2nd Annual Houston Women’s Health Landscape Summit

Before joining the University of Houston System, Ms. Lanagan worked at Legacy Community Health, the largest Community Health Center in Texas, as Vice President of Government Relations & Public Affairs. In her role, Lindsay oversaw all federal, state and local government relations and led the Communications, Media & Public Affairs team for the organization. Prior to her role at Legacy, Ms. Lanagan was Senior Manager of State Government Relations for McKesson Specialty Health, one of the nation’s largest health care companies, where she directed state policy for a 23-state region. She’s also directed the City of Houston’s Intergovernmental Relations office overseeing local, state and federal government relations for the largest city in Texas. Prior to the Mayor’s office, Lindsay worked on multiple political campaigns and served as a congressional staff assistant.

A lifelong Texan and native Houstonian, Lindsay grew up in Northeast Texas and Houston. She has her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Houston, and is a proud alum.

Dr. Hannah Ballard is a Researcher in the Center for Community and Public Health at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. With over 12 years of experience in translational research and previous NIA funding, her expertise includes aging and Alzheimer’s disease, women’s health with a focus on menopause, cognition and memory, brain function, sleep hygiene and other lifestyle factors. Formally trained in cognitive neuroscience, Dr. Ballard applies bio-psycho-social perspectives to public health issues, with an emphasis on social determinants of health. More broadly, she is a native Houstonian who advocates for the health and well-being of the Greater Houston community, particularly with respect to women and aging populations. Dr. Ballard received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Texas A&M University in College Station and her B.S. in Neuroscience from Baylor University in Waco, with formal training in interventions.

Mary Claire’s positivity, warmth and heart for mission is only matched by her relentless commitment to help her clients achieve their goals. Since joining Dini Spheris in 2014, Mary Claire has served dozens of nonprofits throughout Texas and across the country. She is a seasoned consultant, successfully helping clients grow their annual, capital and major gift fundraising and managing campaigns with goals ranging from $1 million to $250 million.

As a coach and counselor, Mary Claire focuses first on building a strong, confident team of volunteers and staff. Her goal is always to maximize her client’s strengths, to build the right, tailored strategy for every setting, and to create an enduring partnership based in trust. Nothing brings her more joy than walking hand in hand with organizations in the midst of transformation, boldly facing challenges and celebrations alongside her clients.

Mary Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago and a Nonprofit Finance Certificate from Rice University. She is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Houston Chapter and regularly presents at conferences throughout the United States. Mary Claire also deeply enjoys mentoring the next generation of sector leaders as a lead instructor with the University of Houston Nonprofit Leadership Alliance.

Andrell Gautier was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana where she moved to Dallas, Texas after Hurricane Katrina and then Houston, Texas where she currently resides. She has over 30 years of experience in Human Resources. She retired from the non profit higher education industry in 2015, where she worked and retired from Higher Education at Loyola University New Orleans, Southern Methodist University in Dallas and Lone Star Community College Systems in Houston.

Andrell began her current employment with Insperity in 2015, where she is currently a HR Consultant. She also serves as a panelist and/or facilitator on many HR topics on behalf of Insperity as a brand ambassador.

Andrell is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans in Psychology and Business Management. She is also a certified mediator and arbitrator, where she received her training at the University of Houston, School of Law. She also holds certifications as a SHRM-CP (Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resource Management); HRCI -SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources with the Human Resources Certification Institute); Business Ethics; Conflict Resolution, Employee Investigations, and Change Management.

Andrell comes to us today with extensive experience in wage liability management, employee retention, workflow systems, senior level coaching and development, employee relations, mediation and arbitration, and global HR initiatives with widespread knowledge in areas such as China, Jakarta Indonesia, Malta and Mexico.

In her spare time, Andrell volunteers her knowledge by providing pro bono work for many non profits, serves on the Board for a number of non profit organizations and works pro bono for the Harris County Justice of the Peace (JP) courthouses as a mediator and/or arbitrator.

Ann Friedman, Ph.D., Director of Workplace Wellness for Mental Health America of Greater Houston, is a Psychologist and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, who teaches mindfulness, conflict resolution, and trauma recovery to adults and youth.  Dr. Friedman has worked with over 60 businesses, 100 nonprofit organizations, and 200 educational institutions in Houston, Puerto Rico, Florida, Southeast Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and California.  

Major Achievements:

• Moving employee engagement at a major Houston hospital department of 70 employees from the bottom to the top rating in the hospital.
• Improving communication and lowering stress levels in an international corporation of oil traders over three years.
• Receiving the Ima Hogg Award for Novel Approaches to Mental Health following positive surveys from a 5-year training over three states.
• Training in a highly effective intervention with homeless youth compared to other sites nationally in partnership with a large university medical group.
• Coaching successfully to improve communications in a governmental organization where employees are noticing changes.
• Presenting annually for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for 4 years.

Dr. Friedman is also a regular speaker at events, such as:

• Keynote speaker for the ThyCa (thyroid cancer) Conference, Houston, 2024
• Keynote speaker for the Fort Bend County Children’s Mental Health Conference, Houston, 2023
• Speaker, Harris County Medical Society meetings, 2022-2024.

Studying mindfulness since 2007, Dr. Friedman is Certified in Mindfulness Facilitation (UCLA) and in Cognitively Based Compassion Training (Emory University).   She also brings expertise in Collaborative Communication, a proven method to enhance employee engagement and resolve conflicts.

Dr. Friedman served as an Adjunct Professor in the U.H. Counseling Psychology Graduate Program for ten years. She holds a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from U.H. She completed her Internship in Clinical Psychology at U.T. Health Science Center and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Baylor College of Medicine.