CKW LUXE is proud to announce that Phoebe Tudor is our Aquarian Award honoree. This award goes to a woman who has made transformational contributions to the city of Houston by being socially conscious, a humanitarian, philanthropic, and committed to bettering the lives of others and inspiring others to do the same.

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“I am humbled and honored to receive the Aquarian Award from CKW LUXE, considering that this magazine has philanthropy and public service as its driving focus. I feel very grateful. I love this quote I found from Muhammad Ali: ‘Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.’ ” – Phoebe Tudor

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Phoebe Tudor is an active community volunteer, involved primarily with the arts, historic preservation, parks, education, and quality of life issues. A native of Louisiana, Phoebe has lived in Houston for more than twenty-five years. She and her husband, Bobby, believe in giving back to their community and striving to make the world a better place.  

Phoebe pursued her interests in art and architecture from an early age. She earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of Virginia and then an M.S. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University.  She began her career as an Architectural Historian in New Orleans and worked as a free-lance preservation consultant. She currently serves on the Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and chairs their Preservation and Historic Sites Committee.  In Houston, she was the Founding Chairman of the Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners, which raised funds to renovate and expand Houston’s oldest library. She was appointed by the Mayor to Houston’s Archeological and Historical Commission, serving as Chairman for four of her seven years on the commission.  

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Phoebe was also involved with supporting the restoration of the historic Rotunda at her alma mater, the University of Virginia, and is on the board of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, chairing the Arts of Europe and the Mediterranean Committee, and of the Nantucket Historical Association, where she will chair their largest fundraiser, Nantucket by Design, for the third year in summer 2019. She is currently working with Harris County as Founding Chairman of the Astrodome Conservancy, a public-private partnership to help repurpose the historic Astrodome. 

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In 2013, Phoebe was named Preservationist of the Year, and in 2015 she received the President’s Award from Preservation Houston.  She is a member of the William Ward Watkins Society, the advisory council at the Rice School of Architecture. She received the Civic Vision Award from the American Institute of Architects, Houston, and she and her husband were honored at the Rice Design Alliance gala celebrating philanthropy.   

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Ballet and the performing arts have been life-long loves of Phoebe’s, and she studied dance from an early age. She was proud to serve as President and Chairman of the Board of the Houston Ballet. She and her husband have chaired the Ballet Ball and were the honorees at the Houston Ballet’s 2015 Masked Ball. She was selected to serve on Mayor Parker’s Arts and Cultural Plan Committee, and on Mayor Turner’s Quality of Life Transition Committee. She has been the President of the Shepherd Society Governing Council at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. The Tudors have twice chaired the Society for the Performing Arts Gala, chaired the Symphony Ball in 2013, and were honored at the 2014 Symphony Ball with the Centennial Ima Hogg Philanthropy Award. Of her many activities, Phoebe is particularly proud to have been the winner of the first Dancing with the Houston Stars event, benefiting the Houston Ballet. 

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Parks are another love of Phoebe’s, and she chaired the Hermann Park Conservancy’s Centennial Campaign in 2014, resulting in the building of the beautiful new Centennial Garden and Pavilion. After twenty years of involvement, she served as Chairman of the Hermann Park Conservancy Board, and she also serves on the Houston Parks Board, working on the Bayou Greenways 2020 project. She has co-chaired the Hermann Park Luncheon on the Green and was honored at the Evening in the Park at Hermann Park in 2015. 

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In the realm of education, Phoebe and her husband, Bobby, served as chairmen of the Citizens for Better Schools in support of the historic $1.8 billion 2012 HISD bond election to fund new high schools, and she has continued to serve on HISD’s Bond Oversight Committee. Phoebe has served on the advisory boards of Raise Your Hand Texas and Teach for America, Houston.  The Tudors have been honored by Houston A+ Challenge for their efforts to support public education, the Children’s Defense Fund as their Champions for Children, and as Family of the Year by the Family Services of Greater Houston. Phoebe has received the Meritorious Service Award from Rice University for her involvement with many projects there.   

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The Tudors’ generosity earned them the prestigious Maurice Hirsch Award for Philanthropy at the 2018 National Philanthropy Day Awards Luncheon of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  

 

Helping organizations raise needed funds is as important as philanthropy to Phoebe, and she has chaired many special events and galas, either alone or with her husband, Bobby, resulting in millions of dollars for many charities.  

Phoebe is married to her high school sweetheart from central Louisiana, Bobby Tudor, founder of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co investment bank, and Chairman of the Rice University Board of Trustees. She says that meeting him was undoubtedly the best thing that ever happened to her. They have three wonderful children who are her proudest accomplishments and greatest blessings: Caroline, Margaret, and Harry, all in their twenties. Phoebe credits her parents and in-laws with demonstrating a commitment to community and volunteerism, and considers herself lucky to live in this wonderful city and blessed by her family and many amazing friends.

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CKW LUXE would like to congratulate Phoebe Tudor on being the Aquarian Award honoree.