As well as being a savvy businesswoman, Judi McGee has selflessly committed herself to a life as a humanitarian, a patron of the arts, and a defender of children and animals. 

Judi is both a business professional in the oil and gas industry and a philanthropist.  She began her own energy investment banking firm in Dallas in the late ‘80s after working for the largest international oil and gas engineering consultancy as International Manager of Business Development.  In 1996, she relocated her firm to Houston and the rest is history . . . Houston became her home.  

Judi took a sabbatical from investment banking from 2006 to 2011 to manage her family business and donate her time to philanthropic interests while continuing to raise and show her hunter jumper horses.  During that time, she served on a number of national horse show boards and committees, including the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden, the Washington International Horse Show, the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, and US Equestrian Federation. In 2011, she re-entered the oil and gas industry, still making time for her love of special charitable organizations and her horses.    

One of the organizations that is dear to Judi’s heart is The Salvation Army. She has served on its advisory board since 2000 and on its Boys & Girls Club advisory council, for which she founded the Youth of the Year Scholarship Program in 2005. She is also a founding member and former president of The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, and in 2013 she chaired their fundraiser, “Reflections on Style.”  Since 2006, Judi has hosted the organization’s annual Easter Party for the Boys & Girls Clubs at her horse farm. Over 200 children attend each year. In appreciation for her work with the Auxiliary, Judi was presented with the Auxiliary’s Margo Perot Spirit Award in 2008 and was named the honoree of The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary “Reflections on Style” Luncheon and Fashion Show in 2018. 

Judi serves on the advisory board of the Texas Children’s Cancer Center and is cofounder of its annual fundraiser, Salute to Champions. She continues to cochair the annual fundraiser that was begun in 2008, and which celebrates both community champions in Houston and children fighting the battle against cancer.  

A lifetime member of the Houston Symphony League, Judi has chaired the Houston Symphony Opening Night and cochaired the Symphony Ball. She also has served as a trustee and member of the governing board of the Houston Symphony.   

Judi is a former member of the UT Health Science Center Board. She is also a lifetime member of The University of Texas School of Nursing PARTNERS organization, of which she is a past president, and for which she has chaired their annual fundraiser. Judi also served on the Mayor’s Advisory Board for BARC beginning in 2013 and served for several years as a cochair of the annual fundraiser to raise funds for homeless animals. She has been a member of The River Oaks Rose Club since 2000, and has served as president.

 
Since 1993, Judi has been a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for which she has served as a trustee and cochaired its annual Stewardship Campaign. In 2011, Judi cofounded Hope House for Women in Baku, Azerbaijan, which was established as a safe place for battered women to visit during the day and further Christianity through love and kindness.   

In 2005, Judi was recognized as an ABC13 Woman of Distinction and chaired the Winter Ball in 2006. In 2017, she was honored as the ABC13 Women of Distinction Ambassador. In 2015, Judi was given the Spirit of Excellence Award by Baylor College of Medicine’s Huffington Center.  In addition, she was recognized by The Social Book as a Houston Treasure and also has been honored as a Houston Pacesetter.  

It is for all the reasons mentioned above, and many more, that Judi McGee has been named a Top 20 Inspiring Woman Impact Maker for 2023.