Contents

Letter from the President and CEO

Chamber Leadership

HP: More than just a printer company with Pride

Conduit Coffee proudly flies that flag

Houston Astros knocking it out of the park for Pride

Maximum Doula Services: A unique business full of Pride

Everybody’s your buddy at BUDDY’s bar

Volunteer of the Year, Stephen Miranda, Gives Back

The DoughCone: Keeping it Chill for Pride, and all year long

Ashley Sheldon helps find your dream home

Dumpling Dudez: Just a couple of dudes who make dumplings with Pride and love

Out and About

Member Directory

5340 Weslayan St. #25011

Houston, TX 77265

(832) 510-3002

info@houstonlgbtchamber.com houstonlgbtchamber.com

The Voice for the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ and

Allied Business Community

Mission

The Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce accelerates economic opportunity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer + business community through a strong network of business allies, innovative

programs, strategic partnerships

and advance policies that foster

economic inclusion and equality.

This is a Town Square Publications, formerly MetroMedia (since 1997), publication created and produced for the Greater Houston LGBT

Chamber of Commerce, 5340 Weslayan St. #25011, Houston, TX 77265

houstonlgbtchamber.com | (832) 510-3002

Copyright © 2023 Town Square Publications

P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006

(847) 427-4905 | marketing@tspubs.com

www.TownSquarePublications.com

Chairman, CEO and Publisher | Douglas K. Ray

President and Chief Operating Officer | Scott Stone

Vice President / Director | Scott Ray

Managing Director | David Small

Director of Production | Ryan Moore

Sales Executives | Tyler Busby

Editor | Bob Oswald

Designer | Angie Davis

Letter from the

President & CEO

Happy Pride 2023!

We are excited to celebrate Pride Month and we have a robust calendar planned to celebrate. We hope you will be part of it!

For this Pride issue, we are highlighting some of our Chamber Members and Corporate Partners to get their perspective on Pride Month and what it means to them. What we love about this quarterly magazine is that, whether you are reading this issue during June, or another part of the year, these stories resonate, and they are relevant and powerful regardless of the time of year.

While Pride Month is all about celebrating, we are highlighting one of our members, Conduit Coffee, who recently experienced harassment at their business. The Chamber has stepped up to support them during this challenging time and we are asking you to do the same. Read the article and then consider supporting this queer and woman owned business. There are many ways you can help such as stopping in to patronize their business, buying gift cards and sharing out their article in this magazine. We want to make sure that they know that the Chamber, our members and the community has their back.

We are also highlighting our incredible partnership with the Houston Astros and interview two of their key leaders about Pride Night and why it’s important to celebrate Pride Month with the community.

Honestly, this issue covers the stories mentioned above, a doula service business, LGBTQ+ bar, dumplings and so much more. Take a moment to read it from cover to cover!

I want to share special appreciation to the Chamber Gold Level Partner, HP, who is our Presenting Sponsor for the Pride In Business Celebration this year. HP has stepped up in a major way to support the work of the Chamber and has been a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. Check out the article in this edition to find out more about HP’s support.

Make your plans to join us at the Pride In Business Celebration & Awards on Friday, June 23rd! The Pride In Business Celebration is one of the premier Pride Month events in the region. We’ll be honoring eleven Pride In Business Award Honorees as well. Purchase your tickets TODAY! Be part of it!

Learn more at http://houstonprideinbusiness.lgbt/.

Buy LGBTQ+! I shared this last issue but another reminder that Pride Month is a great time to be intentional about supporting LGBTQ+ owned businesses. Check out the Chamber Directory and support LGBTQ+ owned businesses in June and all year long. If you’re looking for a service or product, look no further than the Chamber Directory at https://business.houstonlgbtchamber.com/member-directory. I encourage you to make sure you are spending your dollars with businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community.

