Leadership Montgomery County welcomes new chairman, vice chairman and six board members

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Leadership Montgomery County (LMC) is pleased to announce a new chairman, vice chairman and six new board members in 2016.

Julie Ambler will serve as chairman of the board for LMC in the 2016-2017 year. Ambler has been the Head of School at The Woodlands Christian Academy since 2006. She serves as a board member for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Summit Ministries in Colorado, and the Rotary Club of The Woodlands, where she has been named a Paul Harris Fellow. Ambler is also past-president and co-founder of the Montgomery County Coalition of Christian Schools and past-president of the Executive Women’s Alliance. Ambler holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a 2010 graduate of LMC and has served on the board of directors since 2012.

Phillip Moore will serve as the vice chairman for the 2016-2017 year. Moore has served as executive pastor of The Ark Church since 2003. He is a South Carolina native who graduated with an MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma. Besides serving on the board of Leadership Montgomery County, Moore also serves as chaplain of the Conroe Police Department, on the board of the Montgomery ISD Education Foundation, and is involved with the Rotary Club of Lake Conroe and Maximizing Children’s Ministry/Project Playground. He is a 2007 graduate of LMC and has served on the board of directors since 2013.

Six new board members are joining the board of directors in the new board year including Andy DuBois of Houston Community Newspapers, Jennifer Hudson of Starzyk & Associates, John Nguyen of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, Michelle O’Rourke of Montgomery County Youth Services, Erich Peterson of Jones & Carter, and Amanda Trapp of Stibbs & Co.

Andy DuBois is the executive editor of Houston Community Newspapers & Media Group and is the editor of The Courier and The Villager. DuBois is a graduate of the LMC class of 2006 and previously served on the board from 2009 to 2015. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

Jennifer Hudson is the administrator for Starzyk & Associates, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in employment and civil business litigation. Hudson spent years volunteering with DePelchin Faith Home for Children and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. She served for five years as an Encourager with the Between Jobs Ministry program at Northwest Bible Church, where she taught classes weekly on resume writing, interview techniques and self-marketing to over 500 job seekers. She recently served on the board for Bridgewood Farms where she co-chaired the largest fundraiser for the past two years - Around the World in 180 Minutes – A Wine Tasting. She is a graduate of the LMC class of 2013.

John Nguyen currently serves as the marketing manager for Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital. In addition to serving on the LMC board of directors, he also serves on the board of the Montgomery County YMCA, and is a past board member of the Montgomery County United Way. He earned his B.S. degree in advertising, graphic design and photography from Sam Houston State University. He is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County.

Michelle O’Rourke is the chief development officer for Montgomery County Youth Services (MCYS). O’Rourke is an active member of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce as a Diplomat and is the incoming team leader for Business After Hours. She served as a team leader in 2011 for The Woodlands Area Chamber’s Young Professionals Network, Chairman’s Ball and The Woodlands CrawPHish Festival. O’Rourke was named The Woodlands Area Chamber Volunteer of the Year for 2015. In addition, she is a six-year Ironman Texas aid station captain and was named the 2013 Ironman Texas Captain of the Year. She was also honored with the MCYS Volunteer Bridge Builder award in 2013. O’Rourke is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a 2011 graduate of Leadership Montgomery County.

Erich Peterson is vice president, division manager, and operations coordinator for the Municipal & District Services Practice at Jones|Carter. His experience includes civil engineering design and project management for commercial, residential, and water district projects. He received a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a licensed professional engineer. He is an active volunteer with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and past vice chairman of the Breeders Greeters Committee. He is a graduate of the LMC Class of 2012 and is an active member of the alumni association.

Amanda Trapp is a partner with Stibbs & Co., Attorneys and has been with the firm for almost eleven years. She has 20 plus years of business management experience as a corporate controller, financial analyst and accountant for several privately held companies in the Houston area prior to becoming a lawyer. Trapp is a founding member of the Coldspring ISD Education Foundation, and also serves on the Conroe ISD Education Foundation. She is a board member of the Montgomery County Community Foundation, and the team leader for the Affinity Team of The Woodlands Chamber. She serves as chairman of the Finance Committee for Coldspring United Methodist Church, and continues to serve as chair of the Audit Committee. She is treasurer of the School for Little Children and active in the Church Council.

Leadership Montgomery County (LMC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, dedicated to developing and enhancing current and future leaders of Montgomery County. The mission of LMC is to prepare emerging and existing leaders to understand local issues, grow their leadership skills and connect with others to better serve Montgomery County.

The Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce, The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Magnolia Chamber of Commerce, the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber, the Montgomery County Hispanic Chamber, and the Magnolia Parkway Chamber are all participating Chambers in the LMC program. Participants are chosen by application process in June of each year.

For more information about Leadership Montgomery County, please visit LMCTX.org.