We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful The Honorable Jacquie Baly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with The Honorable Jacquie below.
The Honorable Jacquie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
Lasting Impact From the beginning of her career as a City Planner to becoming Vice President of the Greater Houston Partnership, 2nd black person to serve on Sugar Land’s City Council, to becoming the owner of a successful business Jacquie continues to receive statewide and national recognition. National Business Owner of the Year is just one of her latest accolades.
Jacquie’s community service only augments all of her accomplishments. One of her favorite community endeavors includes meeting with former Governor Rick Perry and Governor Greg Abbott to bring CASA services to more of Texas’s 254 counties. Specifically, she has served in the capacity of providing public and governmental awareness (to elected officials as well as to community leaders) about issues concerning abused and neglected children.
Jacquie has maintained a successful practice, is a leader in the community, and is a devoted mother and wife to her family. Through awards, accolades, and successes, she is living proof that with hard work and determination, the “American dream” is an attainable goal.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Jacquie Baly, President, of BalyProjects, has been a leader in the Texas business and policy communities for more than two decades. She began her career as a city and regional planner for numerous entities, served as a gubernatorial appointee on water and wastewater issues under Governor Rick Perry, was former Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmember for the City of Sugar Land and is now a recent appointee to Governor Abbott on higher education initiatives.
Ms. Baly founded BalyProjects in 1999 with the objective of providing public affairs, business development, and media relations, services to individuals, institutions, small businesses, government, and corporations.
Ms. Baly lectures on public policy at the University of Houston and served as a Faculty-In-Residence at the University of Texas in Austin. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Public Policy and Education at the University of Southern California.
Ms. Baly is the proud mother of two exceptional young men. Her eldest, Raphael is currently getting his MBA at Boston College. Her youngest son, Alexandre graduated from Harvard with high honors in neuroscience and will begin medical school in 2023. Jacquie has recently remarried business executive James Craig and resides in Houston.
Signature Project Example
Signature Project Widening of I10—Public Engagement Efforts
The reconstruction of Interstate I-10 West, the Katy Freeway, began in June 2003. $480 million in projects went to contract. The complete reconstruction of Interstate 10 from Loop 610 to Katy was completed by 2008. Jacquie provided public engagement and public outreach for this project, informing business owners and residents of the impact and timeli
Jacquie Baly’s Story
Ms. Baly came from humble and modest beginnings. Her parents migrated from the French West Indies to St. Croix, where Ms. Baly was born over a decade later. Their only child, Jacquie, was born on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, in 1968, giving her American citizenship a defined goal of her parents.
Mr. Baly arrived in Baytown, Teas, on June 7, 1976. At this time, he shared a trailer with 12 other immigrants who all had the same dream of making better lives for their families. He saved enough money and was able to buy a home in a quiet neighborhood East of Houston. He reunited his family by bringing Jacquie and her mother to Houston. Immediately, there were many adjustments for everyone. There were “strange little things” like having a lawn, riding an escalator, and adjusting to new accents. And all of that is separate from the many cultural differences.
Jacquie was immediately the victim of ridicule and childish pranks. Her accent and Caribbean cultural customs were often made the subject of jokes, and Jacquie quickly decided that education and acclimation to American lifestyle and traditions were her avenues to success. She graduated magna cum laude in her high school class and was the first in her family to attend and complete college. She earned a master’s degree and was recently accepted into USC to begin her doctoral studies.
As Ms. Baly began to evaluate her goals, she quickly discovered that public and governmental service was a strong passion. From the beginning of her career as a city Planner to becoming Vice President of the Greater Houston Partnership to becoming the owner of a successful business, she has received regional and statewide recognition.
Jacquie’s community service only augments all her accomplishments. Jacquie has maintained a successful practice, is a leader in the community, and is a devoted mother and wife to her family. Throughout the awards, accolades, and successes, she is living proof that the “American Dream” is an attainable goal with hard work and determination.