We are incredibly proud of this issue of Business Intersections and our past issues. A huge thank you to our magazine advertisers for advertising in the Pride issue and your generous support including our cover sponsor, PrimeLending - Riaz Pooran. Your support helps us tell the important stories of our members and the LGBTQ+ community. Missed a past issue of Business Intersections? Check out the past issues here!

If you’re not a member, getting involved this time of year is a great time to join and be part of all the great Pride events and more coming up! Show Your Pride!

With Pride,

Tammi Wallace (she/her)

Co-Founder, President & CEO

p.s. Be sure and follow the Chamber on social media and stay updated!

p.s. Not a member of the Chamber? Now is a great time to join and maybe your business will be featured in an upcoming Business Intersections issue! Learn more here.

Pride In Business Presenting Sponsor Spotlight

HP

So much more than just a printer company with Pride

Did you know that HP released the first HP LaserJet printer in 1984, which quickly become the world’s most popular laser printer. Two years later the company formed the first LGBTQ+ employee resource group. HP has been at the forefront of technology and LGBTQ+ equality for decades.

Aaron Slessinger (he/him), Senior Director, Personal Systems Product Management & Executive Sponsor, Houston Pride Business Impact Network (BIN), is a true “product guy,” and a supporter of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

“HP’s Pride Houston Business Impact Network (BIN) joined the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2022 with the goal of connecting with businesses and community organizations large and small across Houston to accelerate LGBTQ+ inclusion, advocacy, and action in the region,” said the gay husband and father of a six-year-old son. “The company has already made an enormous impact, including donating 120 monitors to Houston-based small businesses who were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The Chamber’s corporate partner earlier this year also donated a suite of technology equipment to photographer Dalton DeHart, a chronicler of Houston’s LGBTQ+ community, to help him get back on his feet after a devastating fire that destroyed his condo during the holiday season.

Other HP LGBTQ+ milestones include forming the Friends of Dorothy, an informal gay and lesbian social group in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1978; adding domestic partner benefits for same-sex partners in 1996; and adding gender identity and expression to its Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Policy

And its inclusivity has not gone unnoticed. The technology company has appeared on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) corporate equality index at or near 100% since 2003 as well as being recognized as Wall Street Journal’s Top 250 Best-Managed Companies of 2021, a 2022 Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality by HRC, and one of Newsweek America’s Most Responsible Companies.

“HP and the Chamber are obvious partners,” Slessinger said. “HP has established itself as a best-in-class employee of choice for the LGBTQ+ community, and the Chamber has established itself as a partner and advocate of choice with almost 350 members across the Greater Houston region who are influencing policies and making Houston a more inclusive place to live and work.”

HP believes in Pride all year long and especially in June when it partners with the Chamber for a special event.

“HP is the Presenting Sponsor for the Pride In Business Celebration because we believe that it’s a social and business imperative to be visible for the LGBTQ+ community and accelerate social justice and inclusion,” Slessinger said. “The LGBTQ+ community has $3.7 trillion in economic potential, while there are currently 140 bills of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation slated for the 2023 session in Texas alone. HP is committed to Houston, Texas, and the LGBTQ+ community, and our sponsorship for this event as well as our ongoing partnership with the Chamber reaffirms these commitments.” Learn more about the Pride In Business Celebration at http://houstonprideinbusiness.lgbt/.

For more information visit hp.com.

Conduit Coffee

Proudly Flies That Flag

By Marene Gustin

Conduit Coffee in The Woodlands is a very new member of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

“I thought, great I’ll join and help get our business noticed,” says Robin Farrar (she/her), co-owner of the coffee shop with her life partner, Christina Reece (she/her). “Then everything started happening and I haven’t even been to a meeting yet. But Tammi (Chamber Co-Founder, President & CEO) has been there reaching out to support us anyway.”

What happened at the proudly out coffee spot was some anti-LGBTQ+ nastiness. Reece posted on her Instagram account following one instance in April:

“Well y’all just another day of someone NOT minding their business. Had this guy open our door today and shout very aggressively ‘if you took down your flag maybe you’d get more fucking business, this is the fucking woodlands.’”

