Executive Vice President, Vernon G. Henry & Associates, Inc.

Mary Lou graduated from Rice University with both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture. She has served as an urban planner for more than 30 years; her planning experience and expertise includes consulting in Houston, New York and Los Angeles. She also served as a longtime analyst for the City of Houston and in executive positions with the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the National Planning Award from the APA, and the College of Fellows from the AICP.

Currently, Mary Lou is on the Board of the Houston Fire Museum, the Main Street Coalition, the South Main Alliance, the University Place Association, the Advisory Board of Trees for Houston, and is President of the Boulevard Oaks Civic Association. In the past, she has been the President of the Texas Chapter as well as on the national Board of the APA, and the national Vice-Chair as well as the Chair of the College of Fellows of the AICP.