Cindi Strauss is the Bill and Sara Morgan Curator for Decorative Arts, Craft and Design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She holds a BA with honors in Art…

Colin Ure was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and studied music, majoring in voice, at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Later he sang professionally throughout the UK and…

François de Menil, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C; is Principal and founder of FdM:Arch, an internationally acclaimed architecture firm. He is also a filmmaker. One of his first films, "Hanging Max…

Josie de Guzman, handpicked by Leonard Bernstein for the role of Maria in the 1980 Broadway revival of West Side Story, is a versatile and critically acclaimed actor/singer. She has…

Joan Eidman is the Principal Harpist with the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras and enjoys playing second harp with the Santa Fe Opera. (Spring 2012)

Dr. George T. Diaz is an assistant professor of history at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  Dr. Diaz, a native of Laredo, Texas, holds a Ph.D. in history…

Joan Neuhaus Schaan is the executive director of Kickstart Kids, a nonprofit martial arts organization. Schaan was perviously  a fellow in homeland security and terrorism at the Baker Institute, Rice…

Katie Oxford is a Houston-based writer for CultureMap. She was twice a juried poet in the Houston Poetry Festival. Recently, one of her poems was honored at the Jambalaya Writers'…

Music director and pianist Larry Yurman music-directed and conducted the Broadway production of Grey Gardens.  His numerous credits include Broadway, Off Broadway, and regional theater. He has completed a recording…

Melissa Suhr performs with the Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera Orchestras, Masterworks Chorus, and Grand Teton Music Festival. A graduate of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music with a…