“I think sometimes the universe can use bad situations for a good purpose,” Farrar said. “We’ve had more support and business than ever; we’ve made more allies.”

Besides the owners, many of the staff are queer, and yes, Pride flags are everywhere in the shop as well as whimsical bathroom signs: a stick figure in a skirt, a stick figure in half a skirt, an alien, and a two-headed stick figure.

“It’s just a fun way to show who we are,” Reece said. “We’ve never hidden the fact we’re a queer business. It’s not a secret.”

After news of the backlash from some residents of the conservative township went viral, Farrar and Reece had T-shirts made that proclaimed, “I became a lesbian at Conduit Coffee.”

“They’ve been selling out,” Farrar said. “A lot of white men buy them, and the printer said he even printed up an extra one for himself! If they want us to be less gay, we’ll just be even more gay.”

Reece and Farrar opened Conduit Coffee in 2021 as a conduit to better understanding between people and as a safe and affirming space for all.

“I want everyone to feel seen and loved and celebrated because I don’t know if that’s happening when you leave my doors,” Reece said.

“We built Conduit Coffee as a safe space to be yourself,” Farrar said. “I didn’t realize that I needed that, too. Just being yourself, that’s what Pride means to me.”

The neighborhood coffee shop hosts nights for queer teens and their parents with free coffee and candid talks, the shop has games for families and just celebrated its second anniversary with an outpouring of support.

“I think people like the man who yelled at us, and those who write rude comments on our social media, do it out of fear and ignorance,” Farrar said. “And that’s the whole purpose of Conduit Coffee. To start conversations and let people see who we are. We celebrate Pride every month here, but in June we’re just going to be more gay!”

For more information visit
https://twtxconduitcoffee.com/.

Go Astros

Knocking it out of the park for Pride

When you think of the Houston Astros you might think of the 2017 and 2022 World Series champs, those playful H-E-B commercials where star payers get preferred parking along with grocery deliveries. Or, if you are old enough, maybe those retro orange and red jerseys. But for the LGBTQ+ community, it means Pride Night at the park!

And this year promises to be another hit as the Houston Astros face off against the New York Mets at Minute Maid Park June 20 for Pride Night. The Astros, a Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce Corporate Partner, will team up with the Chamber to celebrate Pride with baseball fans.

“A portion of the proceeds from our Share2Care that evening will go to LGBTQ nonprofits,” says Anita Sehgal, Sr. (she/her), Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Houston is recognized as the most diverse city in the country and part of that is the LGBTQ community.”

“Diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) are very important to the Astros,” adds Paula Harris (she/her), Executive Director, of the Astros Foundation and Senior Vice President, of Community Affairs. “We celebrate diversity all year long.”

The Astros Foundation is the official 501(c)(3) team charity of the Houston Astros. It seeks to harness the passion of the fans to support youth sports and education programs, the recognition and honor of the nation’s military, childhood cancer, domestic violence awareness, and efforts to reduce homelessness. Cornerstone initiatives include the Community Leaders program, the Astros MLB Youth Academy, and the Astros Nike RBI Program (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities).

The Astros first Pride Night was in 2010, when Annise Parker was the city’s first lesbian mayor. She threw out the second pitch. The event sold 1,000 tickets. In 2020, another Pride Night was planned, but had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. In 2021 the organization partnered with the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce to plan another Pride Night to coincide with the city’s annual Pride Parade and festival. The Astros played the Texas Rangers, the only team in MLB history to have never held a Pride Night. The league itself is very LGBTQ+ friendly. In 2021, Spirit Day, set aside in October to take a stand against the bullying of LGBTQIA+ youth, was promoted by all 30 MLB teams on social media. The Rangers were the only team to remove LGBTQIA+ from its message. This year’s Pride matchup is with the Mets, a team that has celebrated Pride Night for six years now.

