Healthy Connections Luncheon 2026

The 2026 Healthy Connections Luncheon supports ECHOS programs that address Housing Stability and Access to Healthcare. This annual event, now in its fourth year, is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2026.

To celebrate the beginning of ECHOS' 25th Anniversary Year, our speaker this year will be Lisa Helfman, Managing Director of H-E-B Public Affairs - Houston. We are honored to welcome her to celebrate this milestone of serving our neighbors in need of a helping hand!

Prior to joining H-E-B in 2014, Lisa served as Director of Real Estate Services at Texas Children's Hospital and as an Attorney at Vinson & Elkins. 

In the fall of 2011, Lisa and her family took part in a weekly fruit and vegetable co-op, and she watched her children's eating habits transform.  So much so that her son Drew rejected a piece of cake at a birthday party, asking for fruit instead. 

She was inspired to replicate this type of positive change in underserved communities where obesity was high and access to fresh produce was low.  Lisa's vision was to bring a produce co-op to schools in these neighborhoods that included an educational component while also making it fun. In partnership with Dr. Shreela Sharma at the University of Texas School of Public Health, they launched Brighter Bites in 2012.  Twelve years later, Brighter Bites has delivered over 70,000,000 pounds of fresh produce and 100,000s of education materials to more than 1M individuals (including teachers!) in twelve cities across the nation. 

Lisa has received many awards for her work with Brighter Bites, among them: the Humanitarian of the Year from the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, the Newcomb College at Tulane Community Service Alumni of the Year and Business Insider named her to their list of top 100 Coolest People in Food and Drink.  In addition to chairing the Board of Brighter Bites, Lisa also serves on the boards of the Houston Food Bank, the Kinkaid School, the Jung Center and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.  Lisa received her JD Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston Law Center and her BA Cum Laude from Tulane University.