The Honorable Annise Parker spent many years serving the people of Houston, America’s 4th largest city, with three terms as a City Council member, three terms as City Controller, and three terms as Mayor. She is one of only two women to have been elected mayor, and is the only person in Houston history to have held the offices of council member, controller and mayor. She was the first openly GLBT mayor of a major American city.
In 2010 Time magazine named Mayor Parker one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She has received numerous awards during her career, including Scenic Houston’s Scenic Visionary Award, Guardian of the Human Spirit Award from Holocaust Museum Houston, Guardian of the Bay Award from Galveston Bay Foundation, Rice University Distinguished Alumna, and Local Arts Leadership honoree by Americans For the Arts.
In addition to her duties as mayor, Parker was a member of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee, president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors, a steering committee member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Advisory Council, and served on the Houston Galveston Area Council.
Mayor Parker is currently President and CEO of The Victory Fund and Victory Institute. She serves on the boards of FirstNet–created by Congress to implement a nationwide broadband network for first responders, Houston Botanic Garden, Houston BARC Foundation, Patient Care Intervention Center, and Carbon Disclosure Project. Prior to joining Victory, she was Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer of BakerRipley, a community development non-profit. She is a past Fellow at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders and Professor in the Practice at Rice University and a past Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Mayor Parker is a second generation native Houstonian. She graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. In the private sector, Parker spent 20 years working in the oil and gas industry, including 18 years with Mosbacher Energy Company. Parker also co-owned Inklings, a lesbian-feminist bookstore for 10 years.
Parker and her wife Kathy Hubbard have been together for more than 28 years and are advocates for adoption, with three daughters and a son. She is a passionate gardener and poet.