TOP 20 IMPACT MAKERS AWARDS 2019
Lisa Morris Simon and Jerry Simon
Top 20 Power Couple Impact Maker Award
Photo credit: Gittings
Saturday, January 5, 2019
The Ballroom at Bayou Place
Lisa and Jerry Simon choose to make a difference in the world by serving others and giving back to their community.
A native of Houston, Lisa is chairman of MFT Interests, a family-owned real estate investment business. She has a bachelor’s degree from Houston Baptist University and graduated from the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. Lisa previously served 12 years as chairman of the board of Southern National Bank.
To Lisa, success is measured by the quality of our service and our relationship to the community where we live and work. Lisa is a member of the board of trustees of Memorial Hermann Hospital Foundation; Uptown Houston District Board; Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in Lynchburg, Virginia; and the McNair Center Development Board Charter. She currently serves as president of the Joella and Stewart Morris Foundation and recently served on the boards of The Museum of Southern History and the Oldham Little Church Foundation, the board of trustees of Houston Baptist University, and as past president of the Rivercrest Civic Association.
Lisa has been endowed with numerous awards and honors. Some of these include: the Fort Bend County Volunteer of the Year Award; Sugar Land Rotary Club Citizen of the Year Award; named as Honorary Ambassador to Mexico; named one of ABC Channel 13’s Women of Distinction benefiting the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, 2014; named one of the Inaugural Women of Substance benefiting the Mission of Yahweh, 2017; honored at The Easter Seals Annual Hats Off To Mothers Luncheon, 2017; and named Inspire Women’s Business Woman of the Year, 2017.
She is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Colonists. Lisa also belongs to the American Museum Society of Houston Baptist University and is a board member of The Ladies for Literacy Guild.
Lisa is the proud mother of two successful children, Camella Clements and Glenn Clements, Jr., and she and Jerry are thrilled to have four outstanding and wonderful grandchildren.
Jerry is managing director for Northern Trust, a $10.8 trillion dollar wealth management firm headquartered in Chicago, IL.
Jerry has always had a passion for aviation. He is a licensed commercial pilot and is type rated to fly jets. He is a 17-plus-year member of the Angel Flight and Veteran’s Airlift Command organizations, which arrange transport for families needing access to specialized health care as well as disaster response efforts and flights for compassionate reasons.
Jerry serves as a member of the board of directors for the following organizations: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors; Houston Symphony; Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas; Houston Methodist Center for Performing Arts Medicine; Lone Star Flight Museum; U.S. Pastor Council; and Museum of the Bible Foundation, Washington, D.C. He also serves as a trustee for the Houston Symphony Endowment, a trustee emeritus for Goodwill Industries of Houston, a member of The Menil Collection Corporate Council, and a member of the advisory board for The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) Friends.
Jerry served five years on the faculty of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University, on the board of trustees for The Center for Hearing and Speech, on the board of directors for the Post Oak YMCA, as vice chairman of deacons of the Second Baptist Church, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research.
Together, Lisa and Jerry have chaired or cochaired many fundraising events, including the 50th Anniversary of Houston Baptist University Spirit of Excellence Gala, The Rose Gala for breast cancer treatment, The Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research Gala, HSPVA Encore of Excellence Luncheon, and the It Happened to Alexa Foundation inaugural fund raiser. Most recently, the couple served as cochairs for the Houston Symphony and the Lone Star Flight Museum annual galas raising $1.6 million and $1.2 million, respectively.
In recognition of the couple’s commitment and dedication to helping others, they have been the honorees at The American Heart Association’s A Celebration of the Heart and the Keep Sugar Land Beautiful annual event.
Firmly rooted in the Houston community, Lisa and Jerry give back every day to make a positive difference in the lives of many.
It is for all the reasons mentioned above, and many more, that Lisa Morris Simon and Jerry Simon have been named a Top 20 Power Couple Impact Maker for 2019.