Houston Bar Association President Benny Agosto Jr.’s newly formed LGBTQ+ Committee will meet July 8 to set goals and discuss programming for the upcoming year, including participation in the HBA Diversity Summit on July 11.
“As our nation prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, it is important that our bar association recognizes there is much work to be done to ensure diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, as well as in our communities,” Agosto said. “We are proud to work alongside organizations like the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston to make sure that everyone has equal opportunities under the rule of law.”
Agosto has planned the Diversity Summit as a celebration of the HBA’s history of inclusion and outreach, as well as a program to educate attorneys and non-attorneys on implicit bias, the gender spectrum, allyship, seeking and retaining a diverse workforce, gender fairness and the changing face of parental responsibility, and business development.
Founding members of the bar association’s LGBTQ+ Committee:
- Judge Steve Kirkland, of the 334th District Court—Co-chair;
- Judge Daryl Moore, of the 333rd District Court—Co-chair;
- Judge Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney—Co-chair;
- Judge Alice Oliver-Parrott, of Alice Oliver-Parrott, P.C.;
- Travis Torrence, of Shell Oil Company;
- Deborah Lawson, of the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston;
- Bryan Vezey, of Cozen O’Connor;
- Lena Laurenzo, of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz;
- Jessica Rodriguez, of the Ramsey Law Group;
- Joseph Sanchez, of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office;
- Charles Shaw, of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office;
- Benny Agosto Jr., of the Houston Bar Association;
- Mindy Davidson, of the Houston Bar Association; and
- Tara Shockley, of the Houston Bar Association
For more information on the Diversity Summit and LGBTQ+ Committee, go to hba.org/committees/lgbtq.