About Us

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ABOUT US

Creating and stewarding a vibrant network of welcoming public spaces.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership is the non-profit organization leading the planning, design, activation, and stewardship of inspiring spaces along the 10-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou from Shepherd Drive through downtown and eastward to the Port of Houston Turning Basin.

Whether it’s reimagining a former barge terminal into a cultural and recreational hub, reinforcing the bayou’s banks with native plants and trees, or constructing the first pedestrian bridge between the historic Fifth Ward and Greater East End — building relationships and mapping change with our communities are essential to our mission.

Buffalo Bayou is our beginning. Our backbone. Our bridge.

BUFFALO BAYOU AND HOUSTON ARE FOREVER ENTWINED. 

From a sleepy port town into a thriving cultural and industrial metropolis, Buffalo Bayou has shaped Houston for nearly two centuries. Since 1986, Buffalo Bayou Partnership has championed this natural resource for the benefit of all Houstonians.

This natural, 52-mile waterway meandering in gentle twists and turns from its origins in the Texas prairie and out through the Gulf of Mexico is like a scrawled signature of our city itself, as etched in the lowlands of our landscape as the pages of our history.

It was on the banks of Buffalo Bayou that Houston was founded in 1836, and since then the bayou has emerged — and re-emerged — as a vital conduit for commerce, community, recreation, and repose.

OUR COMMITMENT

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Buffalo Bayou Partnership embraces the diverse people and cultures of Houston and places community voices at the center of our work. We are intentional about reinforcing the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) through our organization’s mission, policies, practices, staffing, and board membership. Our commitments are to honor and pay tribute to the waterway and its history, offer culturally resonant programming, and create and maintain spaces that residents see as their own.  As we move forward, we will continue to develop accessible and inclusive parks and green space, affordable housing, and small business and economic opportunities to ensure legacy residents can remain in the neighborhoods surrounding Buffalo Bayou and benefit from its growth.

OUR VISION

We envision Buffalo Bayou as a unifying
and transformative force for Houston.

By drawing people together along and across our bayou — and inviting their ideas and aspirations into the process — we celebrate and perpetuate the vitality and resiliency of our city and its historic waterway.

Our work

Clean & Green Staff

Trey Dennis

FIELD OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN

Brett Farley

FIELD OPERATIONS MECHANIC

Ned McQuarn

FIELD OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN

David Rivers

FIELD OPERATIONS FOREMAN

Roberto Ruiz

FIELD OPERATIONS TECHNICIAN

Board of Directors

2025 Officers
Judy Nyquist
CHAIR
Anne Whitlock
VICE CHAIR
Carlos A. Ruiz
TREASURER
Andrew P. Ziccardi
SECRETARY
2025 Board
Ralph Abendshein
Christina Altenau
Matthew J. Assiff
Veronica Avila
Acho Azuike
Seth M. Barrett
Chris Bilton
Brandon Cofield, Sr.
Jerry Davis
Zion Escobar
Bolivar M. Fraga
Lisa Helfman
Kellie R. Jenks
Emily Keeton
Mary Hinojosa Kelly
Bryce Hairston Kennard
Samir Khushalani
Marie Louise Kinder
Jana Pink Kusin
Tim Latimer
Catherine Adams Matthews
Adrienne Moeller
Alisha N. Nathoo
Erin Patterson
Carrie B. Pepi
Monica Hoz de Vila Radoff
Frem Reggie
Carter Stern
Chairs emeritus
Toni Beauchamp*
Chuck Carlberg
Brady F. Carruth
Shawn W. Cloonan
Collin J. Cox
Gaynell Floyd Drexler
Thomas Fish
Mike Garver
Dennis Greer
Artie Lee Hinds*
Sis Johnson
Susan Keeton
Dr. Manuel Pacheco
Bob Phillips
F. Max Schuette*
Raymond Snokhous*
Jeff Taylor
Georgia Wilson
Ex-Officio *deceased
Mayor John Whitmire
CITY OF HOUSTON
Judge Lina Hidalgo
HARRIS COUNTY
Kenneth Allen
HOUSTON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
Loren J. Blanchard, Ph.D.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON DOWNTOWN
Commissioner Lesley Briones
HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT FOUR
Allen Douglas
DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
Commissioner Rodney Ellis
HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT ONE
Erik Eriksson
PORT HOUSTON
Commissioner Adrian Garcia
HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT TWO
Roksan Okan-Vick
HOUSTON FIRST
Jennifer Ostlind
CITY OF HOUSTON PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Commissioner Tom Ramsey, P.E.
HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT THREE
Elijah J. Williams
HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT