People

Mr. Rich Kinder is chairman and CEO of Kinder Morgan, one of the largest pipeline transportation and energy storage companies in North America. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history and a J.D. degree from the University of Missouri in 1966 and 1968, respectively.  Mr. Kinder has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards and is a life trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

Mrs. Nancy Goins Kinder is originally from New Iberia, Louisiana, and attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  She is a dedicated philanthropist and serves on several boards for the betterment of Houston, the arts, and children. She is the founding chairman of Discovery Green Conservancy and a current board member and also serves as president of the Kinder Foundation. 

The Kinder’s established the Kinder Foundation in 1997 to support Greater Houston by providing transformational grants to promote urban green space, education and quality of life.  

Algenita Scott Davis is executive director of Houston Habitat for Humanity. She grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, and graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School. After earning her undergraduate degree in accounting from Howard University School of Business Administration in 1971, she attended Howard’s Law School earning her Doctorate in Jurisprudence (JD) in 1974. In 1989, she joined Texas Commerce Bank (TCB) and served as senior vice president and community affairs officer of TCB and its successor, J.P. Morgan Chase and Company. After retirement in 2005, she served as a visiting professor at Texas Southern University’s School of Business and Thurgood Marshall School of Law. In September 2006, she became the executive director of Houston Habitat for Humanity.

Ms. Davis is a licensed member of the State Bar of Texas for over 36 years and past President of the National Bar Association and Houston Lawyers Association. She was also a member of the City of Houston Planning Commission, having first been appointed in 1987 by Mayor Whitmire and the four succeeding Mayors. 

For twenty-eight years Robert M. Eury has served as President of Central Houston, Inc., a private, non-profit corporation, formed to lead the planning and implementation of the  redevelopment of Houston’s central city area—principally downtown.  Mr. Eury is also the Executive Director of the Houston Downtown Management District, a special assessment district within downtown Houston.

Mr. Eury was Vice President and Director of Research Development for Rice Center prior to starting Central Houston in 1983.  During his nine years with Rice Center, his research focused on: land use/transportation joint development, urban services delivery, development regulation, and environmental design.  Prior to joining Rice Center in 1974, Mr. Eury served as Director of Community Planning Studies for the Urban Studies Center, University of Louisville, Kentucky.

Mr. Eury holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Rice University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati.

Steven Kean currently serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and is a member of the office of the chairman of Kinder Morgan. Mr. Kean earned a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 1982 and a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1985.

Mr. Kean joined Kinder Morgan in 2002 as vice president of strategic planning for the company’s natural gas pipelines and was named president of the Texas Intrastate Pipeline Group that same year; Mr.Kean became executive vice president of operations and joined the office of the chairman in 2005, and was named chief operating officer in 2006.  He also served as president of Natural Gas Pipelines on an interim basis during 2008 and 2009.

Patrick Oxford is the Chairman and former Managing Partner of Bracewell & Giuliani.  For many years,  Mr. Oxford has been deeply involved in the business and civic affairs of Houston and the State of Texas.  He has served on the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System and is currently serving on the board of the Texas Medical Center, Inc,   and M.D. Anderson Services Corp.    He is a member of the executive committee and the immediate past Chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership.

Y. Ping Sun is currently of counsel at the firm YetterColeman LLP. She practiced law in the New York offices of White & Case LLP from 1988 to 1992 and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP from 1993 to 2004. Her practice focused on corporate and international transactions. She is a member of the state bars of New York and New Jersey.

A native of Shanghai, China, Ms. Sun attended Beijing Languages University and then Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude in 1985 with AB degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs.  She received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1988, where she served as an editor of the Journal of Transnational Law.

Ms. Sun serves as University Representative of Rice University, where she also serves as a member of the Advisory Council at the Shepherd School of Music, Honorary Co-Chair of the Baker Institute Roundtable at Rice University, and as Lead Donors Chair for Rice University United Way Campaign.  Ms. Sun is a trustee of the Texas Children’s Hospital, a board member of the Asia Society Texas Center, Teach For America Houston Regional Board, St. John’s School and the United Way.  She serves on the Honorary Board of the Asian Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Community Center, Houston Greeters, and the Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners.