Letter from the President-elect

I am so excited, once again, to join the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and to work with this world-class team. I mention “once again,” because I began my career at BAHEP in 2002 as an intern and in 2004 became a full-time employee.

Following the years at BAHEP, I served as the lead for Legislative Affairs at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and later joined The Boeing Company where I served as senior manager of State and Local Government Operations before returning to BAHEP as its president-elect in August 2022.

My responsibilities within both NASA JSC and Boeing relate closely to the efforts that have made the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership a highly respected and effective partner for the businesses, institutions, and industries in this region of Texas. There is an abundance of opportunity in our future. It will require a thorough understanding of what is required to take advantage of those opportunities, and there lies the value of partnerships of working together for the benefit of all.

BAHEP has the remarkable ability to bring together industry, academia, government and nonprofit sectors to address large regional challenges. The region’s major industry clusters (aerospace and aviation, healthcare, maritime and logistics, specialty chemical, and tourism and recreation), along with its service sectors, all have unique needs for future success.

There is an extraordinary resource pool from which BAHEP can draw to address the challenges that this presents its members. They bring to the table their far-reaching expertise and enthusi- asm for participating in efforts that will make a positive impact in Bay Area Houston. BAHEP is fortunate to have ready access to this invaluable resource.

Another resource of great importance is BAHEP’s Strategic Plan which provides the guidance to keep the organization on track. Our current plan, that can be found at bayareahouston.com, is divided into sections: 1.0 Shaping a Future-Ready Regional Economy, 2.0 Adapting to a Dynamic Business Environment, 3.0 Advocating for Sustainable Prosperity and an Exceptional Quality of Life. The details in the plan cover a lot of territory which is necessary when considering the complexity of planning a regional approach for economic development.

I appreciate BAHEP’s Board of Directors for their leadership and vision for the organization. That vision and guidance have led to many opportunities in the past as they will continue to do so in the future.

Finally, I am also so appreciative for all Bob’s phenomenal work in making this organization what it is today. He is a mentor and a friend as well as an exceptional leader for us all.

I invite every one of our members to work with BAHEP’s outstanding staff and to lean on the organization where we can be helpful. Come by our offices and meet, chat, contribute, volunteer, serve on a committee, and be a part of the process of building our future.

Sincerely,

Brian Freedman President-elect