Brilliant Lecture Series

The Brilliant Lecture Series is a Houston, Texas not-for-profit organization whose aim is to support young people and their families, particularly students from underrepresented portions of society, in their journey through life. We seek to provide support, inspiration, and a forum for generating new ideas through our lectures, special events, workshops and in-school programming.

The mission of the Brilliant Lecture Series is to motivate and inspire by presenting national and international leaders, role models, philanthropists, artists, humanitarians, authors, and entrepreneurs to our great city. The Brilliant Lecture Series was established and received its 501 (c)3 status in November 2005. The Brilliant Lecture Series has three on-going programs to achieve its mission; Conversations with Brilliance, Brill Talks, and our International Youth Leadership Forum.

• Conversations with … series. Once every quarter, Conversations with Brilliance hosts someone ‘brilliant.’ From international leaders, prize-winning authors and actors, to eminent scientists and business leaders – the Conversations with Brilliance series offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the world’s greatest minds inspiring leadership in Houston’s youth and their families. Each speaker will take the audience through his or her life – followed by a question and answer session. Since its inception, the Brilliant Lecture Series has presented six luminaries: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Sir Sidney Poitier, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Dame Julie Andrews, Diana Ross, Dr. Maya Angelou, President Gorbachev, George Clooney to name just a few.

• Brill Talks. Brill Talks aims to engage middle and high school students in direct, interactive learning by inviting local, national and international members of our society to join us and speak about their own journeys through life, and what drove them to their own heights of success. This open dialogue is designed to inspire, improve interpersonal relationships, build cross-cultural understanding, and motivate people to stay with their dreams and goals while making a difference in both their communities and the world. We are committed to developing individuals who will one day join the workforce in industries such as oil and gas, information technology, fine arts, business, media, and engineering.

• International Youth Leadership Exchange Program. With income generated through the Brilliant Lecture Series, we have established the International Youth Leadership Exchange Program. The first exchange visit was for a group of students from a Houston high school to The Jubilee School in Amman, Jordan. This came as a direct result of the lecture presented by Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. We are currently working on our next exchange visit to Uganda as a result of our time with Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Our students will work on clean water and sanitation projects in partnership with Wine To Water.

The Brilliant Lecture Series works to provide transformational experiences through lectures, direct in-school programs and cross-cultural opportunities.