Rice University’s Kinder Institute appoints Bacon, Chao, Prochazka to advisory board

Three Houston leaders — Tom Bacon of Lionstone Investments, Anne Chao of Rice University and Scott Prochazka of CenterPoint Energy — will begin three-year terms July 1 serving on the advisory board of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

New Kinder Institute advisory board members Tom Bacon, Anne Chao and Scott Prochazka. Photos courtesy of Rice Kinder Institute.

“We are really pleased to have these three local leaders join our group,” said Rich Kinder, chairman of the Kinder board. “Each will bring new energy and perspectives to our discussions and decision-making, and we look forward to their active participation in the life of the Kinder Institute.”

“The appointment of Tom, Anne and Scott comes at an auspicious time as we begin revisions to the institute’s strategic plan,” said Bill Fulton, director of the Kinder Institute. “We feel confident they will have much to add to these discussions.”

Bacon is a founding partner of Lionstone Investments, a leading real estate investment firm. He serves on the firm’s Partner’s Council and Investment Committee and chairs the Partner Relations Committee. As the head of Lionstone Network, he manages relationships with regional operating partners, oversees the selection of new partners and analyzes and tracks market trends. Bacon is responsible for fostering relationships and alliances with global experts and thought leaders and organizes Lionstone’s Leadership Roundtable events.

As chairman of the Houston Parks Board, Bacon led the creation of Bayou Greenways 2020 — a public-private partnership responsible for creating 3,000 acres of linear parks and 150 miles of off-road trails, connecting neighborhoods, parks, employment centers and schools throughout the city of Houston — a transformational event for Houston. He was recently honored at the 2017 Kinder Institute luncheon with the inaugural Stephen L. Klineberg Award for his work in Houston.

Bacon is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Architecture and has an MBA from Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and serves on the board of Texas Children’s Hospital.

Chao received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Rice’s Department of History. She has taught courses and mentored students in the Program in Poverty, Justice and Human Capabilities and in the Department of History. Currently she is an adjunct lecturer for Rice’s School of Humanities and program manager of the Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA), which focuses on the immigration experience of Asian-Americans to Houston.

Chao is a member of several advisory boards at Rice: the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, the Chao Center for Asian Studies and the Shepherd School of Music. She is a member of the patron group of Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts.

Prochazka is president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy, a recognized leader in delivering natural gas and electricity within the continental United States. CenterPoint Energy is a Fortune 500 company with over $20 billion in assets and 5.5 million customers across six states. The company owns the majority of Enable Midstream Partners. Prochazka has been with CenterPoint Energy since October 2001. He previously worked for Dow Chemical, where he held roles in sales, purchasing, product management, asset management, supply chain management, strategy development and new business development.

Prochazka is a past chairman of the Southeastern Electric Exchange as well as of the Texas Gas Association. He is a former board member of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Prochazka is active today as chairman of Gridwise Alliance and an executive committee board member of Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership and Central Houston Inc. He is a board member of the United Way of Houston, Edison Electric Institute, Electric Power Research Institute and the American Gas Association.

Bacon, Chao, and Prochazka will join current board members Nancy and Richard Kinder, the institute’s namesake; Eric Anyah, chief financial officer of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Ann Barnes, chief medical officer of Legacy Community Health; Hasty Johnson, vice president of Hines; George Levan, chairman and chief executive officer of the Levan Group; Allen Matusow, academic affairs director for Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the William Gaines Twyman Professor Emeritus of History; John Mingé, chairman and president of BP America Inc.; Armando Perez, senior vice president of HEB; and Y. Ping Sun, of counsel at YetterColeman LLP and university representative for Rice.

Emeriti board members include Algenita Scott Davis, government and community affairs officer at Central Houston; Bob Eury, president of Central Houston; Hermann Stude, president emeritus of The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Steve Kean, president and chief executive officer of Kinder Morgan; and Pat Oxford, chairman and former managing partner of Bracewell LLP. All remain active participants in board meetings and institute activities.

For more information on the Kinder Institute, visit http://kinder.rice.edu/.