Houston has no shortage of women who have made their mark in the city. But a few stand out as busting through barriers in their industries.
Here’s but a few.
Aerospace
Ellen Ochoa, Director, Johnson Space Center
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in physics, San Diego State University; master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering, Stanford University
- Home state: California
- Residence: Houston
- Family: Husband, Coe Miles; two sons.
Ellen Ochoa’s entire career is one of firsts.
She is the first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center, NASA’s principal center of operations in Houston. The 11th director for JSC, Ochoa oversees 3,000 employees at its Clear Lake campus. The Johnson Space Center is home to the space organization’s mission control and operations facilities for the International Space Station, the Orion project, which is NASA’s deep-space operations vehicle, and several other exploration projects. It is also home to countless science and research projects to better prepare NASA’s astronauts for life in space.
Ochoa’s career goes far beyond that of an executive for NASA, however. She started her career as an astronaut in 1990 for the space organization and became the first Hispanic female to enter space when, in 1993, she completed a nine-day mission on the space shuttle Discovery. Ochoa would complete three more space missions, logging more than 1,000 hours in orbit, according to NASA.
Outside her NASA role, Ochoa serves on the board of directors for Houston-based Service Corporation International, a multibillion-dollar funeral services company, and she previously served as chair of the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank’s Houston branch.
Ochoa is the recipient of NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award, has five schools named for her and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Additionally, Ochoa and fellow astronaut Michael Foale will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in May.
— Joe Martin
Construction
Laura Bellows, Chair and CEO of W.S. Bellows Construction Corp.
- Family: Husband, Jack Pendergrast; two adult sons; two adult stepchildren; one grandson
- Education: Bachelor’s of business administration and fine arts, Vanderbilt University
- Hobbies: Tennis, walking, writing, painting
- Boards and community involvement: Board member of Greater Houston Partnership, Houston Arts Alliance, DePelchin Children’s Center, the American Heart Association and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
You wouldn’t think that the leader of a more than 100-year-old company dabbles in water coloring in her spare time or has a background in travel writing.
But few things about Laura Bellows, chairman and president of Houston-based Bellows Construction Corp., are routine.
The bubbly Bellows, who’s been with the construction company for 10 years, took on the role following the unexpected death of her then-husband in 2007.
“I suddenly became a widow, a single parent and the majority owner of a 93-year-old construction company with more than 200 employees, many of whom had spent their entire careers there,” Bellows said.
Her first formalized role with Bellows Construction was that of chairwoman, which the company fully embraced and supported, she said. Five years later, she was named CEO, as well. Since then, the company has worked on landmark projects such as the Alley Theatre’s $46.5 million renovation, Wulfe & Co.’s BLVD Place development, the Asia Society Texas Center and more. Bellows’ grandson was born at the Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women; it was the company’s first project under her tenure.
“I know that the success of our company is due to our employees,” Bellows said. “I never forget that.”
Now, she’s speaking out and leading civic groups dedicated to alleviating the construction industry’s workforce shortage, a trend that’s affecting general contractors around the nation. Bellows serves as co-chair of the construction sector council of Upskill Houston, an initiative of the Greater Houston Partnership. The company is involved in the Construction Career Collaborative, or C3.
“Our industry is seeing the Baby Boomer generation start to retire. We have a gap,” Bellows said. “I feel like it’s important for our industry to address.”
Part of the job that Upskill Houston and C3 are tasked with is making the industry more attractive to men and, very importantly, women. As of 2014, roughly 9 percent of all construction industry workers are women, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To her company’s credit, Bellows said that more than one-third of Bellows Construction’s project management and estimation professionals are women.
“We hire the best people. Oftentimes, they’re women,” Bellows said. “As more and more people move into management and leadership roles, I think that young women and girls – including the daughters of those of us in the industry now – will be able to see themselves in our roles one day.”
— Cara Smith
Energy
Peggy Montana, Former CEO, Shell Midstream Partners; board director, Shell Midstream Partners
- Hometown: Shawnee, Kansas
- Residence: Houston
- Education: Bachelor’s in chemical engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology
- Family: Married with two adult children
Peggy Montana was originally drawn to the energy industry by the fact that it let her wear jeans and work outside.
This was well before she ascended to become the CEO of Shell Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: SHLX), a role from which she retired in 2015. She liked the fact that, as a chemical engineer, she could be on-site at a refinery and get hands-on experience with the operations there.
