The Influentials
Meet the Influentials: CultureMap highlights Texas leaders and tastemakers in new series
Texas has long been a place that attracts people who want to make a difference. It doesn't matter who your parents are or how little money you have, if you possess a great idea and want to achieve great things, the Lone Star state welcomes you with no questions asked.
Each of the state's major cities has a large number of influentials — those Texans who are shaping the places where they live with new, and often bold, ideas.
Some are powerful household names who are well-known beyond Dallas, Houston or Austin; others fly under the radar and work tirelessly behind the scenes without recognition.
With the sheer force of persuasion and determination, the city's influentials are molding the economy, enhancing the culture and creating a blueprint for the 21st century.
With the sheer force of persuasion and determination, they are molding the economy, enhancing the culture and creating a blueprint for the 21st century — making their hometowns a better place to live.
In a new editorial series, The Influentials, CultureMap highlights those individuals who are impacting their cities in a strong way.
In Dallas, we have kicked off the series by chatting with with Maxwell L. Anderson, who has hit the ground running since his January 2012 appointment as the Eugene McDermott director of the Dallas Museum of Art.
Anderson is the first of a host of Dallasites we will spend time with, asking them Proust-like questions to gain some insight into who they are and what makes them tick.
Our sister sites in Houston and Austin are highlighting Influentials in their respective cities as well. Melba Whatley, who is spearheading the redevelopment of Waller Creek as a nationally renowned urban park, is the first CultureMap Austin Influential. In Houston, Scott McClellend, president of H-E-B Houston, has led off the CultureMap Houston series.
In the coming weeks and months, the list of Dallas Influentials will include real estate moguls and philanthropists, elected officials and opinion-makers. They vary in age, financial clout, life experiences and special talents.
But they all have one thing in common: They make things happen.