Gracie Cavnar
Writer, philanthropist & founder, Recipe for Success
In 1998, following careers in architecture, hospitality, marketing and public relations, Gracie Cavnar retired to write. Her lifestyle and business features regularly appear in national magazines and newspapers; excerpts from her column Grace Notes are being turned into a book; and she is currently writing her first cookbook, Eat it! Food Adventures. Since 2006 Gracie has given her time as the pro-bono Executive Director of Recipe for Success Foundation, the organization she created in 2005 after nearly a decade of research into the national childhood obesity epidemic.
In 2008 Gracie was honored by Dr. Mehmet Oz for her "Significant Contribution to the Health and Wellbeing of American Youth;" with The Houston Junior Forum's Shining Star Award, the 36th annual SAVVY Award from Macy's and the Houston Chronicle, the 2008 Mayor's Volunteer Houston Award, and the President's Volunteer Service Gold Award from President George W. Bush. She was selected as a 2008 L'Oreal Paris Woman of Worth Honoree from a national field of 3,000 nominees, and is a 2009 Houston Women of Distinction.
San Antonio native, Gracie holds board positions with The Houston Grand Opera; Inprint; KIPP Academy Houston; The Houston Ballet; Hermann Park Conservancy; The Cavnar Foundation; Lawndale Art Center; Mind-OH; and Houston Greeters. Past board work includes: Houston Preservation Alliance; The Nature Conservancy; and Laffite's Cove Nature Society. In 1999 she created the Essence of Mexico Foundation to capture the disappearing festivals of indigenous people. The resulting photography anthology, which was donated to the Latin American collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, has traveled the world and in 2008 was featured in a Smithsonian Exhibition. She has chaired nearly a dozen high-profile charity galas and raised many millions of dollars.
Gracie was educated at The University of Texas in Architecture & Graphic Design with post-graduate courses at UCLA, University of Houston, The Glassell School, Rice University and Le Cordon Bleu. She recently participated in the exclusive Bread Loaf Writers' Conference at Middlebury College. Gracie married Bob Cavnar in 1998 and they have three children: Justin Hamilton, Robert, Jr. and Gina, a toddling grandson, Joey, and three spoiled canines.
Writer, philanthropist & founder, Recipe for Success
In 1998, following careers in architecture, hospitality, marketing and public relations, Gracie Cavnar retired to write. Her lifestyle and business features regularly appear in national magazines and newspapers; excerpts from her column Grace Notes are being turned into a book; and she is currently writing her first cookbook, Eat it! Food Adventures. Since 2006 Gracie has given her time as the pro-bono Executive Director of Recipe for Success Foundation, the organization she created in 2005 after nearly a decade of research into the national childhood obesity epidemic.In 2008 Gracie was honored by Dr. Mehmet Oz for her "Significant Contribution to the Health and Wellbeing of American Youth;" with The Houston Junior Forum's Shining Star Award, the 36th annual SAVVY Award from Macy's and the Houston Chronicle, the 2008 Mayor's Volunteer Houston Award, and the President's Volunteer Service Gold Award from President George W. Bush. She was selected as a 2008 L'Oreal Paris Woman of Worth Honoree from a national field of 3,000 nominees, and is a 2009 Houston Women of Distinction.
San Antonio native, Gracie holds board positions with The Houston Grand Opera; Inprint; KIPP Academy Houston; The Houston Ballet; Hermann Park Conservancy; The Cavnar Foundation; Lawndale Art Center; Mind-OH; and Houston Greeters. Past board work includes: Houston Preservation Alliance; The Nature Conservancy; and Laffite's Cove Nature Society. In 1999 she created the Essence of Mexico Foundation to capture the disappearing festivals of indigenous people. The resulting photography anthology, which was donated to the Latin American collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, has traveled the world and in 2008 was featured in a Smithsonian Exhibition. She has chaired nearly a dozen high-profile charity galas and raised many millions of dollars.
Gracie was educated at The University of Texas in Architecture & Graphic Design with post-graduate courses at UCLA, University of Houston, The Glassell School, Rice University and Le Cordon Bleu. She recently participated in the exclusive Bread Loaf Writers' Conference at Middlebury College. Gracie married Bob Cavnar in 1998 and they have three children: Justin Hamilton, Robert, Jr. and Gina, a toddling grandson, Joey, and three spoiled canines.
