Dawn R. Ullrich
President and CEO

Dawn R. Ullrich is the president of the Houston First Corporation, a quasi-public entity formed by Houston City Council on June 1, 2011. Houston First represents the consolidation of the City of Houston Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department and the Houston Convention Center Hotel Corporation. The local-government corporation went into effect on July 1, 2011.

On January 30, 2002, then-Mayor Lee P. Brown nominated Ullrich as director of the Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department. City Council approved her nomination February 13, 2002. Ullrich, the department's deputy director for 11 years before her appointment, was also president of the Hotel Corporation for a number of years..

As president of Houston First, Ullrich is responsible for daily operations of the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, George R. Brown Convention Center, Wortham Theater Center, Jones Hall, Jones Plaza, Theater District Parking, Miller Outdoor Theatre and Theater District Parks. The corporation also administers contracts with the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Houston Arts Alliance, Bayou Place and Hobby Center.

A native of Barron, Wis., Ullrich is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Houston Law Center.

Sharon Adams
Chief Communications Officer

Sharon Adams is a licensed attorney with a background in journalism, education and political policy. Before becoming deputy director of Corporate Affairs and Marketing for CEF, she served as chief of staff for Houston Vice Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Goldberg and was deputy city controller for intergovernmental affairs under City Controller Sylvia Garcia. Ms. Adams is a former university professor and headed the Department of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Nevada-Reno. She has worked as a television reporter, producer and anchor for the CBS and NBC television affiliates in Houston. Ms. Adams is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum and a member of the Junior League and Zoo Friends of Houston. Her board appointments include the Houston Cinema Arts Society, the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, the Houston Downtown Alliance, the Harris County Heritage Society, the Ronald McDonald House, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Community College Foundation and the Governance Committee for the Mental Health Association. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and earned her law degree from the University of Houston. Sharon has two children.

Mario Ariza
Chief Operating Officer - Theaters

Mario Ariza began working for the City of Houston in 1991 as a maintenance supervisor at Wortham Center. He held various positions, such as event coordinator, booking supervisor and assistant facility manager before being promoted to manager at the now-defunct Music Hall in 1994 and then to his current position overseeing all of the Theater District properties in 1997. He supervises the management teams at Wortham Center, Jones Hall, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Center for the Arts, Talento Bilingue de Houston, Ray C. Fish Plaza, Jones Plaza and Sesquicentennial Parks. He also oversees the department’s off-street parking operations, including the Theater District Parking garages. Mr. Ariza works with numerous boards and organizations, including Talento Bilingue de Houston, Stages Repertory Theatre, Wortham Center Operating Company, and Foundation for Jones Hall. He is affiliated with a number of professional industry groups, such as Building Owners and Managers Association, International Facility Management Association and International Association of Venue Managers, among others. A native of Colombia, he earned a degree in business administration from Centro Superior and studied English at Rice University. He is married with two children.

Brenda Bazan
Chief Financial Officer

Brenda Bazan is a Certified Public Accountant and has served as deputy director of the Support Services Division of CEF, overseeing the department’s accounting, budget, human resources, internal audit and procurement divisions since 1999. She has also served as CEF’s representative in citywide endeavors such as property insurance, energy procurement and management, and debt-related issues since 1999. She began her career with the city in 1993, first as deputy director of the Internal Audit Division and then as director of the Financial Reporting Division in the Office of the City Controller. She has been senior audit manager at Deloitte & Touche and vice president-administrative services at Charter Bancshares. She is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Government Finance Officers Association and serves on the Board of Trustees of the FM 1960 Club, Inc. Ms. Bazan received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Western Kentucky University and is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas and Tennessee. She is married with two children and one grandchild.

Lisa Hargrove
General Counsel

Lisa Hargrove has been general counsel of Houston First Corporation since February 2012. Previously, she served as assistant general counsel and helped lay the groundwork to establish Houston First. Hargrove joined Houston First's predessor organization, the City of Houston Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department, in December 2007. She began her legal career at Houston Lighting & Power Co., joining the City of Houston Legal Department in 1992. She played a key role in high-profile city projects such as the Hobby Center, the Downtown Aquarium site and the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel. Hargrove is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and earned a law degree from South Texas School of Law. She and her husband, a Houston police officer, reside in Pearland. They have three children.

Peter McStravick
Chief Operating Officer - Hotel

Peter McStravick has been responsible for all aspects of the Houston Convention Center Hotel Corporation’s operations since 2001, including accounting, financial, insurance, legal, corporate governance issues, on-site asset management oversight, and assistance in the maintenance of and capital improvements to Hilton Americas-Houston. Previously, he was deputy director of CEF, deputy city controller for public finance, and an assistant director in the Finance and Administration Department. Mr. McStravick is a member of the Board of Directors of Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Arts Foundation, Houston Botanic Garden, Houston Juniors Volleyball Associates, St. Agnes Academy and Glazier Foods Company. He received a bachelor of business administration degree in finance from the University of Houston. He is married and has five children.

Luther Villagomez
Chief Operating Officer - Convention Center

Luther Villagomez has been associated with the city’s convention center since 1987. He has directed day-to-day operations at the George R. Brown since 1990 and was promoted to assistant director in 2000 and deputy director/general manager in 2003. Mr. Villagomez has been involved in many major events at the GRB, from its construction in the mid-1980s to the completion of a $165 million expansion project that virtually doubling its size in 2003. Other high points of his tenure include fan festivals associated with the 2004 Super Bowl, 2004 Major League Baseball all-star game, 2006 NBA all-star game and conversion of the GRB into a shelter after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He is a board member of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau and is a member of the International Association of Venue Managers, Exhibition Services and Contractors Association, International Association of Exhibitions & Events, International Congress and Convention Association, Professional Convention Management Association, International Association of Congress Centres, and Texas Society of Association Executives. Mr. Villagomez completed the Mechanical Certification Program at the Raymond J. Horn School of Drafting. He is married with three children.