Jim Rice, Education Division - As President of Rice & Gardner Consultants, Inc., Jim Rice is responsible for overall firm management, project management, building commissioning and business development. Rice & Gardner Consultants, Inc. is a full service mechanical/electrical engineering firm. Jim is a co-founder of Fort Bend Cares, a local charity that seeks to serve citizens of Ft. Bend County. He is a graduate of the Fort Bend Leadership Forum Class of 2005 and served as the District Chairman of the Sam Houston Area Council’s -Tomahawk District – Boy Scouts of America from 2001 - 2005. Jim studied business administration at the University of Houston.

Dee Koch, Community Resources Division - Dee Koch is the Grants Officer for The George Foundation, a private charitable foundation serving Fort Bend County. Dee is involved with many area not-for-profits organizations and recently received the Rotary Club Award as Humanitarian of the Year. She has been involved with the Fort Bend Chamber for many years, serving on the Board of Directors, as Division Vice Chairs, and is a graduate of the first Fort Bend Leadership Forum Class of 1988. She has received the Chamber’s Chairman Award for Service and the Vicki Hamilton Award for Community Involvement.

Don Smithers, Governmental Relations Division - Don Smithers has been associated with Cobb, Fendley & Associates since 1994. He has served on the Sugar Land City Council 1997-2003 and was elected to a second term in May 2009. He is a Life Member of the Fort Bend County Fair Association and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, he is a Board Member for the Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation, Past President of the Rosenberg Rotary Club and is a Leadership Forum Class of 1999 graduate.

Harish Jajoo, Infrastructure Division - Harish Jajoo, P.E., a resident of Sugar Land since 1985, is employed by City of Houston in their Public Works and Engineering Department. He has over 27 years of experience in the planning, design, construction and project management of Public Works Infrastructure projects. A registered professional engineer in the State of Texas since 1987, he graduated from the University of Windsor, Canada in 1980 with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and has taken graduate level courses at University of Houston. Harish belongs to several professional and community organizations - Houston Engineering and Scientific Society, Sugar Land Exchange Club- Secretary, Indo American Forum of Ford Bend- Treasurer, Graduate of Fort Bend Leadership Forum- 2008.

Glenn Smith, Business & Professional Division - Glenn Smith is the owner and CEO of The Growth Coach® in Houston, TX, a business designed to help executives and business owners improve their business and their life. Glenn grew up working in his family’s business and has been a successful business owner himself. With over 25 years of experience in business and organizational leadership he understands the challenges business owners face. For more than 10 years he has been coaching business and organizational leaders, and has worked both nationally and internationally. He has taught courses on leadership and organizational development in several graduate schools. Glenn is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he holds an M.A. in Global Leadership, and is a 2008 graduate of the Fort Bend Leadership Forum.

Toni Nelson, Programs & Special Events Division - Toni Nelson is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors and was 2005 Chair of the Houston Association of Realtors. Toni received a B.B.A in marketing from the University of Houston and became a practicing Realtor in 1982. Holding five professional real estate designations, Toni has been extremely active in the real estate industry and community. In 1987, she was named Realtor of the Year for the now merged, Fort Bend Association of Realtors and also served as their president in 1988. She is a past Chairman for the Chamber board and currently serves as an NAR Director, Regional Vice-President of the Texas Association of Realtors®, and as Immediate Past Chair of the Houston Association of Realtors®.

Matt Fielder, Economic Development Division - Matthew Fielder assumed the position of Economic Development Director for the City of Rosenberg in October 2007. He came to Rosenberg with nine years of municipal government service, six of those in Sugar Land’s economic development department focusing on business recruitment, business retention, and marketing; and three years in the city manager’s office. Matt was deployed with the U. S. Army Reserve to Iraq from April 2003 to April 2004. He also holds a BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin and Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Trey Reichert, Fort Bend Leadership Forum - Before becoming the Development Manager for the 3,700 acre Riverstone Community in Fort Bend County, Trey Reichert worked at Jones & Carter, Inc. for seven years serving as Project Manager and District Engineer for various Houston-area municipal utility districts. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Civil Engineering, and he currently serves the board of the Fort Bend Literacy Council as well as the Fort Bend County MUD No. 123. Reichert is also a 2007 graduate of the Fort Bend Leadership Forum.

Ray Aguilar, Fort Bend Leadership Forum - Ray Aguilar is the Executive Director of Oasis Senior Living. Prior to joining Oasis Lifestyles in 2007, Ray Aguilar worked with Sunwest Management and Senior Living for six years serving as a Community Relations Manager and Regional Director in Texas and Louisiana. He attended San Jacinto College and Houston Community College and has completed disciplines in Business Management and Human Resources Management. He currently serves the board of the Fort Bend Seniors/Meals on Wheels, Fort Bend County MUD No. 149, and is a 2007 graduate of the Fort Bend Leadership Forum.

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