“You never know what’s going to happen when you get up in the morning, in terms of the challenges you’re going to face,” Montana said. “But as you go up in the energy industry, it’s very difficult to stay outside.”
At the time, Montana wasn’t thinking about her career in terms of the C-suite. She wanted to get into management, but she hadn’t yet set her sights quite so high.
“People talk about where you want to be 10 years, 20 years out. I don’t find that to be particularly useful advice,” Montana said. “You can have that as a goal, but doors open that you never anticipated, and you have to be ready for them when they come.”
For her, that door came when she had the opportunity to work for Shell overseas. That experience gave Montana a much broader view of the company than she would have otherwise seen, she said. Without that perspective, Montana said she doesn’t think she would have been a particularly effective executive.
But it takes more than that to make it to the top, Montana said.
“You have to be in the right place at the right time. There’s an element of luck. A lot of it is your skill, but there’s an element of luck, no doubt about it,” she said.
There are things that can improve the odds, though. Montana named hard work, collecting a broad base of skills and experiences and finding the right field to fit her education as chief among them. It also means tough choices that won’t work for everyone — Montana said her husband stepped off the career ladder when they moved out of the country so she could get that international perspective.
Montana got her shot at the CEO position when she proposed taking part of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS) public as an MLP.
“It was an amazing amount of fun,” Montana said. “It’s just a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience, capped by me ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.”
Montana did the investor roadshow ahead of the initial public offering with CFO Susan Ward and Michelle Joy, her vice president of business development.
“People were surprised when three women showed up for the roadshow,” Montana said. “That was cool. It was a lot of fun.”
Montana said she doesn’t often think about the fact that she’s a woman in a field dominated by male executives, though she did say she was disappointed that her industry has not progressed as far as she would like in that respect.
She said she doesn’t think that will change until it starts to impact the bottom line, but she also said that the time is coming. More women are making their way onto company boards, and more women are making their way up the corporate ladder.
“It really does start with the CEO. It has to be a tone from the top,” Montana said. “I’ve changed my mind over the years, but in my view it has to be hard targets, and they have to hold people accountable.”
For young people getting into the energy industry today, Montana advises chasing opportunities whenever they show up.
“I can’t tell you how many people, women in particular, say, ‘Oh, I’m not ready for that job,’” she said. “The best advice I can give is get out of your comfort zone. If you play it too safe, or even just somewhat safe, you’re not going to get to the level that you could.”
As far as things she wishes she had done differently herself, Montana pointed to networking. She said that not only was she an introvert, but she had a family and an already-demanding job, and time felt like it was in short supply.
“I really wish I had done a lot more of that,” she said. “One, I think I could have had a bigger impact on other peoples’ careers, and two, I think I could have learned more and faster.”
— Joshua Mann
Residential
Toy Wood, Retired; former CEO of the Greater Houston Builders Association
- Hometown: Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Cisco, Texas
- Education: , Bachelor’s in environmental design, Texas A&M; Juris Doctorate, University of Houston Law Center
- Family: Wife, Diana Johnson; daughters Carrie Wood and Mindy Hickman; and granddaughters Bailey Hickman, 19, and Taylor Hickman, 11
- First job: Ad layout for small-town newspaper
Toy Wood remembers getting a few puzzled looks after becoming the first female CEO of the Greater Houston Builders Association.
Wood walked into some of her first meetings with construction executives, their hands extending in a friendly handshake, but their eyes belying a sense of doubt. Let’s see how much she knows about building codes and environmental regulations.
“You felt a different feeling in the room,” Wood said. “It wasn’t necessarily negative, but almost like, ‘Yeah, I’m not sure if she’s got the stuff to take on this job.’”
Wood quickly proved she could lead the nation’s fourth-largest homebuilding organization. As the CEO of GHBA, Wood worked with Texas lawmakers to implement a statewide residential building code to replace a patchwork of building codes across a half-dozen cities. She also oversaw the expansion of continuing education programs to help homebuilders learn professional and business management skills.
After nearly two decades with GHBA, Wood retired last year leaving a legacy as a trailblazer in Houston’s homebuilding industry.
After graduating from Texas A&M University with a degree in environmental design, Wood began her career working for an architect and land developer. Wood eventually pivoted to politics, becoming the campaign manager for Congressman Jack Fields. During that time, Wood earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
In 1997, a few years out of law school, Wood joined the GHBA as its director of government affairs. Although she was never a homebuilder herself, Wood worked tirelessly on behalf of Houston homebuilders on a wide range of issues at the local, state and national levels. And in 2004, Wood was tapped as the leader of Texas’ largest homebuilding association with more than 2,000 member companies. At the time, no women were CEOs of major urban home building associations.