Jacquie Baly’s Awards
Top Ten Entrepreneur in the Country by the National Association of Women Business Owners
Woman of Distinction
University of Houston Alumni Association’s Rising Star and Black Alumnus of the Year awards
Houston’s Most Influential Woman
CORE Media Most Influential Black TODAY
Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Role Model of the Year
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital Philanthropist of the Year
Entrepreneur of the Year
Dynamic Woman of Houston
United States Junior Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Young American
Outstanding Young Texan
Outstanding Young Houstonian
(The Houston Chronicle) Woman on the Move
San Jacinto Girl Scouts Volunteer of the Year
Outstanding Minority Public Official (COMPTA)
Public Servant of the Year
Planning Leader of the Year
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Covid 19 Challenges • loss in clients or business revenue
• it was difficult placing coverage in the pandemic news cycle
• it wasn’t easy finding relevant angles for pitches; and
• many of Jacquie’s clients scaled back or eliminated PR and public affairs resources
Overcame these issues
Jacquie’s firm collaborated with executive leadership, particularly with the C-suite (CEO, CHRO, CMO, CFO, and COO).
In times of crisis, communication is critical. Even though she had a harsh pandemic year, Jacquie worked around the clock adjusting messaging, giving interviews, writing crisis communication plans, and keeping clients at ease. Companies without a good communications professional or team have been struggling. Crisis communication is not to be taken lightly, and Jacquie’s crew is here to help. Covid was the dress rehearsal for the next crisis. BalyProjects is now equipped to help companies prepare and survive.
One of Jacquie’s biggest strengths is building relationships, and this is what got her company through the pandemic. She knows how to move through crises and foster cooperation as a relationship builder. Her company’s products and services shifted to meet the needs of current and future clients navigating complex waters.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In all of her professional roles, Jacquie is the youngest person to hold each position. Specifically, on the Brazos River Authority (BRA) Board, she is the youngest person to ever receive a gubernatorial appointment in the agency’s 75-year history. The Brazos River Authority was established in 1929 by the Texas legislature as a public agency of the state of Texas. BRA has statutory responsibility for developing and conserving the surface water resources of the Brazos River basin in Texas and for putting these resources to use in the best interest of the people of Texas. The Brazos River basin covers over 42,000 square miles in Texas, about one-sixth of the area of the state; the boundaries of the river authority include all or part of sixty-five Texas counties. Jacquie represents 19 of these counties. This coverage includes thousands of homes and businesses that depend on BRA as its only water source. During her tenure, Jacquie has been part of the significant increase in BRA’s visibility, presence and credibility within these areas. More specifically, she has helped BRA garner multi-million dollar projects within the Houston-region. She also has the distinction of serving in leadership roles on the Public Affairs and Legal Regulations subcommittees for the BRA.
As a City Planner, Jacquie was the youngest department head (and first person of color) in both Sugar Land’s (actually the entire county of Fort Bend) and Seabrook’s histories. While at the City of Seabrook, Jacquie received the Texas Municipal League’s Excellence Award for development and planning the City’s seaside strip. (The Texas Municipal League is an association of more than 1,000 Texas cities. It is the largest organization of its kind in the United States.) While at the City of Sugar Land, Jacquie planned Town Square, Sugar Land’s new downtown. With this development Jacquie won several awards including, “Outstanding Development” by the American Planning Association and “Exceptional Design” by the Association of Certified Planners. During her time at both cities, Jacquie revised codes and ordinances, with a focus on making each city more comparable and desirable for community development. This contributed to the considerable growth and further increases in population.
At the Greater Houston Partnership, Jacquie was the youngest person and the first woman of color to ever hold an Executive position in the organization’s history. She led a delegation of elected and public officials in advocacy efforts for additional transportation and air quality funding in the region. This delegation increased the Houston-Fort Bend region’s funding share by 5%. She also worked closely with Governor Perry, Senator Hutchison and Judge Eckels on the Trans Texas Corridor and I-69, both are instrumental mobility projects for the Houston region.
With her success as a public servant, Jacquie made a pivot and opened up her own practice and boutique firm in 1999. Jacquie has spent many years working with top governmental and elected officials on the public side and when she opened up her practice she was doing the same work but now on the private side. An example–on the Houston region’s State Implementation Program (SIP). Currently, through BalyProjects, she is working with elected officials, independent school districts and the corporate community in the development of public education programs. One of her company’s projects, Adopt-A-School Bus, had significant impacts on air quality initiatives throughout the region. The primary purpose of the Adopt-A-School Bus Program is to aid local school districts in non-attainment and near-non-attainment areas in replacing their aging, diesel school buses, with new, “clean-fuel” buses. These goals coincide with the statements of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.balyprojects.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/professor.on.air/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jacqueline.Baly.Chaumette/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquie-baly-2b11501/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacquieBaly
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQnU1jvDJAQo9vCtKq6JHUA