Commencement Speakers

To celebrate, we have invited two dynamic guest commencement speakers. During our first ceremony, graduates of our College of Public Service and Marilyn Davies College of Business will hear from Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones. The guest speaker for our second ceremony, honoring graduates of our College of Humanities and Social Sciences and College of Sciences and Technology, is Khori Dastoor, General Director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera. 

Both Commissioner Briones and Khori Dastoor are accomplished leaders who understand the importance of investing in the social, cultural, and intellectual lives of residents here in Houston and beyond.  

 

 

Commissioner Lesley Briones was raised on the U.S.-Mexico border in Laredo by two teachers who instilled in her the values of hard work and service. After graduating from Harvard University, Briones returned home to teach in underserved public schools. She later earned a law degree from Yale University and joined Houston’s Vinson & Elkins law firm. Her career advancement continued, and Briones entered public service as judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4. During her tenure as judge, she earned the highest ratings in the 2019 and 2020 Houston Bar Association Judicial Polls. In 2022, she became the first woman to lead Harris County Precinct 4 and the first mother elected in her own right to Commissioners Court. As Commissioner, Lesley Briones has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure, invested in public safety and flood mitigation, created jobs, and expanded health access.

 

Khori Dastoor was named one of Houston’s Most Admired CEOs by the Houston Business Journal (2023) and was honored as a one of the city’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Woman Magazine (2022). She embodies an unwavering dedication to the transformative power of art and its role in ensuring civic vitality. From partnering with Apple Classical to launching the opera’s record label, Dastoor has spearheaded several initiatives to take Houston Grand Opera to an international audience. She has simultaneously increased accessibility here at home with multigenerational family-centered events and public programming.

A highly sought guest lecturer, Dastoor has given remarks at Yale University, the National Opera Association, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 10 other organizations and festivals with audiences ranging from local students to global leaders. Dastoor entered her professional career in music after earning a bachelor’s degree with academic honors from the New England Conservatory of Music and completing her graduate studies at UCLA.