“Homebuilding was more of a man’s world,” Wood said. “Over the years, just like everything else, it has gotten a little bit better, but it still is a male-dominated field.”
Wood said she feels fortunate to have spent her early career in politics, establishing relationships with elected officials as both a campaign manager and as a lobbyist.
“People weren’t used to a female CEO, but people were used to me,” Wood said. “Everyone was receptive and warm, and I always felt included.
Still, Wood said she worked hard to prove herself in the homebuilding industry. She attended seminars, and stayed on top of industry news. Before she even became CEO, she sought mentorship from GHBA’s former CEO Max Hoyt, who encouraged her to become a certified association executive from the American Society of Association Executives.
Wood advises young women considering a career in homebuilding or lobbying to study and learn as much as they can from peers and mentors, but never forget their worth in an organization.
“Don’t ever think that just because you’re a woman, you’re coming in at some lesser level,” Wood said. “Don’t let anyone else do that to you. If you’re going into a male-dominated job, you’ve got just as much talent and experience as any guy, and you should be paid the same.”
Wood retired last year, but she continues to remain active in the Houston homebuilding industry. She serves on the board of GHBA’s charity, HomeAid Houston, which provides housing for low-income families. GHBA also provides scholarships and charitable donations through the Toy Wood Legacy Fund.
And when Wood left GHBA, she left it in the hands of another female executive: Casey Morgan, former vice president and director of government affairs.
— Paul Takahashi
Retail
Tracy Vaught, Co-owner of H Town Restaurant Group
Hometown: Houston
- Education: Bachelor’s in geology, University of Texas at Austin
- Broke into the restaurant scene: 1983
- Portfolio includes: Backstreet Cafe, Prego, Hugo’s, Third Coast, Caracol, Xochi
- Family: Husband, Hugo Ortega; daughter, Sophia
Tracy Vaught got a call in late March — her daughter, Sophia, 20, said she was interested in joining the family food business.
Vaught is the co-owner of H Town Restaurant Group, which she runs with Sophia’s dad and her husband, Hugo Ortega. The group operates several prominent restaurant in Houston, including the recently opened Xochi downtown. She started her own food career in 1983 when she launched Backstreet Cafe in River Oaks.
Entering the restaurant business as a woman wasn’t difficult in the 1980s, but the food business itself has changed the most since then, she said. More women have entered the industry since nationwide and in Houston.
“I can’t say I’m a person who looks at herself as a woman business owner,” Vaught said. “I have the same challenges (as anyone else).”
Her first business experience was in Washington, D.C. She worked in the energy business there after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977 with a degree in geology. She sunk wells there and then at Conoco in Houston before she was relocated to an office job.
The doldrums of working in the office, and the impending oil slump of the 1980s, made her reconsider her career. That’s when she reached out to her uncle, Jack Blalock, for help. She tiptoed around her parents because they were proud she worked in the oil business and hoped she’d join the family salt company one day — a job she wasn’t interested in.
Another mentor, Ron Riddle, helped launch Vaught into the industry. He invited her over to his home once a week, worked out food costs and gave her reading assignments for free.
“It could have been ugly (if he didn’t help),” Vaught said.
She and Blalock found an old tailor shop in River Oaks to launch Backstreet. After a few years, she invested in Prego, a 4-year-old Italian restaurant in Rice Village, in 1987.
There was an experience early on that shaped her restaurant career. One of her waiters was acting a little “rebellious” and was telling some of the staff she could run the restaurant better than Vaught. So Vaught sat her down and said the only difference between the two of them was that Vaught was actually running the restaurant.
“Taking the step and doing something doesn’t mean you’re an expert,” Vaught said. “It means you’re willing to take the chance.”
Vaught later hired Hugo, a dishwasher, who knew little English. The two worked closely together, and he was promoted quickly through the business. Then, in 1994, the two married.
Afterwards, they both decided to open a Mexican restaurant based on the tastes Hugo knew growing up in Mexico. In 2002, the couple opened Hugo’s in Montrose. They have gone on to open several other concepts and have been nominated for several James Beard awards.
Vaught’s advice for anyone looking to get into the restaurant or hospitality industry: Be prepared.
“You’ve got to do your homework,” she said. “The standards are very high.”
— Jack Witthaus
