Board Officers (Term Expiration Date):
Barbara McCormick (2013), President.  barbaramc@earthlink.net.  Barbara has worked for the well-being of Houston's children through research and public policy advocacy since 1977. She is the former president and CEO of Children at Risk, a well-known nonprofit organization that advocates for children. McCormick developed the Quality of Life Indicators Model for the basic needs, health, safety, and education of the children of Harris County. She is author of the first edition of Growing Up in Houston: Assessing the Quality of Life of Our Children, which was published in 1994 (and author of subsequent editions in 1996, 1998, and 2000).  McCormick's community, state, and national leadership includes Interfaith Ministry, League of Women Voters, Episcopal Health Charities, Mental Health Needs Council, Urban Harvest, One Voice, and the Houston Opera Guild. She is a past president of the Board of Directors of the Immunization Partnership and serves on the Advisory Board of that organization. She is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the School Literacy and Culture Project at the Rice University Center for Education.

Margaret Drain (2014), Vice President of Programs and Operations.  margaret.drain@hccs.edu.  Margaret is the senior research associate in the Office of Institutional Research for Houston Community College. Hired in 1995 as the first institutional researcher for HCC, she has been instrumental in developing the ten-person office and its projects.  Besides providing analysis for major educational initiatives, her secondary responsibility is to perform environmental scanning activities – including demographic analysis, college mapping, needs analysis, survey analysis and enrollment projections.

Before 1995, Drain spent 13 years in hospital patient accounts management and was self-employed as a marketing/management consultant. Drain received her B.S. in secondary education from Penn State University and her MBA from Lamar University. She has completed two-thirds of the doctorate of education at the University of Houston.

Since 1997, Drain has been a member of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), the Southern, Texas, and Gulf Coast Associations for Institutional Research (SAIR, TAIR, and GCAIR, respectively), the National Council of Community College Research and Planning (NCCCRP), and the Association for Women Administrators (AWA).  She has served as NCCCRP regional director of District 8 , Texas, and as TAIR’s treasurer.  She has presented papers, conducted workshops, and held roundtable discussions on a variety of institutional research topics at GCAIR, TAIR and AIR conferences. She has been a member of TEDA since 2003, serving the last six years on the TEDA Board.

Vincent L. Sanders (2014), Treasurer.  vs02@ridemetro.org.  Vincent is the Lead Planner of the Travel Demand Forecasting & Analysis Division for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Texas (METRO). Sanders joined the Service Design & Development department of METRO in 1998 where he is currently responsible for managing the Travel Demand Forecasting section, including staff development, productivity and performance reviews, budget development and management, and related administrative matters, while maintaining socio-economic and travel databases to generate reports on trip patterns, demographic profiles, and patronage estimates for proposed transit service options and facilities. Sanders is also involved in the execution of various travel demand forecasting models, as well as the implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, which helps determine spatial analysis of travel, collect demographic and employment data, and analyzes modeling results to evaluate route or facility performance and confirm forecasts. Sanders has helped coordinate with other agencies, joint development and commerce studies relative to employment concentrations and worker travel patterns and he is also responsible for data requests submitted from other departments within the Authority. Other duties that Sanders has held at METRO include: working with the educational committees of the Community Outreach Department and METRO’s Diversity Council, which is responsible for departmental coordination of the Title VI regulations.  Sanders has also worked with the Language Assistance Plan for Limited English Proficiency individuals and have participated on the Census 2010 Outreach committee and currently working on METRO’s Long Range Planning Team.  

Mr. Sanders has fourteen years experience in Transportation project development, transportation demand analysis and modeling software. Prior to joining METRO, Sanders worked as a transportation consultant with RSM Services. Mr. Sanders earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) and a Master of Science degree in Transportation Planning and Management from Texas Southern University. In his spare time Sanders is involved in many Community Service and Scouting projects.



Jessica Pugil (2013), Secretary.  jpugil@theworkingpartner.org.

Mike Cline (Non-Voting), Executive Secretary. mec6@rice.edu.  Mike is the Associate Director of the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University.  His current research foci are estimating healthcare uninsured populations, understanding the implications of demographic change for transportation demand, and exploring the socioeconomic effects of energy development for communities in Texas.   Dr. Cline previously served as the Director of Research at the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at UTSA and the Assistant Director for the Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse.  His professional work in demography began soon after the 1990 Census – when he assisted in the analyses for re-districting proposals for county commissioner courts in west Texas.   Since that time he has provided demographic research to assist in planning for businesses, non-profits, and other institutions.  In addition to his work in demography, he has provided economic impact assessments of various businesses and the University of Texas System.  His work is published in various public policy reports and academic and professional journals. Mike earned his doctorate in Applied Demography from The University of Texas at San Antonio and his Master of Arts in Geography from Kansas State University.  A native West Texas, Mike's undergraduate work was completed at Texas Tech University. 

