Houston & Gulf Coast RegionApril 3, 2025 | Hilton Americas, Houston

Winnie Hurston is a 37 year veteran of the Administrative Profession most recently as Board Liason and Senior Executive Assistant to the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Carriage Services. With an extensive background as a Legal Secretary, Office Manager, and Executive Assistant, Winnie has shouldered many responsibilities, ranging from administrative support to managing financial affairs and intricate legal matters. She’s successfully navigated the complexities of Carriage Services' decentralized structure, facilitating seemless communications between HQ and its 200 subsidiaries nationwide, significantly enhancing the company's operational efficiency. Winnie's commitment to excellence has earned high praise and her executive shared, Winnie is ‘the highest-level Executive Admin I’ve seen in my 35-years of experience across four publicly-held companies”. She is counted on for her insightful perspectives and comprehensive knowledge of corporate affairs and has lived the Carriage Values for 17 years straight, every single day.

Kessler Kapadia is the Executive Coordinator to the CEO of Devlin Garbers where she masterfully heads administration, supporting the Founder’s engagements across four corporate boards, including Fortune 100 companies, and three non-profits as well as personal endeavors including home construction management. Of course! Kessler is described as not only extremely smart, but phenomenally industrious. She “takes charge in a way that others welcome”. Her leaders says “ I have worked for 40+ years, and have had the benefit of hiring and working with many excellent Admins. I can say with confidence that Kessler is among the best – if not the best. Kessler is also pursuing her Masters at Harvard, in Industrial Organization Psychology (and getting great grades by the way) as well as being a single Mother of two thriving girls.  Oh, and in her spare time she competes national in Jui Jitsu competitions, winning Silver just a few weeks ago in Atlanta. What an achiever, indeed – congratulations Kessler!

Just over 12 years ago, Cari Bishop Smith entered the Texas A&M University system in Galveston as an entry level Administrative Professional. Within 10 months her meteoric rise began when she was hand-picked to serve the Chief Academic Officer. Today, Cari serves as the Director of Academic Affairs supporting the Executive Associate Vice President and Chief Academic Officer in addition to all Department Heads who rely on Cari’s expertise to not only thrive in their roles but to survive.Her impact on the university's administrative structure has been transformative, particularly her centralization of faculty-related procedures which enhanced operational efficiency, setting a new standard with contributions that elevate the Campus, University and rise all the way to the state level. Her leader says “Ms. Cari Bishop Smith absolutely ranks among the best of the best. She is quite simply and truly, phenomenal.

Karen Fore is a 45-year veteran of the Administrative Profession serving as Executive Assistant to the Chair at UT MD Anderson. Karen's tenure overseeing the resident and fellows’ program for anesthesia services at Baylor College of Medicine exemplifies her unparalleled commitment to excellence. Her astute leadership and meticulous attention to detail have not only ensured the smooth operation of the program but have significantly contributed to the professional development of countless individuals within the medical field. For the past 8 years, Karen has served as an indispensable pillar of support in her role as an executive assistant. What truly sets Karen apart is her incredible commitment to shouldering responsibilities. She never shies away from a challenge no matter how demanding and her work ethic, reliability and ability to consistently exceed expectations exemplify true loyalty.

The HR Team at Texas A&M has adeptly navigated the distinct challenges of supporting the Institute of Biosciences and Technology and Engineering Medicine, a demanding 24/7 research environment, alongside their vital role in the university's pioneering 'physicianeer' program.In addition, their exceptional management of the  Galveston campus’ Summer Sea Program, a maritime academy with the unique feature of a floating classroom resulted in commendations from the ship operations staff who lauded the team’s resilient and resourceful ‘can do’ mentality in overcoming the myriad of obstacles to ensure the program’s success at sea.  By harnessing their collective expertise for creative thinking, effective problem solving and dedication to excellence, Texas A&M’s HR Admin Team triumphantly earns tonight’s Achiever Award!

As Administrative Assistant Lead IV at KBR, Lorna DeArmond not only embodies all the qualities of a great Admin but inspires those same qualities in the Admin team she leads. She has supported the Human Space Flight program for 17 years and models the five keys of the Johnson Space Center Flight Operations Division Foundations of Flight Operations credo including discipline, competence, confidence responsibility and teamwork. She is always available to offer guidance or advice, whether for one of her Admins or a fellow Admin, and takes pride in sharing her knowledge and helping fellow team members. Additionally, Lorna publishes an Admin newsletter that offers insight into the skills essential to being a great Admin, and she created and leads the MSOC Admin Study Group that to date has delivered over 17 hours of skills training to Admin teams across the Human Exploration Division departments. “Loyal Lorna is dedicated to all who truly make NASA work,” her colleague said, “and without them we would never make it in space, never reach for the stars — and for the most part, many of us would be a complete wreck.

