of WISE (Women in Sports and Entertainment) Houston, is part of the Health Adventures mentorship program through M.D. Anderson hospital and has previously served on the Board and Scholarship Committee for the Barbara Jean Hoffman Memorial Foundation.
Kate Klein, Houston Marathon Committee Inc., Director of Business Development and Marketing
Kate Klein was named Director of Business Development and Marketing for the Houston Marathon Committee in June 2016. She leads the business and community development department and is responsible for managing all sponsorships, branding, and experiential marketing for the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and We Are Houston 5K. Klein joined the HMC following her tenure at Kapow Events, where she led the launch of the Houston and Austin offices, including generating sales growth and marketing strategy for the corporate events platform. Prior to that start-up endeavor, she developed solution-based marketing programs across broadcast, event, print and digital assets at CBS Radio and The Houston Business Journal.
Klein has previously served as a volunteer Board of Director and Marketing Committee Chair for the Queensbury Theatre and Vice President of the Houston Interactive Marketing Association, an organization that helps Houston businesses grow through interactive strategies. Klein received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Texas A&M University and teaches Sales Negotiation and Communication at the University of Houston-Downtown College of Business.
Chanda Lawdermilk, Houston Astros, Senior Manager of Human Resources
Chanda Lawdermilk has enjoyed a long history with the Houston Astros organization, starting as a tours intern in 2000. Lawdermilk was hired full-time as the Recruiting Coordinator in June of 2007 and has risen through the ranks to become Senior Manager of Human Resources. In her role, Lawdermilk manages employee engagement efforts, the Performance Management process and minor league player benefits. She also serves as the primary point of contact for all HR matters to specific departments within the Astros, including Stadium Operations, Corporate Partnership, Special Events and Baseball Operations.
Prior to joining the Astros, Lawdermilk worked for a private recruiting firm that provided contract and direct hire recruiting services for the oil and gas industry. There, she was involved in full-cycle recruiting efforts, sourcing and filling long-term contract positions and administering payroll functions for the staffing arm of the company.
Lawdermilk is a founding member of the Women’s Professional Leadership Group for the Astros. She currently serves as a guiding member of the Women’s Task Force working to elevate the rising female leaders in the organization.
She received her bachelors from Texas A&M University and resides in Houston with her amazing husband, Jeff.
Patti Smith, Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, Public Relations Director
Patti Smith has been a staple in the Houston Sports Market since 1995. After spending more than 20 years with Fox Sports Southwest, where she has won multiple Emmy Awards as both a producer and a broadcaster, she joined the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority as Public Relations Director in 2016. Patti is also one of the announcers for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and is overseeing the Sports Authority’s new Houston Sports Awards scheduled for February of 2018.
Suzie Thomas, Houston Texans, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer
Suzie Thomas joined the Houston Texans and the McNair Group in March 2000. She oversees the legal function for the Houston Texans and the human resources and business administration functions for both groups.
October 1998 until March 2000 she served as General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources of Corporate Brand Foods America, Inc, a meat processing business that was subsequently purchased by Tyson Foods. From January 1982 until June 1998, she was Weatherford International, a publicly-held international energy service and manufacturing company, the last 12 years as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. She started her legal career as an associate attorney at Baker Botts L.L.P. in Houston.
She earned her law degree from the University of Houston’s Bates College of Law and her undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and has served on the Board of Directors of Child Advocates, Inc. since 2001.