Laurie Bricker
“My fondest memory of UH is being in graduate school. I felt I had good relationships with my professors and there was high expectation and competition within my class. I really enjoyed that,” Bricker said. She earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Houston in 1978 and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas – Austin. Those fond memories include a few professors - Dr. Robert Houston, Dr. Wil Weber and Dr. Al Warner. She relishes the fact that professors she admired in class are now professional colleagues. “I interact in a colleague to colleague relationship with Dr. Houston. Not long ago, Former Dean Warner and I were in Washington DC participating in a conference together. It’s good to go through college with professors and interact with them professionally later on,” she said. “Governance and leadership are key to our success at UH. I see real excellence in our leadership,” Bricker said. As a board member of the THECB, Laurie has had the opportunity to work with and know President Khator and the UH Regents and is hopeful about the future of her alma mater, which she says trained her well for her own future. Bricker is now a highly sought after educational consultant and also a great example of excellence in leadership. She is serving or has served as an Advisory Board Member for local, state and national organizations such as Leadership Houston, Neuhaus Education Center, Collaborative for Children, Friends of HSPVA (High School for the Performing and Visual Arts), the Holocaust Museum Houston, The Chancellor's Family Fitness Center and is a Senior Fellow and Former Board Member of the American Leadership Forum. She also served as President of the Houston Independent School District Board of Education in 1999 and 2002 and trustee from 1995-2004. She is a valued member of the Greater Houston P-16+ Council, which is headquartered in the UH College of Education and chaired by Dean Robert Wimpelberg. The council’s mission is to promote success across the education continuum - Pre-Kindergarten through College and Workforce Development - for children and young adults in the Gulf Coast area.
“What a wonderful opportunity to work with the largest independent investment bank in the country and focus my efforts to expand Jefferies' school district business,” Bricker said. For the past 11 years, as Co-Founder of the Jewish Women International's Prejudice Awareness Summit, she has worked alongside campus liaison, Jim Anderson to host over 300 8th graders who come to UH to learn respect and tolerance for those who are different then they are. The endeavor has been so successful that the Anti Defamation League’s No Place for Hate Youth Summit has incorporated the principals and programs of the Prejudice Awareness Summit into its own anti-bias and diversity efforts. Her work in the community has garnered several accolades. She has been honored with the SAVVY Award, recognized as a Women on the Move, and received the Greater Southwest Houston Chamber of Commerce Community Impact Award. In addition, she was named the Jewish Women International's Good Heart Humanitarian and has received the Dr. Roosevelt Alcorn Humanitarian Award. Bricker also won the Heart of InTown Award from Houston's InTown Chamber of Commerce, and in 2007 she was named Curriculum and Instruction Distinguished Alumna by the University of Houston College of Education. UH Alumni Association life member, Bricker was honored to be chosen as this year’s Spring commencement speaker for the UH College of Education.
|
For Laurie Bricker, board member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), the University of Houston brings back fond memories. 
As a testament to lifelong learning, in 2007 Bricker became an investment banker with Jefferies & Company. Her role is acquiring new K-12 school district clients throughout Texas to meet their financing needs.