Brett Baucum

How did you first become involved in NFCC?

I first became aware of NFCC when the current Executive Director, Mary Elizabeth Hand, invited me to one of the early crawfish boil fundraisers over 10 years ago. At the time I was living in Austin, Texas, but came to Houston for the weekend to attend the event. After moving back to Houston in 2013, I attended the various NFCC fundraisers and even organized a team for a Tee Up for Counseling event at Top Golf. I was always very impressed by the community involvement at the NFCC events, both at the individual and corporate level. Through these events I learned about the need that NFCC addresses for affordable and accessible mental health counseling services in the Houston community, so when I was invited to join the advisory board in 2015, I jumped at the opportunity to get more involved.

You served on our advisory board from 2015-2018. What were you most proud of seeing NFCC accomplish during that time?

NFCC experienced tremendous growth in many ways during the period I served on the board. The fundraising events and grant support expanded, leading to a larger budget that allowed for an increase in the square footage of the counseling center facilities and hiring of additional staff – all of which allowed NFCC to experience tremendous growth in counseling sessions and client count. Seeing NFCC accomplish its mission through growth in counseling sessions provided, particularly the number of sessions that were provided at reduced cost to the client, gave me a great appreciation for the positive impact NFCC was having on the Houston community.

What are your hopes for NFCC’s future?

I hope to see NFCC continue to raise community awareness of the need for and importance of mental health counseling. The NFCC staff and counselors do a great job interacting with the community and helping to remove the stigma that society has placed on talking openly about mental health.

Why do you continue to support NFCC?

I support NFCC because I have seen first-hand, through my involvement in the advisory board, the overwhelmingly positive impact NFCC has on the community. Whether through partnerships with Communities In Schools and the Salvation Army, interviews on local news networks, or offering affordable counseling services, NFCC is making a difference to so many people in the community.