Events

Laurie Polomsky is an author, speaker, former educator, recovering bakery owner, and enthusiastic collector of life experiences. A graduate of the University of Houston with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she spent several years teaching middle school English before opening Sugar Happiness, a custom bakery that specialized in cookies, bars, and trendy desserts.

Today, Laurie serves in Rotary, travels with her husband and dogs, and writes about the lessons learned from living, working, and adventuring in small spaces. Her debut book, The Best RV Guide for Couples with Dogs, was released in March 2026.

Whether she's speaking about intentional living, designing joy, or finding meaning in everyday moments, Laurie loves helping people laugh, think, and see their lives a little differently.

Shawn Alex Nemeth is a talented speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur who has dedicated his life to helping childhood trauma survivors heal and thrive.  After suffering horrific abuse as a child, Nemeth threw himself into nonprofit work as an adult.   Working around the world to help others heal, he spoke to audiences numbering in the thousands throughout the U.S., Europe, and South America, while his inner child suffered in silence.  The silence broke in 2009, when Nemeth was hospitalized with PTSD.  He learned that the long years of trauma had been encoded in his brain and body, as happens to many survivors of abuse and neglect. With treatment, courage, and self-compassion, Nemeth began the long road to recovery and founded the Chester Street Foundation (CSF) to give traumatized children a voice.  CSF aims to shine a light on childhood trauma through education and advocacy.  In addition to his work with Chester Street Foundation, Nemeth shares his inspiring story with audiences large and small as a professional speaker and through his book, Thorns of Chester Street.

Rover Oaks Pet Resorts in Houston and Katy, Texas. He and a partner founded the first luxury resort in 2001; and then Steve sold the two businesses in 2016 to devote more time to faith, family and friends. Before venturing into the pet world, Steve received his bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in exercise physiology from Wake Forest University, followed by a very successful 20-year career in the health and fitness arena. Most of those “pre-pet” years were devoted to developing and managing corporate fitness centers for Fortune 500 companies including Coca-Cola, Minute Maid, Chevron, Abbot Laboratories, and Citibank.

Steve’s community service activities have included volunteering and supporting a number of non-profit agencies including the American Heart Association, Citizens for Animal Protection, PAWS Houston, and Christian Community Service Center. He has also served on the board of directors of the American Heart Association/Houston Division, Lakes of 610 Property Owners Association, and PAWS Houston, a Houston agency that helped sustain relationships between pet owners and their pets for terminally ill or chronically ill patients.

Steve is married to Patti Osburn, and they live in Bellaire, Texas. Steve and Patti are devoted members of Bellaire United Methodist Church where Steve has served in a number of leadership and committee roles.
In 2016, when Steve was serving as Lay Leader, he met Gaston Warner, CEO of Zoe Empowers. After their short conversation, Steve became intrigued by the organization and the empowerment model that Gaston had described. So he studied Zoe’s website and read the Annual Review….and he was hooked! Since that time, Steve and Patti have led the effort at their church to support Zoe. As a result, either the church or individual church members have become empowerment partners for a total of 21 groups and 1,837 orphans and vulnerable children.

Lee Cisneros has served as Director of Operations for the Upper Kirby Redevelopment Authority since 2017, overseeing the design, construction, and operation of utility, street, roadway, and public infrastructure improvements, as well as district investment properties.  Prior to joining Upper Kirby, he was a Development Manager with Midway Companies and spent more than 20 years as a Project Architect with Gensler. He is a graduate of the University of Houston College of Architecture.  Lee resides in the Clear Lake area with his wife and two sons and is an active member of the Knights of Columbus.