COMMISSIONER, PRECINCT 4

Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones is a native Texan and proud Latina who grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border. She is the daughter of teachers, who taught her the importance of education, hard work, and serving others—values that have defined her and which she now brings to the office of County Commissioner for Precinct 4.

Upon graduating with honors from Harvard University, she began her career as an 8th and 10th-grade teacher at two of the lowest-income public schools in the country. She then attended Yale Law School, where she led the Latino Law Students’ Association's public service initiatives and provided pro-bono assistance to survivors of domestic abuse and juvenile offenders.

Commissioner Briones returned to Texas to practice law at Vinson & Elkins LLP, then served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer of the Laura & John Arnold Foundation, a major national philanthropic nonprofit. She next became the Judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4. Judge Briones was the highest-rated Harris County Civil Court at Law Judge in the 2019 Houston Bar Association (HBA) Judicial Evaluation Poll and won the 2020 HBA Judicial Preference Poll. Briones co-founded the statewide nonprofit Texas Latinx Judges and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

She and her husband, Adán, live in Houston with their three daughters and worship at St. Ambrose Catholic Church.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kara cultivates the innovation, partnerships, and vision for Precinct 4 and Precinct4Forward.

She has over a decade of public policy, communications, and program management experience, having worked as the toxics program director for the US Public Interest Research Group and the operations director for Bayou City Strategies.

Most recently, she served as the senior policy advisor for Infrastructure for Precinct 4. Her policy papers have been featured in The Hill, the New York Times, CBS This Morning, and the Houston Chronicle. She has a public policy degree from Oklahoma State University and a JD from the University of California at Berkeley.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Jon cultivates the partnerships, resources, and strategic vision that advance the mission of Precinct 4 and Precinct4Forward.

Jon brings over a decade of fundraising and nonprofit leadership experience, having served as the National Development Director for the National Alliance for Children's Grief, Chief Advancement Officer at Allies in Hope, Major Gifts Officer at Rocky Mountain Children's Health Foundation, and Executive Director of the Energy Education Foundation.

Most recently, Jon has led development strategy and donor engagement efforts to expand organizational impact and sustainability. In recognition of his leadership, Jon was named an Arvada 30 Under 30 honoree in 2023. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management from the University of Houston Hobby School.