AUSTIN The Texas Lyceum will install Reda M. Hicks as President and also swear in 16 new Directors Thursday in the Texas Capitol.
The Texas Lyceum is a nonpartisan, nonprofit leadership organization that helps identify future leaders from across Texas and provides a forum for a civil discussion of challenges facing the state. The investitures of Hicks and the new Directors will kick off the Lyceum’s annual Public
Conference, which will be held Thursday through Saturday and focus on “a Lyceum Look at Elections.”
Hicks, of Houston, is the Principal at Nexus Consulting, where she provides legal, governance, and operational insights to for-profits and nonprofits as they work through organizational challenges and build new programs. She is also CEO of technology company GotSpot, Inc.
Hicks was born and raised in Odessa but has grown up professionally and civically in Houston.
She is a tireless advocate for military families in Texas and around the country, and will be the first military spouse to serve as President of the Texas Lyceum. Hicks will be sworn in as President of the Texas Lyceum by Chief Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court.
“I am honored to lead the Texas Lyceum as we work to foster thoughtful, civil dialogue across our diverse state,” Hicks said. “I am grateful for the support of my fellow Directors and I am eager to welcome our new Directors as we begin this year’s Public Conference. Civil,
constructive discussion of the issues facing Texans is incredibly important and I am proud to be part of an organization that fosters these kinds of conversations and provides a forum for a diverse population of Texans to grow as leaders.”
Outgoing president Sarah Jackson, Vice President of Strategy and Public Affairs at the Dallas Citizens Council, will move into the role of Chair of the Lyceum’s Board of Directors. Molly Quirk, Principal for State and Local Government at Ardurra, will serve as President-Elect and lead the organization in 2024.
Also on Thursday, 16 new Directors will be sworn in to help lead the Texas Lyceum in the upcoming year. Over the course of the next year, Lyceum Directors will gather for conferences focused on Texas women, preparing for hypergrowth, arts & culture in the modern West, and the state of military families in Texas.
“We have a great group of incoming Directors and they are going to make an immediate contribution to our conversations and our programming,” Hicks said. “These are some really important conversations about Texas and its future.”
The “Lyceum Look at Elections” Thursday through Saturday is the only Lyceum conference of the year that will be open to members of the public. Panels will discuss the state’s changing demographics, the process of drawing election maps, the role of the media and the role of the judiciary in elections, among other topics. Also at the Public Conference, the organization will release results from its latest statewide poll.
In addition to hosting conferences and publishing its poll, the Texas Lyceum partners with higher education institutions to offer a statewide fellowship program that promotes research-driven solutions at the highest levels of state government. For more than 40 years, The Texas Lyceum has focused on bringing together diverse opinions and expertise to emphasize constructive private-sector, public-sector and individual responses to the issues facing the state and the nation. For more information, please visit www.texaslyceum.org.
The Texas Lyceum Class of 2023 are: Matt Barr, Houston, Vice President, State Government Affairs & Community Relations, Cheniere Energy; Kathleen Burrell, Lubbock, Prather Ranch, Owner/Ranch Operator; Sewell Chan, Austin, Editor in Chief, Texas Tribune; Casey Christman, Kingwood, Executive Director, Houston Contractors Association; Elizabeth Fazio Hale, Texarkana, General Manager/CEO, Gulf Coast Authority; Marina Gavito, San Antonio, Executive Director, SA Digital Connects; Bryce Kennard, Houston, External Affairs Manager, Comcast NBCUniversal; Nicole Kintop Smith, Dallas, Managing Attorney, Kintop Smith, PC; Regina Merson, Dallas, Founder & CEO, Reina Cosmeticos LLC; Marina Monsisvais, El Paso, CEO, Barracuda Public Relations; Javier Paredes, San Antonio, Associate, Alta Architects; Danielle Rugoff, Dallas, Senior Director of Movement Programs, Starts With Us; David Parker, Fort Worth, Managing Director, North Texas, Longbow Partners; The Hon. Leah Robertson, Midland, Judge, 385th District Court; Jared Scruggs, Tomball, Director of External Affairs, Fertitta Entertainment; and Shan Zaidi, Dallas, Principal, VF Partners.
