Public Safety Gala Enthralls Houstonians

When the theme ‘Leading The Way to a Safer Houston’ is combined with dynamic duo Gala Chairs Brigitte Kalai and Sippi Khurana, it’s no surprise that records would be broken. On Thursday October 25, 2018, Crime Stoppers of Houston at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Downtown welcomed more than 360 guests and raised over $473,000 to directly benefit public safety initiatives that promote crime prevention, proactive school safety programming through the Crime Stoppers Safe School Institute, victim services, and more.

It was an evening of awareness and recognition of the most prominent people who have contributed to the cause of public safety.

The Honorable Joanne King Herring was given an award for a lifetime of public safety work. Her steadfast vision, passion, and commitment to innumerable humanitarian causes, including partnering with Crime Stoppers and others to eradicate human trafficking, sets this Houston icon apart.

Former Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, Joanna Coles who flew to Houston from New York City to support Crime Stoppers, gave a memorable keynote address. Described by The New York Times as “one of the most powerful people in media”, her current role is in the reshaping of the CBS Network News mega-empire. She also sits on the Board of SnapChat. Coles delivered an honest, funny, and incredibly eye-opening address on the topic of children and social media, the rise of our addition to electronics, and the negative impact that has had on families and our culture.

A historic “paddles up” portion of the night was spearheaded by Gala Chairs Brigitte Kalai and Sippi Khurana. Khurana spoke emotionally of her affection for the work of Crime Stoppers, while Kalai lit the match on a historic fund-raising effort with her incredibly generous $25,000 contribution to the organization.

Opening remarks were given by “The Voice of Houston”, Dave Ward, followed by our Mistress of Ceremonies Dominique Sachse. Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious briefly spoke about the vision for the organization and the expansion that is set to take place in 2019.

Honoree Joanne King Herring

Jason Nasra, Suzan Nasra, Suhaila Foteh, Brigitte Kalai, Sindy Foteh, Diana Kandah, Dr. Abeer Foteh

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Brigitte Kalai, Bashar Kalai

Mauri Oliver, Tina Neyman, Vicki Rizzo

Honoree Joanne King Herring, First Lady Cecilia Abbott, Rania Mankarious

Gala Chairs Sippi Khurana and Brigitte Kalai

Councilmember Mike Knox, Helen Knox, Corinne Vela, Lee Vela

Sippi Khurana, Jempy Neyman, Tia Neyman

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, Jennifer Reyna, Chief Art Acevedo

Omar Saeed Khan, Sarah Rollins, Joanne King Herring, Keith Rollins, Maha Saeed Khan, Donae Chramosta

Karina Barbieri, Tammie Johnson, Dr. Yasmine Haddad

Houston Media Icon Dave Ward

Sippi Khurana, Rania Mankarious, Keynote Speaker Joanna Coles, Brigitte Kalai

Gala Chairs Sippi Khurana and Brigitte Kalai

Keynote Speaker Joanna Coles

Emcee Dominique Sachse

Tehmina Masud, Susan Boggio

Lori Freese and Beth Wolff

Sneha Merchant, Nancy Almodovar, Dr. Yasmine Haddad, Habiba Dhanani

Friends of Crime Stoppers

Ali Dhanani, Habiba Dhanani, Naureen Malik, Ahmad Malik

Jose and Nancy Almodovar