Franci Neely spent more than two decades practicing corporate law and now invests her time in philanthropic and volunteer efforts. She uses her corporate expertise to help guide multiple organizations as a board member.

Neely’s legal career began after she graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She entered the corporate sector and continued to work in the field for more than 20 years.

As her career drew to a close, Neely made partner at Susman Godfrey LLP after championing multiple successful negotiations as a litigator with the firm.

Retiring from corporate law allowed Neely to spend more time volunteering.

Neely is on the boards of the Moody Center for the Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), and is a co-founder of the Houston Cinema Arts Society. Her responsibilities at the Museum of Fine Arts include co-chairing the Arts of Islamic Worlds and the Film of Islamic Worlds subcommittees.

In addition to these organizations, Neely is affiliated with the Baker Institute of Public Policy and the Menil Foundation. She’s a board member at the Baker Institute.

Part of Neely’s hope for the arts community in Houston is that it will reach a more diverse audience. Her work with the Islamic-related subcommittees strives toward this aim, as do many of her leadership suggestions for other organizations.

Neely maintains a primary residence in Houston, but enjoys traveling. Some of her international destinations include Cuba, Morocco, India, Kuwait, Qatar, and many other places. She’s been to more than 180 countries thus far and hopes to visit every country in the world. When traveling, she often has a camera in her hand.