STEPPING UP
McMillian takes helm at United Way of Greater Houston in the community’s greatest time of need
Amanda McMillian jumped right into her new role as president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Houston on May 1. McMillian, who most recently served as executive vice president and general counsel of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. prior to the company being purchased by Occidental Petroleum, oversaw the publicly traded exploration and production company’s legal, human resources, real estate and facilities functions.
The Huntsville native began her career at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in 1998 where she practiced corporate and securities law. McMillian joined Anadarko, which had been a client of the firm, in late 2004.
In her new role, McMillian will oversee the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan, developed under the leadership of Anna Babin, who remains with the United Way as a senior adviser to assist with the transition.
The Second Century Vision plan focuses on serving the working poor — people with jobs who don’t make enough to pay their bills and get ahead — and families living below the poverty level.
McMillian spoke with the Chronicle about her plans.
Q: You were general counsel for one of the largest energy companies of the world. What made you want to take this job?
A: When the acquisition was completed back in August, I really wanted to take some time to reset, certainly spend some more time with my family, get some sleep and really think deeply about what I wanted to do next. Honestly, this sounds a little bit cheesy, but my heart was definitely calling me to do something more mission oriented. I really wanted to serve the community. My family and I have been here in Houston over 17 years. This is our home. We wanted to stay in Houston and figure out how to help make Houston a better place for everyone who lives here. I was already exploring that when I learned about this opportunity. I was with Anadarko Petroleum almost 15 years. We were one of the United Way’s largest corporate campaigns. With each campaign, I learned more about what the United Way did and why it is so important.
Q: The job has certainly become more challenging since you began looking into the position last fall. How do you feel about the changes?
A: I did not get that moment of rest to get my sea legs that I might have been hoping for, but was well aware of and very supportive of all the incredible work United Way has done over the years, whether it was Katrina, Harvey or other natural disasters and now COVID-19. These recovery processes take a long time. I knew that from my experience working with the United Way in the past, so I knew that would be part of the job. I wasn’t too worried about having to step in at this point, but certainly interesting timing with that combined with the pressure on the energy sector.