“Pride, to me as a person of color, is very important to me,” Sehgal says. “Baseball is for everyone - and I am grateful that the game of baseball provides the opportunity to celebrate all diversity.”

Harris adds: “As an African American female I know what it’s like to grow up unaccepted, so DEI is ingrained in my DNA.”

Go Astros, knock it out of the park on Pride Night!

For more information visit

mlb.com/astros/tickets/specials/pride.

Maximum Doula Services

A unique business full of Pride

By Marene Gustin

Max BurrusWebb (they/them), a 34-year-old nonbinary father of a 10-year-old son, is probably one of only a few LGBTQ+ doulas in Texas. Coming from a small town in Washington state with more cows than people, BurrusWebb was always interested in the doula business.

“I’ve been interested in birth work since I was 16, I read every book about midwifery that our little library had,” BurrusWebb said. “Life happened and took me in many different directions. I ended up going to school for physical therapy, but birth work kept calling me. I kept reading, and eventually reached out to an LGBTQ affirming Facebook group and found someone to mentor me, Kathleen Wilson.”

“I worked under her as an apprentice for three months. I was later voted into the doula collective (TLC Doula Group) she’s a part of. We’re a collective of independent business owners, but we back each other up, offer support and share a building in Old Town Spring. I love birth work. I love being able to support people when they’re at their most vulnerable and teach them how to advocate for themselves. We work to take our power back from the medical establishment, and really push for truly informed consent. I want all my clients to understand what’s happening in their bodies and be active participants in the process of pregnancy and birth. I started working on establishing my business in October of last year, and I’m very excited to see it grow!”

BurrusWebb joined the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce shortly after starting their business to learn more about being an LGBTQ+ business owner in Texas, and to learn from the other members. And they give back to the community in many ways.

“I work on activism and education where I can,” they said. “I work within the trans community to help wherever I can bring value: information, doctor recommendations, education on options within transgender health care, name, and gender marker changes on documents. I serve the LGBTQ community as an affirming full spectrum doula who understands some things more intimately than others might. I’m there as a resource to answer questions, offer ideas, and help people formulate their own solutions.”

Out and proud, BurrusWebb recognizes the challenges today, but is hopeful for change.

“Pride is so much. Just being alive, following our dreams,” they say. “With the anti-trans legislation happening right now I really feel that simply being here is an act of rebellion and an act of Pride. We (LGBTQ people) have always been here, on this land, in history, globally. We’ve largely been erased from history and now that we’re coming out more people are trying to push us back.”

BurrusWebb is not discouraged.

“But the new generations are really giving me hope! They’re so authentic, and loud! They refuse to be silenced and they give me strength to keep fighting for the equality we deserve,” they said. 

For more information visit maximumdoulaservices.com.

MEMBER Spotlight

BUDDY’s Bar

Everybody’s Your Buddy at BUDDY’s

By Marene Gustin

Christopher Barry (he/him) left a 12-year career in medical implant sales to open a LGBTQ+ bar, because he saw how many spots Houston was losing, and wanted to save the culture.

“I wasn’t sure if it was a culture change or just the business model that wasn’t working,” Barry said. But he had a plan for a more interactive bar offering activities, services, and inclusiveness for the community. So, he bought the old Bayou City bar on Grant Street and opened BUDDY’s on Christmas Eve, 2019. Three months later the governor shut down all bars and restaurants due to COVID-19.

He struggled through the shutdown building a new website, offering digital rainbow gift cards that purchasers could save for latter or donate back to BUDDY’S so Barry could offer interest-free loans to his out of work employees, and helped those same employees file for unemployment insurance.

“When we finally opened back up, the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce was there,” Barry said. The Chamber helped us apply for a Small Business Association loan and then helped us become the first gay bar in the world to become a presidential polling place.”

BUDDY’S was also the first bar in Houston to offer free COVID-19 tests and vaccines that same year and the first bar to become an Amazon Locker Hub.

