Students today may not remember the performer spinning plates atop tall, thin poles
on 鈥淭he Ed Sullivan Show鈥� on Sunday nights. But Melissa Meisgeier Noriega recalls
the dizzying act as she describes what makes her tick.鈥淚 thrive on complexity,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 like an operational tempo that鈥檚 very intense.鈥�
Noriega, who has a bachelor鈥檚 in psychology and a master鈥檚 in educational psychology from the 91破解版, has juggled educational, political and community challenges throughout her career. She worked for the Houston Independent School District for 27 years and served as a three-term Houston City Councilwoman and state representative in the Texas House. In 2017, honored her with a Distinguished Alumni Award.
Among Noriega鈥檚 recent projects: helping Houstonians recover after Hurricane Harvey. In her role as a vice president for BakerRipley, Noriega joined other leaders of the nonprofit as they scrambled at the request of local officials to set up a shelter for victims of the unprecedented storm. Their speed and organization drew widespread praise.
Pictured as president of the Phi Mu sorority at , Noriega said the skills she learned
as a Greek member complemented the academic lessons.Under the leadership of then-CEO Angela Blanchard, Noriega and others prepared NRG Center to house thousands of people 鈥� setting up cots, meals, a pet center and more. Noriega helped coordinate more than 150 law enforcement officers from different agencies. She spent nearly every day on site for a month.
鈥淚t was a remarkable experience, and it was humbling,鈥� Noriega said.
Setting Her Mind to It
A similar experience, helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center, compelled Noriega to run for Houston City Council a couple years later, in 2007.
鈥淲e had neighbors coming from New Orleans 鈥� many of them coming with their whole lives in plastic bags, or with nothing at all, and Houston stepped up,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 decided to run for City Council because I saw what we Houstonians could do when we set our minds to it.鈥�
Noriega was elected to an at-large council seat and chaired two committees: Public Safety and Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology. She was co-chair of the successful 2012 city bond campaign that improved parks and also led efforts to keep women owners as part of the minority- and historically underutilized business program.
She previously served as a state representative, filling her then-husband鈥檚 seat in early 2005 while he was deployed to Afghanistan. The Democratic Caucus named her Freshman of the Year.
Campaigning, she said, took its toll, but she enjoyed public office.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about how to solve problems and where to intervene,鈥� she said.
She鈥檚 since learned unforgettable lessons from her colleagues at BakerRipley.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 come into a situation and say, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 broken and how do we fix it?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭hey say, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 working, who are the leaders and how do we build on that?鈥� It鈥檚 respectful and positive and productive.鈥�
Navigating Bureaucracies
Born in Philadelphia, Noriega moved to Texas when she was 2. She returned to Houston from Austin her senior year of high school.
鈥淓ven as a high school kid, I could feel it 鈥� I loved Houston right from the beginning,鈥� she said.
She attended Scarborough High and had no doubt she would go to . On campus, she surprised herself 鈥� a self-described bookworm 鈥� by joining a sorority, Phi Mu, and becoming its president.
鈥淚 learned how to read a budget. I learned how to put on events,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople can be a little bit snarky about fraternities and sororities, but I learned a lot.鈥�
After graduation, she worked as a buyer trainee in fashion and later launched her career at HISD as a research assistant. She then held several leadership roles in parent involvement, community relations and professional development before joining City Council.
鈥淚 was sort of a troubleshooter, a problem solver,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 learned a lot about how systems work and how you get things done nibbling around the edges of bureaucracies.鈥�
Serving the Community
Working at HISD fulltime, Noriega earned a master鈥檚 in educational psychology in 1983.
鈥淚 always knew it was going to be a good class when it was in the KIVA,鈥� she said of the College of Education鈥檚 largest room.
Noriega鈥檚 father, Charles Meisgeier, was founding chair of the College鈥檚 Department of Educational Psychology (now the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences).
Bob McPherson, dean of the College of Education and a colleague of Meisgeier鈥檚, has known Noriega since she worked for HISD.
鈥淪he鈥檚 done extraordinary service work on behalf of public education, the city of Houston and Texas,鈥� McPherson said.
Noriega has lived in the East End, within walking distance of campus, on and off since college. Her two brothers also attended , and her son, Ricky, now away at college, used to attend the Charter School. A lifetime member of the Alumni Association, Noriega marvels at the changes on campus under Chancellor Renu Khator.
鈥淭he idea we鈥檙e going to have a medical school 鈥� it鈥檚 just so exciting to be a Cougar,鈥� she said. 鈥淒r. Khator has been remarkable. And she gets it that football matters as well as academics. The effort to have kids living on campus is very powerful.鈥�
鈥揃y Ericka Mellon
鈥揚hotos courtesy of and Noriega
Watch Noriega talk about her time at the 91破解版: