Super Bowl Blast!
Want to party with Michael Phelps, James Brolin and Common? Here’s your VIP ticket inside one of Super Bowl 51’s best bashes, the CityBook-sponsored Big Game Big Give blowout!
Feb. 6, 2017
Describe the mission of Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana grants life-changing wishes for local children battling critical illnesses, serving 47 counties in Texas (from Lufkin to Corpus Christi) and the entire state of Louisiana. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey.
How do you view your role in Make-A-Wish? I truly believe I have the greatest job in the entire world! Every day, I see the strength and bravery of the wish kids we serve and the power their wishes have to transform not only their own lives, but those of entire communities. I work with the most hard-working and dedicated staff imaginable. It’s my responsibility to ensure that they have the foundational support to effectively do their jobs and fulfill our mission at a level of excellence. I’m here to work alongside our team and Board of Directors to guide our organization daily and propel our future with limitless possibilities.
What’s unique about your approach? We are building a team based on a sincere belief in having the best and most capable staff executing our mission and serving our wish families. A key component of fulfilling this vision each day is empowerment of my team to embody a service-focused culture of achievement. My motto is, “We always find a way to make a wish happen!” We’re here for the sole purpose of making magic happen for our wish kids — it’s that simple!
What factors motivated you to choose a career in non-profit leadership? Growing up, I was fortunate to have role models who constantly showed me what true community stewardship looks like. Studying Journalism at Mizzou, I felt a strong desire to bring stories to life. Then, I saw the need for people to actively contribute to making their community stronger. It is an ongoing, rewarding and humbling journey to work with a team who shares that mindset and to bring hope to those that need it.
What are the key lessons you’ve learned? By far, the most important lesson is that we must be 100 percent kid-focused with every decision we make. There is no higher priority than our wish kids. We must act with honesty, integrity and compassion. The commitment to serve is one not to be made lightly, and we hold ourselves to standards higher than those set by anyone outside Make-A-Wish.
What’s most exciting about the future of Make-A-Wish? This summer we will grant the 10,000th wish to a local kid since our organization’s inception in 1984. This represents a very special and key milestone as Make-A-Wish is building toward our impact goal to double the number of local wishes granted annually by 2025. Get involved at http://wish.org/texgulf
POETRY CONTINUES TO be one of Houston’s most celebrated cultural exports, especially when it is brought to life onstage, with considerable theatrical flair, by the city’s premier youth poetry team, Meta4 Houston.
Established in 2007 by Shannon Buggs and Sixto Wagan, and later adopted in 2012 by Writers in the Schools, the Meta4 Houston Youth Writing Fellowship nurtures poets aged 13-19, helping them develop their writerly skills and a fearless style of “performance poetry” designed to wow audiences in large venues. (The 1970s-era poetry collective The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron, and Nikki Giovanni set the precedent for this style of poetry, which is both highly musical and intensely political in its delivery and content.)
Each year, the fellowship welcomes a new team of poets from across Houston to represent as Meta4 Houston and travel across the country to compete against other talented teams in poetry “slams.” Last year, Meta4 won the national championship in the prestigious Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival. It was the first-time first-place win for the team and, amazingly, on July 20, 2024, Meta4 won first place at the Brave New Voices slam for the second consecutive year.
This year’s Meta4 poets — Bela Kalra, Amaya Newsome, Cristina Perez-Ruiz, Mya Skelton, and returning fellows Samiyah Green and Adriana Winkelmayer — spent months preparing for the competition, guided by Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus, Emmanuel “Outspoken” Bean, and co-coach and Meta4 alumni, Alinda "Adam" Mac. Onstage at the historic Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., the members of Meta4 delivered poems addressing such hot-button topics as Texas climate change, gun violence, and fast fashion.
In a statement, WITS executive director Giuseppe Taurino expressed his joy at Meta4’s victory: “These powerful young artists have been hard at work honing their craft for months and are deserving of this great win. Their dedication to exploring, investigating, and genuinely interacting with the world around them is inspiring.”
On Sept. 28, at the WITS house located near the Menil Collection, leaders in the arts, current Meta4 members and alumni, and program supporters will gather to celebrate the second first-place Brave New Voices win, as the MetaForward campaign prepares the program for the 2025 team.
IN-DEMAND MODEL Valen Custer and her Brazilian fiancé Vitor Villar match the summer heat, in a racy romp highlighting swimwear, lingerie and a smart little preview of fall.
Romper, boots and necklace, all by Gucci
Suit, by Giorgio Armani
Bralette, skirt and belt, all by Michael Kors. On him: Pants, price upon request, by Lucho
Dress, by Chanel
Dress, by Chanel
On him: Briefs, $27, by Calvin Klein. On her: Bra, $540, underwear, $220, and stockings, $125, all by Murmur at Top Drawer Lingerie.
Suit and gloves, by Gucci
Corset, $570, and thong, $180, by I.D. Sarrieri at Top Drawer Lingerie; with trench coat, $1,550, by Burberry at Neiman Marcus
Photos by Steven Visneau
Styling by Todd Ramos
Art direction by Patrick Magee
Hair and makeup by Edward Sanchez
Photographed on location at Hotel Zaza, Museum District