Houston’s business community is preparing for a milestone moment wrapped in purpose, progress, and unmistakable Pride. The Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce has announced Francisco Sánchez, Jr. as another Co-Chair of the 2026 Pride In Business – A Decade of Impact Celebration Luncheon + After Party, a signature event set for Friday, June 12, 2026, from 11:00 AM–1:30 PM CT, followed by the After Party beginning at 1:30 PM CT, at the Hilton Americas-Houston Grand Ballroom. The 10th annual celebration is expected to welcome 1,000 attendees, expanding the Chamber’s hallmark luncheon into a larger milestone experience that includes the Pride In Business Expo, awards recognition, networking, and an afternoon celebration of LGBTQ+ and Allied business and community leadership.

For Houston, this is not just another luncheon on the calendar. This is a decade-deep declaration that inclusion is good business, visibility is economic power, and opportunity grows stronger when every entrepreneur, executive, professional, and community leader has a seat at the table. The Chamber describes the 2026 celebration as a tribute to ten years of building a thriving LGBTQ+ economic ecosystem across Greater Houston—strengthening visibility, expanding opportunity, and championing inclusion for LGBTQ+ and Allied communities.

That makes the appointment of Francisco Sánchez, Jr. especially fitting. Sánchez brings a rare blend of public service, disaster recovery leadership, small business advocacy, and Houston-rooted civic commitment. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden in January 2022, Sánchez served as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, overseeing the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience; multiple public bios note that he was the first non-banker and presidential appointee to hold that leadership role.

His work has not been theoretical. In moments when storms, floods, and disasters tested communities, Sánchez helped lead economic recovery efforts designed to support small businesses, families, and local economies. In May 2024, the SBA announced a Portable Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Houston for those affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding, with Sánchez quoted in connection with the outreach effort.

Now, as Co-Chair of the 2026 Pride In Business Celebration, Sánchez’s leadership connects national small business experience with Houston’s hometown spirit of resilience.

“I am proud to serve as a Co-Chair of the 2026 Pride in Business Celebration because this work is deeply personal to me,” Sánchez said. “Houston’s greatest strength is its people—our diversity, our resilience, and our willingness to create opportunity for one another.”

That message lands with power in a city that understands both celebration and struggle. Houston is an international business hub, a cultural capital, an energy powerhouse, and one of America’s most diverse metropolitan regions. But the real magic of Houston has always been its people—neighbors who build, rebuild, innovate, organize, and show up for one another. Pride In Business captures that Houston DNA and places it under the bright lights where it belongs.

Sánchez emphasized that his service at the SBA reinforced a central truth: when barriers are removed and people are empowered, economies grow. “Pride in Business is about more than a luncheon,” he said. “It is about bringing people together, focusing on business, and creating the kind of economic opportunity that ensures Houston’s economy is strong and resilient.”

That is the heart of this 10th annual celebration. The Pride In Business Awards will honor LGBTQ+ and Allied businesses, leaders, and organizations driving economic inclusion, visibility, and opportunity across the region. New for 2026, the Expo expands visibility for Chamber members, while the After Party extends the milestone moment into a high-energy afternoon of connection and celebration.

  

In true Houston fashion, this celebration is bigger than a ballroom. It is a bridge—between legacy and future, entrepreneurship and equity, boardrooms and community rooms, Pride Month and year-round economic empowerment.

For Houston Style Magazine readers, the announcement of Francisco Sánchez, Jr. as Co-Chair is a reminder that history is not only made by speeches and headlines. It is made by leaders who roll up their sleeves, open doors, widen pathways, and help communities prosper.

And on Friday, June 12, 2026, at the Hilton Americas-Houston, the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce will not simply celebrate ten years of impact. It will launch the next ten—with style, strategy, and a room full of people ready to keep Houston stronger, bolder, and unstoppable together.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.houstonlgbtqchamber.com