“Because of porch pirates, you can have your packages sent here, swing by after work to pick them up and stay for happy hour,” Barry said.

Last year BUDDY’S also offered testing and vaccines for Monkey Pox when the dangerous virus raced through the gay community. On the fun side, guests at BUDDY’S enjoy DJ’s, karaoke, Drag Queen shows, pool tables, trivia nights, open night comedy nights, corn hole leagues, and they sponsor several teams in the Montrose Softball League.

“We’re a vendor for Pride Houston,” Barry said. “Even though there’s no festival this year we’ll be selling beverages along the parade route, plus we’ll have Pride parties here at BUDDY’S and our sister bar KIKI.”

Barry opened KIKI in January, next door to BUDDY’S. They’re connected by a hallway. While KIKI is upscale and features arts viewings and such, BUDDY’s is more casual focusing on fun games and sports. Think of it as KIKI being the main house and BUIDDY’S being the attached garage. Barry said BUDDY’S definitely has that laid back garage vibe.

“Pride is who I am all year long,” he said. “Being true to myself but also realizing there is a whole rainbow of people out in the world who just love who they love.”

As for what’s next for Barry and BUDDY’S, he said he’s working on a volunteer fair to match volunteers with Houston’s many LGBTQ+ nonprofits, who are always in need of workers. Because that’s just the kind of thing Christopher Barry does for the community.

For more information visit buddys.bar.

CHAMBER VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR Spotlight

Volunteer of the Year, Stephen Miranda, Gives Back

By Marene Gustin

Stephen Miranda (he/him) is the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce 2022 Volunteer of the Year and just recently joined the Chamber board. He is with Chamber Corporate Partner, Bank of America.  

“So many people are still closeted at work,” Miranda, senior vice president and private client advisor with Bank of America Private Bank in Houston, Texas, said. “The Chamber is really in a position to advocate for that. It really allows me to engage professionally as an advocate. In 2019 I joined the Chamber as an individual and last year when I joined Bank of America, they were a Corporate Partner. The bank is eager to look for ways to work with the Chamber.”

Bank of America is committed to cultivating a workplace where their team’s unique colors can shine, from being the first financial services company to provide full domestic partner benefits to helping shift society’s perceptions toward inclusion. The company said that being an inclusive workplace with employees of different backgrounds and identities strengthens its ability to understand stakeholders and serve them well.

“I’ve never faced any adversity at Bank of America,” Miranda said. “I will say I have had to overcome a lot of assumptions people have elsewhere. I have lost clients and opportunities, but that’s OK. As long as my numbers are up people will let you be. At Bank of America, we have a very active acceptance policy. It’s refreshing.”

Miranda is a native Houstonian but went to the University of Oklahoma.

“I got a full scholarship,” he explained.

With an early professional background in strategic nonprofit management, Miranda regularly collaborates with the Private Bank’s Philanthropic Strategy Team, a group of 150 specialists that provide internal consulting and management support for nonprofit organizations and foundations, to assist emerging and established institutions as they scale and expand their impact, as well as advising individuals and families as they define and distribute their charitable legacy in a tax prudent manner.

Besides sitting on the board of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, he sits on the Houston Advisory Board for Shelters to Shutters, a national organization that transitions individuals and families out of homelessness to economic self-sufficiency by providing full time employment, housing and career training. He also sits on the board of directors of the JD Doyle Archives, one of the largest independent LGBTQ+ historical collections in the world. He is an active member of Bank of America’s PRIDE Employee Resource Group, and recently completed a term on the board of trustees of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus, the oldest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the South, where he continues to be an active voice for change.

Come June, you’ll find Miranda marching for Bank of America in the Houston Pride Parade.

“I think Pride is important for two reasons,” Miranda said. “It’s a symbol of progress and a reminder that we need to keep going. We have to be able to celebrate our family.”

