Beth Braniff Harp
Chief Executive Officer, Kids' Meals Inc.
How do you define success in your life?
Success is measured by the lives Kids’ Meals touches and the hope we restore. We prepare and deliver healthy meals to the doorsteps of children in need. Professionally, success means more children go to bed nourished, parents feel supported, and our community grows stronger. Success also means living with integrity, walking in gratitude, and showing compassion and courage. If a child’s life is better today because of something I helped lead, that is my purest definition of success.
To me, success is having a wonderful family and close friends. I am grateful every day for their love and support. No accomplishment means more than knowing my family stands, cheers, and inspires me.
What personal experiences have influenced your philanthropic journey?
I believe every child deserves to feel valued, safe, and nourished. I am honored to have served with Kids’ Meals for almost 18 years. Life can change for families, and food insecurity can affect a child’s health, learning, and stability. My core values are dignity, respect, service, and accountability. They anchor every decision I make and remind me that our work isn’t about numbers, but about individual lives, futures, and hearts.
Lauren Levicki Courville
President of Dress for Success Houston
What personal life experiences have influenced your philanthropic journey?
At the core of my work is a deep belief: economic independence changes everything for a woman. When she has access to opportunities, resources, and support, it impacts her life, her family, and her community.
I am drawn to organizations at the intersection of dignity and opportunity. For 13 years at Dress for Success Houston, I have seen how confidence, community, and access can transform a person’s trajectory.
A core value for me is meeting women where they are, without limiting their futures. In our building, there is a painting titled "Schism" by Hogan Kimbrell. It reflects the idea that the past shapes a woman, but she can mold her future if given access to opportunity.
What is the biggest factor that has contributed to your success?
Clarity of purpose, combined with disciplined execution.
It is one thing to care deeply about a mission. It is another to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and strategy to scale impact. Success requires translating vision into action and staying focused on outcomes, even when work is complex.
A key part of that has been surrounding myself with people who are smarter and more experienced, and who challenge my thinking in productive ways. That dynamic ensures we are making the greatest possible impact with dignity. No meaningful work happens alone. The strength of our team, board, and volunteers has been essential.
What advice would you give to other women looking to start their philanthropic journey?
Start before you feel ready, but be very clear on your “why.”
There will always be reasons to wait, whether it is funding, confidence, or timing. The women who create meaningful change are the ones who begin anyway and build capacity as they go.
At the same time, be strategic. Understand the problem you are solving and who else is addressing it. Find opportunities to collaborate, learn, and expand impact. Passion opens the door, but structure sustains the work. Invest in your network with intention and authenticity because those connections often become your greatest assets. dfshouston.org
Dr. Peta-gay Ledbetter
CEO, Counseling For Women, PLLC
What are your strategies for staying grounded and taking care of yourself?
I am a big advocate for self-care. Doing things I enjoy, not for anyone else but myself, brings me joy. Work-life balance is also very important. All work and no play makes anyone's life too stressful and unbalanced. A part of self-care is grounding myself. I like yoga and pilates, and staying home and taking care of my own environment is also important to me.
What is one thing you want to be remembered for?
I hope I am remembered for caring for others and for providing excellent mental healthcare to individual clients on their healing journey. Also, for teaching my students how to take excellent care of others on their own healing journeys.
As a leader in the community, what progress do you hope to see for the next generation of women?
The next generation of women will hopefully take better care of themselves and their children. Standing up for themselves, their rights, and to have a bigger voice for equality and social justice. I want my own daughters to have more rights than I had in my generation.
How do you build and maintain confidence during difficult times?
I keep my own affirmations in mind and practice what I preach. Affirmations are those characteristics that are positive and true about yourself, no matter what chaos is going on around you. I am resilient, determined, adventurous, intelligent, and kind. I teach others to find their truths and to rehearse and remember them.
“I hope I am remembered for caring for others and for providing excellent mental healthcare to individual clients on their healing journey.”