Areli Pastrana is Executive Assistant at HP Inc., where she is recognized for strategically collaborating with her executive, his chief of staff and his leadership team to manage the executive office. Most recently, Areli played an instrumental role in partnering with the chief of staff to create and execute the Readiness Plan for an entirely new organization within the company. This included recommending and executing key meetings and identifying key stakeholders across business units with a focus on operating rhythm. She ran point to ensure the organization design and selection process stayed on track, aligning complex calendars for interviews across organizations and executives. Only a few months into the new organizational design, Areli continues to proactively bring forward choice-points and make recommendations based on her purview of business needs. Her colleagues are consistently amazed by her incredible professionalism, her sense of urgency, and her ability to lean into every task with a lens for delivering the best customer experience.

Nashota (Shay) Jefferson is Executive Assistant to the COO at Houston Methodist West, where she assists her leader in supporting more than 600 employees across 14 different departments. That’s no easy task, but you’d never know it from Shay’s unshakably sunny demeanor — she’s a cheerleader, moderator, connector and all-around spirit champion for the hospital. She consistently puts Houston Methodist West’s ICARE (Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence) values into action, whether by leading and championing the campus’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or by modeling a healthy lifestyle as part of the Healthy Directions program. Shay brings a level of optimism to the workplace that's unparalleled despite the stress and challenges health systems face — for example, during the pandemic, she was instrumental in helping to change protocols and systems of operation to keep the hospital organized. The impact of Shay’s positive spirit and work ethic is palpable and has inspired others to take ownership, celebrate each other and be better people.

In her role as Administrative Assistant at Cheniere Energy, Brandee Mireles is viewed not only as a true partner, but as the glue that holds the entire team together. Her influence can be seen in the way she has helped to streamline processes and improve productivity, including in the coordination of quarterly executive meetings, periodic departmental town halls and functional leadership meetings, where she prepares all relevant details and expertly handles logistical arrangements. Brandee is always quick to lend a hand and can be counted on to deliver, particularly in high-impact situations. She is a Microsoft Office aficionado who stays up to date with developments and training that are relevant to her role and department so that she can provide exceptional support to her team. That support also extends to other Admins — as Administrative Assistant lead, Brandee bolsters her colleagues through interviewing, onboarding and mentorship. For those reasons and more, she is seen as a model employee whose can-do attitude never goes unnoticed.

In her role as Administrative Assistant, Community Engagement, at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Elizabeth Longoria’s commitment and contributions to the organization and the larger community are on full display. Over the past year, she has successfully increased HCSO’s newly developed community outreach programs including Police Activity League (a youth crime prevention program that uses educational, athletic and recreational activities to create trust and understanding between police officers and youth) and UNIDOS (designed to assist the Spanish-speaking residents of Harris County). She also organized HSCO’s first ever Citizens’ Police Academy class for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, helping to secure partnerships with several deaf and hard of hearing organizations, performing outreach to three deaf and hard-of-hearing-only churches, and personally learning sign language to ensure she could communicate accurately with the participants. “I believe much of my own successes in this organization,” one police officer said, “is because of Elizabeth’s continued encouragement to inspire and motivate all of us.

Donna White is Program Coordinator at MD Anderson Care Center, where she provides exemplary support to the Hematologic Malignancy section — according to one physician, Donna has “undoubtedly contributed to our success as academicians and clinical faculty.” She launches into every initiative with a can-do attitude, welcoming new processes and consistently going above and beyond what is expected of her. Donna is known for identifying solutions to problems and completing every task with exceptional success. For example, she has the reputation within her department as a “Concur guru” — she takes the time to master processes and new programs and fully embraces every new initiative that is presented to her. Donna’s incredible administrative skills are recognized not only by faculty and leadership but also by her peers. She is constantly sought out to provide guidance to other administrators and always does so with an exceedingly cheerful disposition. Through her work, Donna is committed to promoting the well-being of her colleagues and her team members.

Kelly Alessi is Senior Station Administrator for Southwest Airlines, where her talent for taking initiative is seen as second to none. She is an incredible resource to employees, helping the team with everything from complex payroll issues to overseeing hiring and onboarding processes (and everything in-between). But it is Kelly’s heart that can’t be ignored — she lives by Colleen Barrett’s philosophy of following the Golden Rule. When a tornado caused significant damage to a neighborhood near Hobby Airport, Kelly sprang into action, calling to check on employees who lived in the area and even booking hotel rooms and adjusting work schedules for those affected. She updates vending options so employees have healthy, fresh food offerings; designs and coordinates a welcome and training process for new employees; and unfailingly provides the legendary customer service Southwest is known for. What’s most impressive is that Kelly does all of this without being asked — she’s simply dedicated to doing what’s right for Southwest and its people.