Board Members (Term Expiration Date):

Bala Balachandran (2014).  bala.balachandran@cityofhouston.net.  Bala, a Certified Public Manager (CPM), serves as the Chief Demographer/Senior Staff Analyst with the Planning & Development Department, City of Houston. He's been with the Department for 12 years. In that position, he is responsible for managing the analysis, process and policy development of demographic and research elements for planning activities, including data research, census data, demographic estimates, GIS, and related programs. He also serves as the department's liaison in sharing information, leveraging resources, and coordinating efforts related to planning, GIS, demographics, and socio-economic data. 

Prior to joining the City of Houston, Balachandran served as Senior Demographer for the Houston-Galveston Area Council for some seven years. Earlier, he served as a Regional and Community Planner for the Oklahoma Economic Development Authority for about four years.  Balachandran has nearly two decades of experience in planning, socioeconomic, demographic, and GIS-related projects. He was the regional coordinator for the 1990 and 2000 Census Complete Count Committees and currently is assisting the Mayor's 2010 Complete Count Committee. Balachandran is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned a Master's degree in Regional and Community Planning. He also holds a Master's degree in Economics.

Lynne Nguyen, (2012), Vice President.  lhnguyen@mdanderson.org.

Paula Pipes (2012).  paula@pipesresearch.com.  Paula Pipes provides consulting and research services with a focus on community and nonprofit organizations, religious congregations, and immigration. Prior to forming Pipes Research Services, she served as a research associate and project director at the University of Houston for the Coalition Ministries and Congregations Study, a national research project funded by the Lilly Endowment. She has a strong background in data systems and extensive experience in Human Resources, specializing in the design and implementation of human resource information management systems.

Pipes is author of Focus on Faith-Based Partnerships: Coalitions and Congregations in Social Service Ministry, which provides nonprofit and congregational leaders strategies to strengthen their alliances. In addition to applied research, she has participated in academic studies and published coauthored articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Social Forces, Social Science Quarterly, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Review of Religious Research, and Sociology of Religion.  Pipes is also a research associate in the Center for Immigration Research at the University of Houston, where she earned her M.A. in sociology.

Joseph Schlichting (2014).  Joseph.Schlichting@sjcd.edu.  Joseph is...

Christina Todd (2012).  christina.c.todd@lonestar.edu.  Christina previously served as TEDA/Houston's president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.  As Director of Instructional Programs for the Lone Star College System, Todd focuses on providing strong educational opportunities for students through evaluation and partnership building. Her responsibilities include program review, curriculum submissions and maintenance, high school articulation, core curriculum evaluation, and Perkins grant direction.  Previously, Todd provided labor market analysis for TechForce 2000, serving education, workforce, and economic development agencies throughout the Gulf Coast Region. Her background includes research for the Taxpayers' Research Council of Galveston County, service as a legislative intern with Congressman Lloyd Doggett's Washington office, and a stint as partner in a legal evidence services company.

Todd earned a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Denver. She spends her free time on political activities and volunteering for organizations such as the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Montgomery County.

John Witson (2012).  jwitson@voterhistory.com.  John Witson is principal of Voter History, providing political database software for political consulting, and Juror History, an on-site juror profiling software.

David Daleiden (2013).  ddaleiden@cebridge.net. David is Principal of Daleiden & Associates and has more than 38 years of experience in real estate market research specializing in supermarket, retail and shopping center site location strategy, shopping center viability, merchandising analysis, and asset management evaluation.  As the former Director of Research for Weingarten Realty (1973-2008), one of the country's largest real estate investment trusts (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange, he was responsible for creating the research department and implementing new and creative methods to help with leasing, new development, acquisitions, asset management, and retail viability and strategy.  His most recent role was senior research consultant to the top level executives of Weingarten Realty.  He also served as a location strategy consultant to many of the company's national and local retail clients. 

David received his Bachelor's Degree in Finance and a Master's Degree in Geography from Wayne State University.  Prior to joining Weingarten Realty, he began his career in market research with Chatham Supermarkets Detroit.  David has been a member of the Research Board of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) since 1991 serving as Chairman for two years in 1997 and 1998.  In 2009, he was named the Top Researcher of the Year by ICSC for his "Outstanding Service to the Research Community."  He also served on the Board of the North Houston Association for many years and was honored by Houston - Harris County Judge, Ed Emmett, for outstanding services to the citizens of Harris County, Texas for his work on the board.  He is a past president of the American Marketing Association - Houston Chapter and an active member of the Association of American Geographers (AAG). Reflecting his broad-based expertise, David has been an invited guest lecturer at several Texas Universities.


Dmitry Messen (2013).  Dmitry.Messen@h-gac.com.  Dmitry is the Forecast Program Manager for the Houston-Galveston Area Council, leading a group of socioeconomic modelers charged with developing long-range small-area demographic, economic, and land use forecasts for the Houston region. A quantitative social scientist with extensive expertise in statistical modeling, geographic information systems, and data management, he holds a Ph.D. in geography from Louisiana State University and an M.A. in geography from Moscow State University. Prior to joining H-GAC in October 2004, Messen worked for eight years at LSU's Center for Energy Studies, doing research in applied energy economics and teaching GIS, statistics, and economic geography.