Faith Majors
Community Advocate
What personal life experiences or core values have most influenced your philanthropic journey?
Some of the most defining moments in my life have shaped the way I view compassion and service. Over the years, I've experienced profound loss within my family, and more recently, I was diagnosed with lupus. Those moments changed my perspective and reminded me how fragile and precious life truly is.
Living through both grief and health challenges deepened my empathy and strengthened my belief that we never truly know what someone else may be going through. That understanding has guided much of my advocacy and philanthropic work.
One of the lessons life has taught me is that, even in the hardest chapters, our story is not over. When we meet others with kindness and compassion, we have the power to help someone keep going and sometimes even change the course of their life.
As a leader in the community, what progress do you hope to see for the next generation of women?
I hope the next generation of women grows up believing deeply in their own strength and potential. Success doesn't have to follow a single path, and it's never too late to learn, grow, or pursue a new dream.
I would love to see a future where women feel empowered to lead with compassion and authenticity, knowing that their voice matters. When we create environments where women lift one another rather than compete, we build a legacy that benefits generations to come.
What are your strategies for staying grounded and taking care of yourself?
Living with lupus has taught me the importance of listening to my body and honoring balance. I've learned that taking care of myself is not a luxury; it's essential. When we care for our own well-being, we are better able to show up for the people and causes we love.
Staying grounded often comes back to simple things: spending time with loved ones, practicing gratitude, and allowing space for reflection. Those quiet moments help me stay connected to what truly matters. When we nurture ourselves with the same kindness we offer others, we can move through difficult seasons with strength and grace. @therealfaithmajors
Katie Mehnert
Founder & CEO, Ally Energy
What personal life experiences have influenced your business journey?
When Hurricane Harvey ripped through Houston, it tore up my house and ripped away my illusions about our infrastructure. I lost faith in the status quo and realized that if we wanted a better energy and climate future, we had to build it. This became the catalyst for my company, ALLY Energy, and the creation of Houston Energy and Climate Week.
But a real defining moment was when I woke up to find myself in the ER in unimaginable pain. I hadn't been listening to my own body or inner voice. It forced a spiritual reset. It reminded me that true grit is having the self-love to set boundaries and the faith to listen when God is sending a message.
Those two experiences taught me that builders build, but we have to rebuild stronger, wiser, and healthier.
What is the most challenging aspect of being a woman in business?
The real challenge is understanding that you cannot seek validation from broken systems. For a long time, I waited for permission from people who didn't have the courage that I did. What I learned the hard way is that when you are dismissed, it's not a signal that you don't matter. It's a signal that you've outgrown that table. The challenge is having the audacity to stop asking for a seat at their table and build your own. Bring the chairs and intentionally invite people to join you.
As a leader in the community, what progress do you hope to see for the next generation of women?
The work world is a fractured zoo. Humanity is driven by broken capital markets that demand short-term profits over long-term purpose. We need to build sustainable, purpose-driven systems that drive health and wealth for everyone.
My hope for young women, including my daughter, Ally, is to address challenges such as the energy transition. I want them to step into their power not by asking for the keys to the kingdom, but by realizing they can be architects who build and value balance, health, and humanity over the accumulation of wealth. allyenergy.com
Dr. Christi Pramudji Dawe
Lifesculpt by ChristiMD
Urogynecologist, Certified Menopause Specialist
What are your strategies for staying grounded and taking care of yourself?
I couldn’t do anything I’ve done—or be who I am today—without God. I tried for a few years to do life on my own, and I was miserable. I finally took a leap of faith and let God lead me instead of trying to lead myself. Doing it my way had become exhausting and confusing, and I found clarity and strength following God’s path.
Of course, I still wander off sometimes, but I keep coming back. That’s how I stay grounded. When I connect with God in prayer, I receive His guidance and peace, and the closer I stay to Christ, the more I’m able to share His love with others.
