S. Shawn Stephens S. Shawn (“Shawn”) Stephens, B.A.; J. D.; LL.M. (international economic law), practiced law in Houston for 30 years. Stephens headed the Texas appellate practice of King & Spalding LLP. She was both the first Texan and the first woman to earn national certification in appellate law. She is also certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Ms. Stephens has chaired the Houston Ballet Board, which has an annual operating budget of $33 million. She is the only person to have served in all of Houston Ballet’s major volunteer leadership roles: Board chair, Board president, Ball chair, Nutcracker Market chair, and president of the Houston Ballet Guild. Shawn led Houston Ballet through back-to-back crises: Hurricane Harvey (which flooded its theatre) and COVID.
Shawn was appointed to two 6-year terms on the Texas Commission on the Arts (vice chair, secretary) and served part of her predecessor’s unexpired term. She twice sat on the Texas Medal of the Arts selection committee. Additionally, Ms. Stephens served on the boards of TUTS, Stages, the University of Houston’s Moore’s School of Music, and Houston Symphony League. She is a member of the Menil Society and serves on the Hermann Park Conservancy Advisory Board and the Trinity University Parent Council Board. She served two terms on the Houston Museum of Natural Science Board, was a member of the boards of Houston Zoo, the Heritage Society, and Zoo Friends (president).
She has served as a Vestry member of Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston and previously sat on the boards of South Texas College of Law, Girls Inc. of Greater Houston (president), South Texas College of Law Alumni Association (president), and the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. Ms. Stephens served on the executive committee of the Texas Lyceum. Shawn has been named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women, a Woman of Distinction, and a Woman on the Move.