The Chamber appreciates Stephen and his strong commitment to the Chamber’s mission and tireless dedication to supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Thank you, Stephen!

NEW MEMBER Spotlight

The DoughCone

Keeping it Chill for Pride, and all Year Long

“Pride is about being visible in the community, the more visible, the more accepted we become,” said food truck entrepreneur Avneesh “Avi” Oberoi (he/him). “We have Pride flags and signs on our trucks, and we make a rainbow cone every year. Who we are does not need to be hidden.”

And who he and his small queer business are, he said, are the makers of the best ice cream in Texas, probably the entire U.S.

Just what makes them so special?

All year long Oberoi and his team make baked doughnut cones from a 300-year-old Eastern European recipe, dusted with cinnamon sugar, and lined with Nutella or Biscoff cookie butter. And the deliciousness doesn’t stop there. All their ice creams are handmade, with premium ingredients, such as the vanilla beans imported from Madagasscar, his favorite flavor, by the way. They are then topped with an unlimited variety of sauces, nuts or sprinkles. Every treat is made fresh to order.

His fleet of ice cream food trucks has become a welcome sight at Hermann and Buffalo Bayou parks as well as festivals and apartment complexes. They are also available for corporate events and private parties. It’s not cheap, but then Oberoi is adamant about using top quality ingredients and about paying his team members top dollar.

“The turnover in this business is two to three years,” he said. “But most of my team has been with me for seven years and they don’t want to leave.”

Besides the pay, he also respects all his team members, many who identify as LGBTQ+, and has even cancelled events and refunded clients if they don’t respect them, too. When someone once asked a team member to remove a Pride flag from a truck, Oberoi told them no. “They never have to do that.”

So how did he come to create this creamy business?

“I was laid off in the oil and gas downturn,” Oberoi explains. “I come from a family of food entrepreneurs, 80 years of experience in our family, plus I wanted to spend more time with my dog, Vito. So, a food truck seemed perfect.”

Thus, DoughCone was born, and it’s been a darling of Houston foodies for the past seven years. Oberoi has plans to expand the wholesale side of the business and eventually begin franchising. But for now, he concentrates on the core business, which is service. The food, you might say, is just the ice cream on the cone.

“Our goal is to give our guests a five-star experience, we just do it with ice cream,” Oberoi said.

DoughCone is giving back to community in a big way during Pride Month. “We are offering a pride centered donut ice cream cone that will look like a rainbow, a rainbow themed pride milkshake, and rainbow sundaes, Oberoi said. “We are partnering with Marissa Ha Fiala and Matt Fiala from @HoustonHotSpots to promote the cone. Up to 20% of sales from the Pride DoughCone collections will be donated to an LGBTQ+ charity focused on you.” DoughCone has a goal to donate $10,000 dollars (and more!) to support LGBTQ+ Youth.

As a new member of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce Oberoi is delighted with the graciousness and attention he has found here. And he’s looking forward to celebrating Pride with all his new friends and giving back. And definitely toasting it with an ice cream cone.

For more information and truck locations visit thedoughcone.com.

MEMBER Spotlight

Ashley Sheldon

Finding your dream home with Pride

By Marene Gustin

Ashley Sheldon (she/her) was interested in real estate for a long time. But when she was pregnant with her daughter 18 years ago, she decided to take the oil and gas route to provide for her, and worked in operations, procurement, project controls and scheduling.

“Then during the pandemic shutdown, I went ahead and got my real estate license online,” Sheldon said. Now, her daughter is also working towards her license, and they may soon be a mother daughter team.

Sheldon works for Styled Real Estate, a company based in Spring that offers customers assistance with buying, selling, and leasing both residential and commercial properties. In addition to brokerage services, the company is located within a stunning design center, Paragon Design Firm, which allows them to offer design and renovation services to clients.  

“I love being able to help other people,” Sheldon said. “A lot of times they don’t realize how much they can borrow. They don’t know their potential to achieve their dreams.”

