Driving Growth in Driving Growth in Bay Area Houston Bay Area Houston
A snapshot of regional initiatives and economic impact
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BUSINESS BRIEFS | Q1 2026
Letter from the President
Brian Freedman
As we close out the first quarter of 2026, I am proud to reflect on what has been a fast-paced and productive few months for our region. From quality events to expanding partnerships, we continue to build on the momentum that makes the Bay Area Houston a true destination for innovation, technological advancement, and economic growth.
One of the standout moments this year so far was the Annual Quasar Award Banquet, where we had the honor of recognizing City of Houston Mayor John Whitmire for his exceptional leadership and contributions to the region. His dedication to the City of Houston makes this award well-deserved.
BAHEP also had the opportunity to once again co-host the annual ASCENDxTexas event, which is the largest space conference across the State of Texas and one of the largest in the country. This event brought together aerospace and business leaders, entreprenueurs, and visionaries from across the globe to discuss the future of manned space exploration.
Our community engagement efforts spanned numerous audiences this quarter included cohosting the Challenger 40 Rememberance with the Challenger Center, participating in the La Porte Regional Roundtable Day, and hosting a 60-person delegation from Sweden.
Additionally, our first year of leading the Texas Aerospace Scholars program will come to a close in the next couple of months as the top students in the program finish their education with a week-long residency at the NASA Johnson Space Center this summer. We are thrilled to see several hundred students across the state pursue their passion for STEM and aerospace.
Looking ahead, our Citizens for Space Exploration Committee are gearing up for their annual trip to Washington D.C. in May to engage directly with federal and state lawmakers to advocate for policies that will help maintain and grow our leadership in space exploration.
Thank you for your support and let’s continue working together to achieve more successes in the future.
Sincerely,
Brian Freedman President
BUSINESS BRIEFS |
General Membership Meetings & Events
2026 Annual Quasar Award Banquet
BAHEP hosted its 33 Annual Quasar Award Banquet on January 23 at the South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center in League City, Texas. City of Houston Mayor, John Whitmire, was selected by the organization to be this year’s Quasar Award recipient for his bold leadership, transformative initiatives, fiscal responsibility, and infrastructure improvement projects. Nearly 600 members, partners, and community leaders attended the event, which featured vibrant decor inspired by Houston’s diverse culture and the upcoming soccer festivities.
BAHEP Annual State of the Economy
BAHEP’s February General Membership Meeting featured an Annual State of the Economy update from Victoria Greene, Founder of G Squared Private Wealth, at Lakewood Yacht Club. Green provided an in-depth outlook on the economic and market landscape heading into 2026 - examining opportunities and risks in an environment increasingly shaped by advances in artificial intelligence. She also gave a detailed review of current market conditions, key economic indicators, and a Houston-area economic outlook highlighting regional trends and industry sectors of interest.
BUSINESS BRIEFS | Q1 2026
Workforce Development
TEES Manufacturing Summit
The Texas Defense Aerospace Manufacturing Commmunity hosted their 2026 Summit at the Lone Star Flight Museum on March 16 and 17. The two-day event featured a multitude of panels and discussions focusing on manufacturing and the state of the industry. Brian Freedman spoke as a panelist for their State of the Ecosystem panel along with other economic development experts from across the state.
Smart Manufacturing Roundtable
BAHEP hosted a Smart Manufacturing Roundtable Luncheon with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). The event brought together industry, education, and government leaders to discuss advancing smart manufacturing in the region. Participants shared insights on workforce development, training, and technology adoption, helping BAHEP and TEES identify concrete ways to strengthen pipelines, upskill employees, and modernize manufacturing operations.
NASA & Commercial Space Advocacy
BAHEP partnered with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for the fifth annual ASCENDxTexas conference held at the South Shore Harbour Resort. The two-day conference featured various keynote speakers and panels focused on strategy, development, and implementation of our off-world exploration, national security, and commercial activities.
BAHEP President, Brian Freedman, moderated a panel titled Thriving in Exploration: Xpanding Aerospace Synergies (Texas Strategic Initiatives) with panelists Norman Garza, Jr, Executive Director of the Texas Space Commission, Gwen Griffin, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Texas Space Commission and Stephanie Murphy, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC)
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Community Engagement
Challenger 40 Rememberance th
BAHEP was honored to co-host the Challenger 40th Remembrance: Honoring the Crew, Launching the Next Era event with the Challenger Center in the atrium this past January. The intimate evening featured a panel of speakers including Adam Higginbotham, Author of Challenger; Michael Lopez-Alegria, Chief Astronaut at Axiom Space; and Wayne Hale, former Space Shuttle Program Manager. The panel was moderated by Mike Kincaid, President of the Challenger Center.
