• 713-524-4CEC (4232)
  • info@cechouston.org

Board of Directors

Steve Stelzer, President

As Program Director of the City of Houston Green Building Resource Center since 2008, Steve offers green building strategies to plans brought in by the public, is a public speaker, develops and maintains green strategy displays and education programs, and maintains codegreenhouston.org, the green building portal of the City of Houston.  Steve was a career architect in Houston prior to joining the City, with a BS in Architecture from the Ohio State University in 1976, and an MBA from the University of Houston in 1989.  He is an advocate for backyard composting and moving the needle on zero waste and curbing pollution.

Jessica Wilt Navas, Vice President

Jessica Wilt is the Executive Director of the Central City Co-Op, Houston’s organic food Co-Op. She is passionate about bringing people together, building community to make meaningful change, and sustainability. The first of its kind in the city, the Co-Op now acts as a micro-business incubator and hub and provides a space where members and non-members can shop daily to support local organic farmers, growers, and makers. Jessica is also Vice President of the Sunset Heights Civic Association, serves on the Houston Symphony’s Wine Auction and Collector’s Dinner committee, volunteers with animal rescue organizations, and advocates for saving historic trees. She has worked abroad as a journalist for a major D.C. newspaper, is fluent in Spanish, and loves to travel. Jessica holds a Master of Science in Community and Economic Development from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Wittenberg University. She and her husband Erick live in the Heights with the pets that adopted them, Kiko, a Shiba Inu, Luna, the cat with the magnificent tail, and other rescues.

Taylor Kaminsky, Secretary

Taylor serves as the Project Coordinator for Technology, with the GusNIP NTAE Center, based at the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition. GusNIP, formerly known as the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program, supports programs across the nation that provide nutrition incentives and produce prescriptions to help families access more nutritious fruits and vegetables. Taylor received her B.A. in Spanish Linguistics with minors in Business and Latin American Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. She has over nine years of public health experience, specifically in program/project management in areas related to food security, nutrition incentive programs, and harm-reduction services. Taylor was a Food Access Manager with Urban Harvest, where she began the Double Up Food Bucks program in 2019, opened the Northeast Community Farmers Market at LBJ Hospital, and helped build operations for the Mobile Market during COVID. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and spent time living in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Amanda Hsieh

Amanda leads the development and implementation of ClimeCo’s digitalization and automation strategy with the goals of creating value for clients and partners. She assists business leaders enhance long term value by guiding the integration of sustainability into their operations with a focus on commercial opportunities. Amanda joined ClimeCo after its acquisition of Global Affairs Associates (GAA), the women-owned ESG and sustainability consulting firm in Houston. Before GAA, Amanda worked to better social and environmental conditions in IKEA’s North and South American supply chains and improve the environmental footprint of its products.
Amanda co-hosts the ESG Decoded TM Podcast and frequently speaks publicly on ESG and related topics. She was a contributor to Climate Risks in the Texas Power Sector: Stakeholder Views and Management Approaches. Amanda earned a B.B.A. in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas in Austin.

Alex McCray

Alex McCray currently works for the City of Houston at the Houston Permitting Center as the Project Manager for Houston’s Construction Code Modernization (CCM) project, to adopt current building codes that lay the foundation for resilient buildings as laid out in the Resilient Houston Plan and Climate Action Plan. 

Previously, Alex was the Director for Mayor’s Office of Environmental Affairs for the City of Atlanta. He was awarded the Community Service Award by Atlanta City Council and awarded Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Environmental Ennovation.  He has held many board positions and currently serves on the Houston Chapter of the International Code Council.

Please contact us today if you are interested in joining our board!