Mayor Sylvester Turner has appointed Shannon Buggs, an experienced communicator and administrator, as the first director of the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities.
Buggs will develop strong collaborative relationships with neighborhood residents, City of Houston departments, other government agencies and officials, private donors, and non-profit organizations to fulfill the Complete Communities Action Plans.
Mayor Turner launched Complete Communities to demonstrate how public, private and non-profit partners can revive neighborhoods with the guidance of their residents. Pilot areas are Acres Home, Gulfton, Near Northside, Second Ward, and Third Ward.
Buggs will ensure projects identified through a public engagement process are implemented, funded and managed efficiently. She also will focus on securing private and philanthropic investments to help implement the Action Plans.
Her position is funded by a grant from the Houston Endowment, Inc. “As a proven leader and doer who has a feel for grassroots people and issues, Shannon Buggs will help us take Complete Communities to the next level of accomplishment and responsiveness by helping to attract private investment into neighborhoods that have been under resourced for decades,” Mayor Turner said. “Also, I thank the Houston Endowment for funding this important position as an example of how a public/private partnership can work to leverage resources to improve all communities.” Buggs previously worked as director of community and public relations at The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, director of communication for the University of Houston’s College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and business columnist and reporter for the Houston Chronicle.
She most recently served as the founding executive director of Culture Source, Inc. (formerly CultureWorks Greater Houston), a fiscal sponsorship and management consulting nonprofit. A Houston native, Buggs is a longtime supporter of the city’s nonprofit sector and has held volunteer leadership positions with the Harvey Arts Recovery Fund, Houston Arts Alliance, Writers in the Schools and other arts and public service organizations.
She is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a former trustee of Episcopal High School in Bellaire. Buggs earned a bachelor of arts degree in English and American Literature from Harvard University, a master of science degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and a certificate in financial planning from the University of Houston. For more information on the Complete Communities initiative or to view each neighborhood’s Action Plan, visit online at http://www.houstontx.gov/completecommunities/.
To contact the Mayor’s Office of Complete Communities, call 832.393.1085.