Swedish Delegation Visit
La Porte Regional Roundtable
BAHEP was thrilled to present at the the first Texas Downtown (TXD) Regional Roundtable of 2026 hosted by the City of La Porte on February 20. The event brought together community leaders, economic development professionals, and downtown champions from across Texas and beyond to highlight the revitalization of Main Street and explore resources available through regional collaboration.
Brian Freedman presented at the event and discussed regional economic development. SATOP Project Specialist, Marcela Barton provided a program overview of SATOP to the attendees.
BAHEP hosted a delegation from Sweden on March 17 for a Round Table Discussion and Networking Lunch. Notable delegates in attendance were H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria; H.E. Maria Malmer Stenergard, the Minister for Foreign Affairs; H.E. Urban Ahlin, the Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S.; H.E. Christine Toretti, the Ambassador of the U.S. to Sweden; and Anna Hammarlund Blixt, the Consul General of Sweden in Houston. The discussion focused on “Space as an Arena” and many aerospace BAHEP members attended including Barrios, Astrolab, Vast, Axiom Space, Cimmaron, and Leidos. Local government officials in attendance were Houston City Council Member Fred Flickinger, Jay Guerrero representing Senator Cornyn’s office, and Dr. Chara L. Bowie representing Harris County Precinct 2
Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program
The SATOP team stayed active this quarter, participating in key events including the SBA Manufacturing Workshop, the TechCon Southwest 2026 Conference, La Porte’s Downtown Regional Roundtable, JSC SBC Conference, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston’s Small Business Series, and the SBA Houston District’s Key Stakeholder Meeting.
For the first half of the State’s fiscal year (Sept 1 - Feb 28), SATOP received 40 technical assistance requests and launched 11 new 40-hour projects, pairing entrepreneurs with University faculty and engineers from SATOP’s Alliance Partners. Additionally, 23 Capstone projects are currently underway across six universities across the state.
Texas Aerospace Scholars
Texas Aerospace Scholars are deep into their fourth mission of the school year, gearing up their final engineering challenge in early April. Over the past few months, they’ve studied introductory coding and computer aided design, researched crew life support systems, and designed multitools fit for astronauts.
In March, students across Texas modelled deep space communication as they designed microcontroller powered relays to mimic how NASA sends signals across the solar system. Using light and distance sensors, they calculated communication delays between planets, programmed their device to simulate those delays, and tested their systems across a classroom sized model of the solar system.
BUSINESS BRIEFS |
April
April 1 - AAC Meeting & SBC Meeting
April 2 - Team NASA Meeting
April 6 - BAHEP Closed for Easter
April 7 - MAC Meeting
April 8 - PPC Meeting
April 9 - Public Safety Meeting
April 10 - Tourism Meeting
April 14 - New Member Breakfast
April 29 - April Membership Meeting
May 18-21
Upcoming Events
May
May 1 - Tourism Meeting
May 6 - AAC Meeting & SBC Meeting
May 7 - Team NASA
May 13 - PPC Meeting
May 14 - Public Safety Meeting
May 18-21 - Citizens for Space Exploration Trip
May 21 - IMAC Meeting & Education Meeting
May 27 - Energy Meeting
June
June 3 - AAC Meeting & SBC Meeting
June 4 - Team NASA Meeting
June 5 - Tourism Meeting
June 10 - PPC Meeting
June 11 - Public Safety Meeting
June 18 - IMAC Meeting & Education Meeting
June 24 - Energy Meeting
For a complete list of events or for more information, please visit the calendar on our website at bayareahouston.com.
Welcome New Members!
May 18-21
Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership
The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, BAHEP, is a member-driven organization that provides the leadership to stimulate regional economic development and employment. Utilizing a collaborative committee structure, we engage more than 320 investor companies, business professionals, local governments, and educational institutions in southeast Texas to bring about prosperity and a high quality of life for the 1.5 million people who live and work in the region. Our members include business partners, 18 member cities, Galveston County, Harris county, the Houston Airport System, and Port Houston.
info@bayareahouston.com
Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership
Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership sincerely thanks Harris County Precinct 2, Port Houston, the Houston Airport System, CenterPoint Energy, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines for their continued support of BAHEP’s work for the region.