On a practical level, I focus on the basics: eating whole foods, exercising, optimizing my hormones, and spending time with people I love. None of it is done perfectly, and I’ve learned to be okay with that.
How do you build and maintain confidence during difficult times?
Everyone experiences moments of doubt. Whether you’re working at home or in the marketplace, there are times when you think, I’m not sure I can do this… or survive this… or deserve this.
Those moments can feel very isolating, which is why it’s important to remember that we all go through them.
I learned a helpful idea from Entrepreneur Coach Dan Sullivan: low confidence often shows up right before growth. As we work through those challenges, our capability grows, building confidence and preparing us for the next step. It’s really the stuff that makes the adventure of life.
What passion projects are you excited about in the next year?
I hope to write another book this year. I loved writing The Biovitality Blueprint, which shares how our second 50 years can truly be even better than the first. The feedback from women who were inspired to improve their lives has been heartwarming.
My next book will likely focus on pelvic floor health—a practical guide to help women understand their pelvic floor, hormones, and how to care for themselves. It’s an overlooked area of health that can truly change, and sometimes save, lives. lifesculptmd.com
Cindy Aplanalp Ruzicka
Founder | Interior Designer | Wellness Entrepreneur
What personal life experiences or core values have most influenced your business?
The greatest shift in my life occurred with my husband Dion’s leukemia diagnosis. Though devastating at first, it brought profound gifts: breathwork, sauna, cold exposure, and community. What started as physical healing grew into a deep awareness of the nervous system.
Before this, I pushed through life—outwardly successful but disconnected inside. Breathwork and cold exposure changed that, allowing moments of stillness in which I reconnected with my intuition and heart’s wisdom.
This awareness brought resilience, confidence, and reinvention. At 63, I’m building a wellness movement rooted in connection, regulation, and community—bringing my lifetime of experience forward in a new way.
What advice would you give to other women looking to start their business or philanthropic journey?
Follow what genuinely lights you up—even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. And don’t do it alone. Learning from women who are already walking the path has been one of the greatest accelerators in my life.
I’ve also learned to pay attention to my inner voice. So many women override their intuition, often saying yes when they mean no, pushing through when they need rest.
When you slow down and learn to regulate your nervous system, that voice becomes clearer. You begin to recognize what’s truly aligned, and that changes everything.
How do you build and maintain confidence during difficult times?
Confidence, for me, comes from a deep sense of inner safety. I trust that even the hard moments have something to teach me, which makes it easier to keep moving forward.
On a practical level, I come back to stillness. I slow down, breathe, and listen. When I’m grounded, everything shifts. I used to think resilience meant pushing harder. Now I understand it often begins with pausing. From that place, I can trust myself, and that creates lasting confidence.
What is one thing you want to be remembered for?
I want to be remembered for helping people realize they are stronger than they think. For guiding them to discover their courage, build resilience, and reconnect with a deeper sense of vitality. loylysaunalounge.com
Katie Stone
President, The Cleverly Stone Foundation
Houston Restaurant Weeks
What personal life experiences or core values have most influenced your business or philanthropic journey?
I went to college for chess and then spent almost two decades playing in online tournaments full-time. I studied game theory using solvers and AI, learning to interpret large datasets, navigate changing variables, and make good decisions under pressure. Not the typical nonprofit background, but the skill sets translate directly to what I do now with Houston Restaurant Weeks, which engineers what is consistently the busiest dining month of the year for restaurants across the city, while also being the Houston Food Bank’s largest annual fundraiser.
What advice would you give to other women looking to start their philanthropic journey?
Don't be afraid to take chances. Every meaningful thing I've done, including carrying on my mother's legacy with Houston Restaurant Weeks, started with a risk that not everyone understood. I’ve learned that no one can take away your experience or your unique ability to move the pieces. Every skill you’ve built, every industry you’ve worked in, every challenge you’ve navigated compounds and contributes to a more impactful philanthropic journey. The pieces may connect, and the chips may fall in ways you never expected, and what you end up building might be bigger than anything you dreamed.