She joined the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce in 2021.

“I went to some of their networking events,” she said. “And I just really valued meeting the people there. It’s all about the ability to connect with people and to listen to their stories and what they do and how they have accomplished things.”

The concept of Pride is essential to who she is, not just during the month of June, but all year long.

“Pride is about people celebrating who they are, that’s important for anyone,” Sheldon said.

As for Pride Month, Sheldon, who lives outside the city and has clients in Galveston County, Brazoria County, and South Houston, enjoys coming into Houston proper and joining the festivities to celebrate Pride with others.

“And there are Pride celebrations now in the surrounding areas as well,” she added.

Since 2017, Galveston Island has celebrated Pride in September with a beach bash and block parties, and even Brazoria County, in a fairly conservative Southeast Texas area, celebrates Pride with events on June 3.

Sheldon not only takes pride in her life but also in her work. Her Styled Real Estate profile says she is “on a mission is to create connections and make you the priority using all the tools in her wheelhouse that have been culminated through 12-plus years in oil and gas operations, procurement, project controls, and scheduling. She describes herself as a hard hitting, whole soul steward for the underserved. A Momma breaking chains and building bridges.”

When asked what being a hard hitting, whole soul steward means to her, she said: “I always put my clients first and work hard to ensure their success. I’m passionate about using my real estate skills to help marginalized communities find safe and find affordable housing. Helping people achieve their potential is amazing.”

For more information visit styledrealestate.com.

MEMBER Spotlight

Dumpling Dudez

Just a couple of dudes who make dumplings with Pride and love

By Marene Gustin

Mike Dorsey (he/him) and Chih Lin married in 2019 and quit their corporate jobs.

“They say you’re not supposed to do big changes like that all at once, but we did,” Lin said.

And it worked out very well.

After their 15-year-long corporate careers, they wanted to start their own business. Lin, who learned dumpling making from his beloved Taiwanese grandmother, taught Dorsey, and then they would teach their friends during dumpling making parties.

It seemed like the perfect business idea. So, they opened Dumpling Dudez in EaDo and offered private and corporate parties to teach — and eat — delicious dumplings. They offer different fillings for the seasons, although Lin’s favorite is still his grandmother’s pork, garlic and chive.

“As a former engineer,” Dorsey said, “I like to deconstruct dishes and turn them into dumplings. Like my smoked gouda and ham that tastes just like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich. But I also love his grandmother’s. When I met her before she passed, she taught the recipe to me and even took me into the garden to pick the leeks.”

“It’s all about the experience,” Lin said.

Now they have added yoga. Dorsey, who has 16 years of experience, teaches the yoga classes. And they plan to add more experiences; board game parties, and educational events for others wanting to start their own businesses. Currently, Yoga & Chilz is offered the fourth Saturday of the month at Eureka Heights, a brew company in The Heights. Twenty percent of the proceeds are donated to a different nonprofit each month. For June it will be Hatch Youth, the oldest city organization for LGBTQ+ youth. They’ll also host a dumpling party for Pride month with 50% of proceeds going to the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

“We built a business on storytelling,” Dorsey said. “Pride for us, and all year really, is about telling your story.”

“It’s about showing love and compassion through storytelling,” Linn added. “I think most people discriminate out of fear. Telling our stories helps them see that we really are all the same.”

Lin said another reason for leaving the corporate grind was that they did face discrimination, and still get some online backlash for being a gay couple.

“When we first started our business, everywhere we went we ran into Chamber members and when we went to our first Chamber event, I just fell in love with it,” Dorsey recalled. And joining the Chamber was a great move on their part.

“Any time something happened, the freeze for instance, Tammi (Chamber Co-Founder, President & CEO), would call to see if we were okay and if we needed anything,” Dorsey said. “We all need that kind of support in our lives, so that’s why we support the Chamber.”

For more information visit dumplingdudez.com.