For Immediate Release

Contact:
Maggie Martin, Director, Marketing and Communications
O: 346-471-3428
maggiem@hba.org

Linda Hester Becomes 2024 Chair of Houston Bar Foundation

Hester brings decades of experience advocating for pro bono service

(HOUSTON – MARCH 7) – Linda Hester became the 2024 Chair of the Houston Bar Foundation at the Foundation’s Annual Luncheon on March 7 in downtown Houston. Hester succeeds Monica Karuturi of CenterPoint Energy.

Under Karuturi’s leadership as Chair, the Foundation accomplished several access to justice initiatives, including the launch of a new $50,000 annual grant program. The first of these grants was a $30,000 grant for the purchase of one of several lactation pods to be installed in the Harris County Court Complex. The Foundation also received a watershed gift of $500,000 from CenterPoint Energy to assist self-represented litigants in Harris County, and the 74th Annual Harvest Celebration in November raised a record-breaking amount of almost $1.1 million for Houston Volunteers Lawyers.

“It is my honor and privilege to succeed Monica Karuturi as Chair of the Houston Bar Foundation,” said Hester. “We have so many accomplishments to celebrate over the past year as we are working even harder to broaden and deepen the impact our legal community can make to improve the lives of our fellow Houstonians. I want to thank Monica for her dedication, service, and stewardship of the Foundation, and I look forward to working with our 2024 Board of Directors to champion access to justice in the greater Houston area.”

Hester joined the HBF Board in 2022.She retired in 2022 after 30 years of practicing law in Houston - first at firms, and then in the legal departments of ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66. Throughout her career, Hester has been an advocate for pro bono service, representing clients through Houston Volunteer Lawyers and the Tahirih Justice Center.  She received a Certificate with Distinction in Nonprofit Leadership from Rice University in 2021.

The Foundation’s board includes Alistair Dawson of Beck Redden LLP and Sejal Brahmbhatt of Williams Hart & Boundas, LLP as Vice Chairs; Richard Whiteley of Bracewell LLP as Treasurer; incoming 2024-2026 directors Benny Agosto, Jr. of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner; Jennifer A. Hasley of Hasley Scarano, L.L.P.; Stephanie Noble, Vinson & Elkins LLP; and Krisina Zuñiga, Susman Godfrey L.L.P.

The 2023-2025 directors who will continue to serve their two-year term are Sara Keith of Shell USA, Inc.; Holly Chastain Nini of CITGO Petroleum Corp.; Andrew Gratz of LyondellBasell; and Christopher D. Northcutt of Chevron Corporation.

Monica Karuturi will serve on the board as Immediate Past Chair. HBA President Diana Gomez of Chamberlain Hrdlicka will serve as Ex Officio, as will HBA Executive Director and Secretary of the HBF Board Mindy Davidson.

HBA Past President and Bracewell LLP Partner Warren W. Harris presented the James B. Sales Pro Bono Leadership Award to Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, who delivered the keynote address (left). 

The Foundation also recognized recipients of the Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards, as well as winners of awards from the Harris County Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) and in recognition of an Outstanding Legal Article for The Houston Lawyer. The recipients are:

Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Awards

Corporate Law Department - Shell USA, Inc.

Large Law Firm - Bracewell LLP

Mid-Size Law Firm - Winston & Strawn LLP

Small Firm - Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP

Individual - Jeremy Northum

DRC Awards

Ernest Martin - Longevity of Exemplary Service to the Dispute Resolution Center

Heather Davis - Outstanding Contribution to the Dispute Resolution Center

Outstanding Legal Article in The Houston Lawyer

Nikki Morris, author of “"Becoming a New Mom is Hard-But Law Firms Don't Have to Make It Harder" from the November/December 2022 issue of The Houston Lawyer

Additional information about these awards and the Houston Bar Foundation can be found here.

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The Houston Bar Foundation was established in 1982 as the charitable arm of the Houston Bar Association. Since that time, the Foundation has supported programs that help provide legal representation to the indigent, promote community understanding of our legal system and foster the administration of justice. Through the generosity of its contributors, and significantly its Fellows, Life Fellows and Sustaining Life Fellows, the Foundation has been able to make a difference in the greater Houston community.

The 2023-2024 HBF Board of Directors (L to R) Christian A. Garza, Sejal Brahmbhatt, Andrew Gratz, Hillary H. Holmes, Quentin L. Smith, Monica Karuturi, Alistair Dawson, Mindy Davidson, Sara Keith, Krisina Zuñiga, Richard Whiteley, and Linda Hester (not pictured: Holly Chastain Nini, Christopher D. Northcutt, and Christopher V. Popov).

The 2024-2025 HBF Board of Directors (L to R) Jennifer A. Hasley, Stephanie Noble, Sejal Brahmbhatt, Andrew Gratz, Monica Karuturi, Alistair Dawson, Krisina Zuñiga, Sara Keith, Linda Hester, Richard Whiteley, and Benny Agosto, Jr. (not pictured: Holly Chastain Nini, Diana Gomez, and Christopher D. Northcutt).