Leo Boucher is the director of marketing and audience development for Da Camera of Houston. They are a presenting organization who have been mixing jazz and chamber music with great success for 30 years. They are one of the best examples of how eclectic Houston's art community is, from its performers to its patrons. Check out their incredible season: www.dacamera.com
As they do each year, Da Camera will be a part of Theater District Open House, on Sunday August 27th, from 12 to 5 PM. This is a free event in Houston's world class theatre district. You'll get to tour the Wortham Theater Center, mingle with dancers from Houston Ballet, meet musicians and artists from the Houston Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera, Society for the Performing Arts and Theatre Under the Stars.
Da Camera is presenting a free concert by the New York philharmonic String Quartet and there is a lot more going on. Check it out: www.theaterdistrictopenhouse.com

Anna Dragsbaek is the CEO of The Women's Home and Staci Young is their chief program officer. They are celebrating 60 years of serving homeless women in the Houston area, a great achievement since they are primarily funded by the community. They are one of the reasons Houston has been able to reduce its homeless population by over 60% since 2011. Their success keeps growing. They will open a new facility in the fall to serve the Spring Branch community. Take a look at all their services on their website: www.thewomenshome.org

Mary McIntire is the Dean of Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. They are celebrating 50 years of service to the Houston community as the area's leading program for continuing education. When Mary was named dean of the school, they had several hundred students. They now serve over 20,000 people every year in a beautiful new building on Rice's campus. There are too many courses offered to name them all but chances are, if you're interested in a subject, they have a course for it. They also organize courses for kids in their schools and go out to retirement communities because it's never too late to be curious and learn. Check out their website for their impressive list of courses: www.gscs.rice.edu

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Melissa Sanchez is the Texas Public Policy Lead for the Alzheimer's Association Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter. Being an incurable disease which touches over 5 million Americans, Alzheimer's is starting to receive wider attention and our awareness of the need for research is growing. Melissa explains how the disease leaves families in need of support groups and how the Alzheimer's Association helps to connect people affected by the disease. They also help to match patients with clinical trials, a crucial service which helps to advance research for a cure. Take a look at their informative website: www.alz.org/Texas
Also mark your calendar for their annual Walk to End Alzheimer's on November 4th.

Keith Ostfeld aka Mr. O, is the resident mad scientist and the director of educational technology and exhibit development for the Children's Museum of Houston. It’s one of the best places to take your kids (and yourself) this summer and we get to geek out over their awesome Sci-Fi Summer event which lasts through Labor Day weekend. They’re open for free on Thursday evenings so you can take your whole family to the Robotics Lab and create a Scribble Bot, join the Galactic Ranger Training and see The Galactic Journey Live Production and tap into S.E.C.R.E.T. Discoveries by going on undercover mission and check out the Infinity Mirror and so much more. Check out their awesome website. Better yet, hand it over to your kids: www.cmhouston.org

Katya Dow is the legal program director for the Juvenile and Capital Advocacy Project. She is also a legal practice law professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Two of her students are with her: Tressa Surratt and Lizzie Lawrie.
The Juvenile Records Sealing Project helps individuals with juvenile records to expunge those records. (We are not talking about violent crimes, here.) This is a long process that really needs a lawyer’s experience to get through and Katya discusses how they’re making this happen for more and more Houstonians by tapping into the University of Houston’s renewable pool of talent! Tressa and Lizzie talk about their first experiences in court and with their young clients.
For more information on JCAP’s free services: www.jcaptexas.org

Marilyn Brown is the president & CEO of Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, Harris County and Dr. Cathy Troisi is with the UT Health School of Public Health. Thanks to their annual count, they have measured a 60% reduction in homelessness in Houston, an extraordinary achievement. Lead by the Coalition, the Harris County area coordinated its non-profit organizations and city services. We discuss rapid re-housing and its proven success rate and how success with these programs in Houston means that soon, they will spread to other cities. Marilyn’s responsibilities include sharing their findings and methods. We are not just helping ourselves, we are helping the entire country.
We can all help. Visit their website to get involved: www.HomelessHouston.org

Rodney Waters is the program director for Music Doing Good with Scholarships. Two of their recipients are also on the show: Nathaniel Zhang, a student at Clemens HS and founder the Music Doing Good Volunteer Team and Solomomon Alhakeem, a student at HSPVA who just got accepted into the Houston Grand Opera’s HS Voice Studio. Along with the rest of their peers, they are celebrating their success with a big FREE show on Saturday, June 10th at St. Thomas.

While we talk about how Music Doing Good's curriculum helps student excel in school and in social life, check out their website. You can get tickets to the show or get involved. www.MusicDoingGood.org

Whitney Easterling is the director of development for Young Audiences of Houston and Glenn Bailey is the director of community and school partnerships. Young Audiences of Houston serves 250,000 people in the Houston area every year and with the opening of Levy Park, they have a new platform to share their awesome activities (which are free!). They also put on shows at the Miller Outdoor Theater and are planning a first: a summer camp at Yellowstone Academy. It is all with the aim of civilizing kids, teaching the arts and opening connections in their brains and between each other. Check out their website for all of their programs, available all year long: www.yahouston.org

Dr. Melanie Johnson is the President and CEO for The Health Museum, one of the coolest destinations for families in H-Town. They are open for free on Thursday afternoons which means you can check it out first hand with your entire family. They are signing up children for their summer camps and will welcome their annual Global Teen Summit with teens from all over the world coming to Houston to learn from the biggest medical center on the planet. They also opened the beautiful photographic exhibit Humanae which runs through September. Check out their website which is entertaining unto itself. www.thehealthmuseum.org