Thought Leadership / News
November 6, 2017 
 Press Releases
Gray Reed & McGraw‘s Sofia Adrogué Chairs Houston Youth Leadership Forum with Hon. Sylvester Turner & Astros Pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr. as Speakers  

Gray Reed & McGraw Senior Counsel Sofia Adrogué and Caroline Baker (295th Judicial Court, Harris County), co-founders and co-chairs, present the Youth Leadership Forum for Houston’s youth at Rice University from 9am to 3pm on Nov. 8, 2017. The motto is "Engage, Educate & Empower—By Service We Lead."

Once again, this year’s Youth Leadership Forum allows students to interact with elected officials, business professionals and community leaders to discuss leadership, success and life. Notable participants this year include: Hon. Sylvester Turner; First Daughter Ashley Turner; Houston Astros Pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr.; Senator Sylvia R. Garcia; Retired Brigadier General Tom Kolditz; Marlen Esparza; Jonathan “Baby Jay” Gutierrez; and Deborah “D.E.E.P.” Mouton.

Thanks to the continued generosity of Rice University, with Y. Ping Sun, Rice University representative, as a member of the Planning Committee, the event for high school students draws a maximum capacity group of 300 aspiring leaders from a cross-section of Houston schools including Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston; Chinquapin College Preparatory School;  AAMA’s George I. Sanchez Charter High School;  and Young Women's College Preparatory Academy. Past participants include students from CCISD schools, other HISD schools, St. John’s, and the Kinkaid School, among others.

The Leadership Forum offers area youth a critical opportunity to gain a litany of valuable lessons, including (i) insight from emerging and established leaders in our community; (ii) knowledge about our local and national government; (iii) an understanding of how community organizations are shaping futures; and (iv) the realization that with education and hard work, they can accomplish their dreams.

“I am honored to have co-founded this event more than 10 years ago," Adrogué states. "We are elated and most appreciative of these formidable participants as they epitomize leadership with a moral compass. They provide unique insights from their many years in the arena of public service.”

"Sofia Adrogué and I envisioned this forum as a unique opportunity for students to learn about civics and about how they can become servant leaders in their schools and communities even at a young age," Baker notes.

About Gray Reed & McGraw

Founded in 1985, Gray Reed & McGraw is a full-service, Texas based law firm with more than 130 lawyers practicing in Dallas and Houston. Gray Reed & McGraw offers a wide range of legal services including business litigation, corporate transactions, oil & gas, tax planning and litigation, real estate, healthcare, trusts and estates, labor and employment law, family law, intellectual property and bankruptcy. For more information, go to www.grayreed.com.