How Franci Neely Got Involved With Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

Houston-based generous philanthropist and retired trial lawyer Franci Neely is proud to support Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. How did Neely become a member of the board of advisers? It all started with her friendship with the institute’s founding director, Ambassador Edward Djerejian. After maintaining the executive director position of the institute for more than a quarter of a century, Djerejian recently retired and was succeeded by Ambassador David Satterfield.

“I know Secretary Baker, too,” says Neely about American attorney and diplomat James Baker, III, for whom the institute is named. Baker served as the nation’s 67th secretary of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan and the 61st secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush. Baker also served as the White House chief of staff from 1981 to 1985 during the first Reagan administration and again from 1992 to 1993 in the same Bush administration.

“He likes diversity of opinion,” says Franci Neely. “He’s 93 and still sharp as a tack.” Neely particularly admires Baker’s respect for differing political points of view. “He knows I’m Democratic-leaning and thought it would be good,” says Neely. “He wants all sorts of points of view, so I was honored to be invited to the board of advisers many years ago.”

Franci Neely Is in Good Company at the Gala

Neely will be reprising her role as co-chair of the institute’s big night celebrating 30 years. “I’ve been honored to co-chair the gala when the Baker Institute was 25 years old,” says Neely. More than 1,000 guests attended that event, and it raised $5.4 million. The money went toward the nonpartisan think tank’s programming and research. 

“That’s when we had the pleasure of seeing President Barack Obama in Houston in conversation with Secretary of State Baker and moderated by the wonderful historian Jon Meacham,” Neely recalls.

Five years later, Franci Neely looks forward to resuming her role for the upcoming bash in late October 2023. “Houston is going to have secretaries of state galore,” she says. Former secretaries Henry Kissinger, Hillary Clinton, and James Baker will participate in a conversation moderated by Norah O’Donnell, the Emmy Award-winning journalist and CBS Evening News anchor.

“That’s the lineup. We want to have a fun dinner, but this is really about a thoughtful discussion about a number of issues. It’s a thought-provoking evening and one in which we’ll be celebrating the Baker Institute’s 30 years in existence,” says Neely.

Ann and Karl Stern, as well as John Eddie Williams Jr. and wife Sheridan, are Neely’s co-chairs. “There will be a lot of lawyers in there,” Neely quips. “Karl is a great lawyer. Although we were never at the same law firm, we’re both trial lawyers. Karl and I actually worked on a litigation together. We were in different firms, but we were on the same side. So we were allied.”

Williams is a trial lawyer, too. “He is a fantastic lawyer,” says Neely. “He mainly does personal injury work on the plaintiff side. He was one of the lawyers doing tobacco litigation against cigarette companies for misleading people about the health hazards involved in smoking. He brought a huge settlement home for many people. He’s a very talented trial lawyer.”

Neely adds, “Ann B. Stern is brilliant, as is Sheridan Williams.” Stern is the president and CEO of the Houston Endowment, one of the most prominent foundations in Houston. “Ann is a fantastic executive director,” says Neely. “The foundation gives out a ton of money for good causes and she’s doing a wonderful job at it.”

Stern was in private law practice and taught business law at the University of St. Thomas. In addition to the Houston Endowment, she serves as a director on the boards of The University of Texas Law School Foundation, the Greater Houston Partnership, and The Holdsworth Center.

“Sheridan is a wonderful philanthropist. She’s a beautiful woman inside and out,” says Neely. “She and John Eddie support many charitable causes, raising money to do good for a number of causes. She knows this business of helping nonprofits.”

What To Expect at the Gala

Franci Neely looks forward to a night of thought-provoking conversation at the gala. “I have no idea what they are going to talk about. It’s not scripted. So, I will be learning along with everyone else. I don’t have any preview.”

She does have a few ideas about what’s in store for attendees, though. “I imagine they will be talking about what we all talk about — the importance of the good old days when people were able to compromise across party lines without demonizing each other, and to have different viewpoints on policy issues but share common knowledge of the facts, which is so sadly absent in these days,” says Neely.

“Let’s not mince words. It’s really one side that’s doing that. And it is some extremists in the Republican Party who don’t tell the truth about the facts. We don’t share common facts, and that’s just not acceptable. The facts are the facts, usually.”

Neely continues, “You can disagree about how to apply those facts or what conclusions to draw from those facts, but not what are the facts. They will undoubtedly touch on the importance of civil discourse, shared facts, and the necessity of making compromises. You cannot have people this divided in terms of their viewpoints and not demand compromise. It’s not winner take all — that’s not how democracy works.”

Focus On Fundraising

Whether a person is the chair or co-chair of a gala, they’re not only lending their name to the event, but also attracting friends and acquaintances who they think would be interested in supporting the mission of raising money to benefit a good cause. 

According to Neely, it also involves “working with that institute’s staff to design the evening, figure out the run of the show, to make sure that the evening not only raises as much money as possible to benefit the institution, but also is a credit to the institution, creating a fun and memorable evening for those who attend and support the event.”

Neely continues, “There are honorary chairs whose main responsibility is to lend their names. If you’re a working chair, you’re raising money and helping in a macro way with oversight of the event is also critical. But you’re supposed to help raise money.“

Franci Neely says attendees of the 30th-anniversary gala can expect “a lovely seated dinner under a tent. They will dine first and then hear the conversation among the three former secretaries of state.

“Before that, there’s a time to gather and sip your beverage of choice and have a few hors d’oeuvres and see friends.” Neely’s hoping for a pretty Houston night “that’s not 107 degrees.”