Robert Emery Pronouns: he / him Board Chair & Founding Board Member
Robert is a 35-year volunteer & philanthropist in North Texas. He has served on the board of directors for Black Tie Dinner, & the Friends of WRR (Classical music radio 101.1FM). Robert co-founded The Dallas Way: an LGBTQ history project, and he currently serves as President. He was a founding board member of the Coalition for Aging LGBT. He served as the Grand Marshal for Dallas’ 30th Gay Pride Parade, and he co-chairs and co-hosts fundraisers benefitting North Texas arts organizations as well as health & human services organizations. He worked with the Dallas Holocaust & Human Rights Museum on their permanent LGBT historical presentation. Robert secured Texas’ first LGBTQ historical Subject Marker “The Crossroads”, awarded by the Texas Historical Commission. Robert received the "Kuchling Humanitarian Award" from Black Tie Dinner. He was named "LGBT Texan of the Year" by the Dallas VOICE newspaper. Robert serves on the University of North Texas Library's Advocacy Board of Directors.
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Chris Wallace
Pronouns: he / him
Board Vice-Chair
Chris Wallace is a certified non-profit organization executive bringing 28 years of expertise to the CfA LGBT. He is CEO of the North Texas Commission, which leads our region’s advocacy in Austin and D.C. Chris looks forward to continuing the exceptional leadership of Robert and Sandy to further build the strength and capacity of CfA LGBT to better serve our community.
Chris Wallace is President/CEO of the North Texas Commission, a public-private partnership that works with the region’s most prominent leaders to tackle the greatest challenges for the 13-county area. The NTC manages the region’s unified legislative advocacy voice at the state and federal levels.
Prior to joining the NTC, Wallace was President/COO of the Texas Association of Business, the state chamber of commerce based in Austin. As a registered lobbyist, Chris has led advocacy initiatives in the areas of economic development and trade having founded the highly recognized and successful Keep Texas Open for Business Coalition, defeating discriminatory and unnecessary legislation in the 85th Texas Legislative Session. Wallace also helped managed statewide campaigns reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, the Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition (advocating for the passage of the USMCA), as well as the need for telemedicine in Texas.
Wallace is a current member of the faculty and past chairman of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management as well as a former Regent of Northeast Institute at Villanova University. He is among a group of less than 800 executives in the nation who have earned their CCE (Certified Chamber Executive) designation. He also serves on the national board of the Business & Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), the Texas Advisory Board of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and chairs the statewide board of CHILDREN AT RISK.
He is a 1992 graduate of Texas Tech University and served on the Texas Tech Chancellor's Council and previously on the Professional Advisory Board of the College of Media and Communication where he was named an outstanding alumnus in 2008.
Wallace is a frequent presenter and media resource on trade, the business case for inclusion as well as immigration reform. He was a finalist for a 2010 White House Fellowship and is featured among the Dallas 500 most powerful business leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth by D CEO Magazine.