How do you define success in both your personal and professional life?
For me, there’s not much separation between personal and professional success, because Houston Restaurant Weeks is my mother’s legacy — it’s a deeply personal mission to carry on. Seeing how many people across Houston benefit from and enjoy HRW every year makes it especially meaningful.
Who are the women who have inspired you?
My mother, Cleverley Stone. She saw that restaurants in Houston struggled every August, their slowest time of the year. She created Houston Restaurant Weeks and turned the worst month of the year into the busiest, while simultaneously building it into the largest annual fundraiser for the Houston Food Bank. She proved that one woman with a clear vision can mobilize an entire city around a single cause. I carry that with me every day. houstonrestaurantweeks.com
Ruth N. López Turley
Professor & Director, Rice University
Who are the women who have inspired you?
My mother inspired me with her unwavering tenacity and generosity. Despite only completing eighth grade, she worked tirelessly, often working double and night shifts with little pay and no benefits, to support our family. Even with few resources, she shared with neighbors and welcomed those in need into our home. I only fully appreciated her after becoming a mother myself. Sadly, she passed away before my children were born, so I never got to thank her as a fellow mother.
What is one thing you want to be remembered for?
Aside from being remembered as a good wife and mother, I want to be remembered for my role in helping ensure the Kinder Institute's longevity. Thanks to the generosity of philanthropists Rich and Nancy Kinder, the Kinder Institute at Rice University now has an endowment that ensures it will continue to produce informative, community-engaged research at no cost. We still have a lot of fundraising to do, given the demand for research, but this endowment will provide core funding for generations to come.
What passion projects are you excited to tackle in the next year?
I'm especially excited about our new economic mobility coalition. Alongside several Houston organizations, we aim to improve economic mobility—the ability to move up the economic ladder. Despite Houston's booming economy, many working families still struggle with poverty. This year, the Kinder Institute at Rice University will launch an annual report that monitors economic mobility and evaluates specific interventions in our region to help ensure everyone can benefit from and contribute to Houston's growth.
"My childhood experience with poverty gave me deeper empathy for people in need. It shaped my interest in studying how social systems facilitate socioeconomic opportunities. Thanks to others' help, I attended college and grad school. Now, I lead an amazing team that produces research to improve lives in Houston."
Beth Wolff
Chairman, Beth Wolff REALTORS
What personal life experiences have influenced your business journey?
In 1974, I became a single mother and sole provider for my two young children. It was daunting but sparked my journey. I chose real estate for its flexibility and income potential to support my kids, and for my deep knowledge of the city I love.
Today, my company is built on the same values that got me through those early years: family, community, and giving back. I’ve found that when you stay focused on exceptional service, teamwork, and integrity, success follows.
As a leader in the community, what progress do you hope to see for the next generation of women?
We’ve made progress, but I hope the next generation proudly leads. When I started my firm in the ‘70s, I named it Wolff & Associates; few firms were woman-led, and I didn’t want that to block success.
In 1992, I became the 5th woman President of the Houston Association of Realtors and was one of the few women on the Greater Houston Partnership board. We’ve entered the room, but now we must lead to achieve equality. Don’t just join—lead.
How do you build and maintain confidence during difficult times?
Maintaining confidence during difficult times depends on two core values: focus and adaptability. By tuning out external negativity, I focus on the tasks that can make a difference. Adaptability has helped me adjust when the market shifts. In a resilient city like Houston, hard work and the willingness to pivot have always enabled me to find opportunities to continue earning a living.
What is the one thing you want to be remembered for?
I’m still so busy with the work I love, but I hope I’m remembered first as a loving mother, because my children were the reason I started this entire journey. My true measure of success will be leaving doors open for women who follow. If I've helped the next woman claim her seat at the table, I've fulfilled my purpose.bethwolff.com