The Board of Directors
Preston Young, Chairman
National Head, Investing Services
Stream Realty
Preston Young serves as National Head of Stream’s Office Investor Services Platform. In this role, he oversees the strategy and advancement of the firm’s national office portfolio ensuring the successful execution of client and partner objectives. Additionally, Mr. Young works with Stream leaders across all markets to strategically optimize growth and collaboration amongst the firm’s talented professionals. Stream’s National Office portfolio is ranked among one of the largest in the United States and now exceeds 59.0 million square feet across 14 markets.
Prior to assuming his role of National Head of Office Investor Services, Mr. Young led the firm’s Houston office, which consistently remains one of the largest and most prominent commercial real estate organizations in Houston. Under his leadership, Stream has consistently been ranked as one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Houston Business Journal and “Top Workplaces” by the Houston Chronicle.
In 2018, the Houston Business Journal honored Mr. Young as one of the top “40 Under 40” business leaders in Houston. Before joining Stream, Mr. Young served in the capital markets division at Trammell Crow Company. He received a BBA in Finance (cum laude) at Texas A&M University.
Jim Mahoney
Director
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
Over the past ten years Jim has performed CEO and independent director roles for American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC). Jim has extensive merger and acquisition experience (buy and sell side), turning around and operating manufacturing businesses serving the metals, automotive, appliance and aerospace industries with operations in in the USA, Mexico, and Europe. His professional live began with a 28-year career in the steel industry. Jim earned a BA in Business from Michigan State University and a MS in Finance from Webster University.
Michael Youtt
Executive Vice-President & General Counsel
Aquinas Companies
Michael served as a litigation partner at King & Spalding for over 25 years. Upon retirement, he spent a few years on volunteer work, Thomistic philosophy, and bioethics. In 2020, he became an executive officer of the Aquinas Companies, which own a long-standing construction contractor (Linbeck Group) and a start-up studio for medical-device and therapeutic technologies (Fannin Innovation Studio). He attended Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia law school. Salli and he have been married 25 years and have four children.
Maritza C. Roman-Pavajeau
Maritza C. Roman-Pavajeau serves on numerous boards of foundations and organizations related to family and marriage. She is a speaker locally as well as internationally. Her love and conviction for the wellbeing and health of marriage and family relationships is a motto for her life.
Maritza served as Interim Subdirector of Human Resources at the University of La Sabana and Director of the Academic University Press. During that time she worked as a university professor at La Sabana and other universities. In the United States, she was a principal at Christ the King Catholic School and an Associate Director for the Office of Family Life Ministry at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for which she served for almost 19 years. Maritza also worked with Rice University as the program director for Walgreens One-on-One Tutoring and Mentoring Program of Youth Achievement Foundation.
Maritza studied at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and the University of La Sabana in Colombia where she obtained a degree in Administration with specialization on Administration of Service Institutions for Social and Family Wellness. She possesses a doctorate in Economics Science and Management by University of Navarra in Spain, where she also obtained a degree as a Family Advisor (Orientador Familiar). She also holds several certifications in marriage and family.
Maritza has been married to Jaime, a Cardiothoracic and General Surgeon for 23 years; they were blessed with five pregnancies and four children.
James Schuelke, Secretary
Partner
Hogan Thompson LLP
James is a partner at Hogan Thompson LLP, a commercial litigation boutique, where he represents clients in energy and construction disputes. Before joining Hogan Thompson, James was a partner at Reynolds Frizzell LLP. From 2011-12, James served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. James earned a BS in philosophy with highest honors at The University of Texas at Austin and a JD cum laude at Harvard Law School. While in law school, James taught political philosophy as a teaching fellow at Harvard College.
Jeff Dodson, Treasurer
Partner
KPMG LLP
Jeff is a Tax Partner at KPMG LLP and leads their tax practice here in Houston. He has more than 30 years of tax experience in both public accounting and corporate tax departments. Jeff also serves as the National Tax Industry Leader of Oil & Gas for KPMG. He has spent most of his career advising clients on the tax aspects of Merger & Acquisitions.
Jeff currently serves on the Board of the Houston Food Bank as Vice Chair and is also a member of the Finance Committee (which he has chaired and served as Treasurer). He is an active participant in other local organizations and charities including the Houston Business Ethics Forum, Breakfast Association, the Houston Zoo and Small Steps Nurturing Center.
Jeff has been on the Western Academy Finance Committee since 2020 and joined the Western Academy Board in 2022. He has been involved at Western Academy in various capacities since 2016. Jeff and his wife, Michele, have 3 boys…Western Classes of 2018, 2021 and 2028
David Gallagher
President
Association for Educational Development
David Gallagher began his career as Assistant and then Associate Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He published numerous scholarly articles on philosophical topics. He then worked for almost twenty-five years in New York on the U.S. National Board of the Prelature of Opus Dei, serving as the assistant to the Vicar and also overseeing the Prelature’s public relations and communications. He is presently President of the Association for Educational Development, a not-for-profit supporting educational programs in the Chicago area, while also serving on the staff at the Prelature’s regional headquarters for the Central United States. He continues to pursue academic interests by teaching and occasional publishing.
Matt Webber
Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor
IMG Financial Group
Matt is a Senior Vice President at IMG Financial Group where he began his career in financial services in July 2002. He received a B.A. in Managerial Studies from Rice University in May 2002, where he was also a four-year letter winner and team captain of the Football Team. In addition to serving on the Western Academy Board, he also assists on the Western Academy Finance Committee. He and his wife, Remi, have 10 children. 2 Western Academy graduates (classes 2020 and 2021), 3 current Green Jays (classes 2026, 2029, and 2030), and a future Green Jay (class of 2032).
Jason Hebert
Headmaster
Western Academy
Jason Hebert is Western Academy's headmaster. Previously he was the Athletics Director and a 4th grade homeroom teacher at Western Academy. He also taught art, literature, language arts, religion, and history and was the previous football and track coach. Before coming to Western Academy, he was a lower school homeroom and art teacher at The Heights School and, before joining The Heights faculty in 2008, taught high school art at Klein High School for four years. Prior to teaching, he played professional football for the Chargers and Titans during the 2002-2003 season. He received a B.A. in studio art from Rice University, where he accumulated multiple all-conference honors as a safety. Jason has been at Western since the school was founded in 2010.