IN THE SEVENTH annual portfolio, meet luminaries from all walks of life who have helped make Houston — and beyond — a better place. Presented by Valobra Master Jewelers
Arts
Michelle Barnes photographed at Community Artists’ Collective
Legend Michelle Barnes
As co-founder and executive director of the Community Artists’ Collective, a non-profit committed to empowering African-American artists and facilitating collaboration among diverse communities across Houston, Michelle Barnes is one of the city’s strongest advocates for the fundamental value of art in everyday life. “We are born as creative beings,” says Barnes, a gifted sculptor, who also teaches art to children at community centers. “We should look for opportunities to use that creativity to think and to evolve.” This year, Barnes is receiving some long-overdue recognition for her work: The Collective recently celebrated its 37th year with a Hobby Center gala, and Art League Houston has honored Barnes with its 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts Leadership.
ShaWanna Renee RIvon photographed at the Alley
Leader ShaWanna Renee Rivon
From period drama to musical comedy, is there a theatrical genre Houston playwright, director and activist ShaWanna Renee Rivon, 46, has yet to master? Rivon’s historically astute work, often set in her hometown of Houston, unpacks the legacies of racism, sexism, and gender disparity while pushing the idioms of Black storytelling into the future. Her work as a community organizer includes August in the Park, an annual day-long celebration of playwright August Wilson at Emancipation Park in Third Ward. Coming up in February, Rivon’s musical Emancipation runs at the Hobby Center; and in development: A play about Houston’s “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax,” Arnett Cobb.
Restaurateuring
Sylvia Casares, photographed at her Woodway restaurant
Legend Sylvia Casares
Glam and personable, Sylvia Casares undeniably carries herself like royalty. She is Houston’s Enchilada Queen, after all: She makes them, plates them, teaches people how to cook them, wrote a book on them, and this year toasted 25 years of her brand Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, which has restaurants in the Energy Corridor and on Woodway. Most recently, the Brownsville-born food-scientist-turned-chef rolled out jars of salsas and chili-gravies for home cooks. She calls sauces the “heart and soul of Rio Grande cuisine,” and proudly, deliciously imparts that spirit and knowledge on anyone who would like a taste.
Itai Ben Eli, photographed at his new Októ in Montrose
Leader Itai Ben Eli
He’s been on the Houston restaurant scene for less than 10 years. But Itai Ben Eli’s concepts have already cemented their spots in the city’s food-culture aristocracy. Under the umbrella of Sof Hospitality, Doris Metropolitan, Hamsa and Badolina Bakery deliver the rich flavors of Israeli cuisine to Houston foodies and discerning critics alike; Ben Eli was nominated for a 2024 James Beard Award in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. His new Októ in Montrose Collective is a moody, energetic, nightlife-savvy spot with a more broadly Mediterranean menu boasting a Denver cut that melts in your mouth. Outstanding, indeed.
Education
Legend David Leebron
David Leebron expanded Rice University’s facilities (to the tune of $1.8 billion), enrollment (by 85 percent), affordability and research initiatives during his 18-year presidency, from which he resigned in 2022. He engaged with policy makers and community members on a wide range of matters — including during long walks across campus with his wife, Ping — and ushered in an era of innovation with Midtown’s Ion building. Today, Leebron, who’s still a Rice prof, advocates for those values and priorities on a state level, helming the nonpartisan policy org Texas 2036, named for the Lone Star’s bicentennial year.
Renu Khator photographed at The Wortham House in the Museum District
Leader Renu Khator
There’s no denying that the University of Houston has skyrocketed in rankings and reputation during Renu Khator’s tenure, which began in 2008. By 2011, the Indian-born Chancellor had secured UH’s status as a Tier-One research university, and in 2017, plans for the UH Medical School were announced. Graduation rates have dramatically improved, and the campus has undergone a $1 billion transformation — including new football and basketball facilities. Last year, Khator’s hard-fought goal of joining a Power Five conference was realized when UH became a member of the Big 12. What’s next? Khator is determined to break the top-50 public universities list; U.S. News currently ranks UH No. 74.
Sustainability
Bobby Tudor photographed at his home in the Museum District
Legend Bobby Tudor
He’s well known in philanthropy circles; he and his wife Phoebe donate to and chair events for all of the preeminent causes. The accomplished businessman, a former investment banker, is currently CEO of Artemis Energy Partners. But one of his most influential roles these days may come as a surprise to some: As chairman of the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, Bobby Tudor is the voice of the city’s economic future, which depends largely upon its ability to evolve with the transition away from oil and gas. This consortium of energy leaders, with Tudor at the helm, is confident that the city’s continued innovation — in carbon-capture and clean hydrogen technologies, for example — is ushering in global solutions for an “energy-abundant, low carbon future.”
Raz Halili photographed on Galveston Bay
Leader Raz Halili
Growing up on the docks of his family’s fish farms in San Leon, Texas, Raz Halili helped his Albanian immigrant father harvest oysters in the winters and shrimp in the summers, captaining his own boat at age 16. Today, Prestige Oysters is one of the most in-demand seafood wholesalers in the country, and Halili has become a steward of sustainability in the industry. He led Prestige through the arduous three-year process to become the only certified-sustainable fishery in North America, per the Marine Stewardship Council. He uses his James Beard-recognized Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House restaurant in San Leon to educate patrons about these efforts — recycling shells, enriching reefs — and serves on boards of many Gulf fishing organizations.
Philanthropy
Gracie Cavnar, photographed in the garden of her friend Cynthia Petrello’s home
Legend Gracie Cavnar
It’s been 20 years Gracie Cavnar and her husband Bob founded Recipe for Success, the nonprofit that combats childhood obesity and teaches kids about healthy eating through in-school curricula and other programs. She has touched the lives of at least 50,000 kids in Houston and nationwide, with stats showing that students exposed to Recipe’s fun coursework emerge eating 30 percent more veggies. The mission blossomed — literally — a few years back with the opening of Hope Farms, a seven-acre garden of fresh, affordable produce in a food desert near Downtown. If teaching and nourishing kids wasn’t enough, Hope Farms has a dual mission to employ and train military vets in agribusiness.
Franco Valobra photographed at Valobra Master Jewelers on Westheimer
Leader Franco Valobra
It’s an understatement to say that Hurricane Katrina had a silver lining; more like a 24-karat-gold-with-diamonds lining. The storm brought displaced fourth-generation Italian jeweler Franco Valobra from New Orleans to Houston. Since then, he’s not only built a thriving business with posh shops in both cities, but also a reputation for giving back hither and yon. It’s hard to find a gala chair with almost any charity in H-Town — from firemen in search of better equipment to sick kids needing hope and compassion — to whose auction Valobra Master Jewelers hasn’t donated beautiful baubles. Oh, and he also puts the petal to the precious metal! He’s one of the world’s foremost Ferrari enthusiasts.