Our Team
Your neighbors are board members of the Garden! We are a small group of volunteers who strongly believes in community service and have dedicated many hours to this project!
Board Members & Directors
Janet Maxian
President
Janet Maxian received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Catherine Spalding College in Louisville, Kentucky and worked as a Registered Nurse for 48 years, specializing in pediatrics.
Janet has been a resident of Braeswood Place since 1975 and became involved in the homeowners’ association early on, serving as a block captain, area director, and vice president. She served on the Board of Directors of the BPHA for over 30 years. Her leadership of a group of residents resulted in the establishment of the Constable Patrol, which is currently hiring 5 deputy constables from the Precinct 1 office.
She served as a founding member of the Braeswood Place Garden Club, which is now known as the Braeswood Place Home and Garden Club. She has served this group in various capacities over the years, most recently as its President from 2017 until 2021. In November 2020, she submitted an article to the neighborhood’s monthly newsletter, The Sentinel, in order to gage residents’ interest in the idea of a community garden in Braeswood Place. Interest was expressed and the idea is becoming a reality.
Elaina McNulty
Vice President
Elaina works at Chevron and has a background in finance and project management. After completing her BS in Finance at Lamar University, she began her career in the trading industry at Texaco.
She takes pride in being the mom of two amazing boys who are active in sports. In addition, she is interested in nutrition and how it affects our health and wellness. She has a certification as a Function Diagnostic Nutritionist (FDN) and enjoys trying out new recipes using healthy, organic ingredients.
Braes Heights has been the home of the McNulty family since 2011. Elaina is passionate about helping her community and has been a part of many public school activities, such as PTO boards, lacrosse president, and Huckleberry Park project chair at Mark Twain. Elaina is in charge of the HOA area and participates in volunteering at Strake Jesuit.
Nicole Shah
Secretary
Nicole is the co-owner of Garden Girls, a garden design and installation company that has designed and installed over 500 gardens in Houston. Having earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Nicole started her career in regulatory affairs at Reliant Energy before focusing on her family and the Braeswood community.
Since moving to Braeswood Place in 2006, Nicole has been an active leader. She has served as block captain, Vice President, National Night Out leader, and in various PTO roles. She is a proud mother to two wonderful children. Nicole and her husband are committed to giving back to their community by leading by example.
Nicole’s love of plants turned into a full-time career in 2020 when she combined her passion for gardening with her entrepreneurial spirit. Nicole acknowledges that gardening has a positive influence on lives not only by its beauty and connection to nature, but also by providing culinary rewards and a sense of community. She is excited to aid in the creation of a vibrant, productive garden for the Braeswood community – a place where neighbors can gather to relax, enjoy nature, and grow.
Mary Kimmel
Treasurer
Mary Kimmel started her career in healthcare as a medical coder and medical transcriptionist at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital in California. Attained Certification as a Cancer Registrar at USC California Cancer Surveillance School. At the American Cancer Society, she served as an instructor for breast health.
After moving to Houston, she began working in that field before transitioning to the technical side of software for cancer surveillance programs with Elekta, Inc. Her involvement in the National Cancer Registrars Association led to her role as an Educational Director and trainer for standard coding for the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. She initiated a program for Cancer Registrars at San Jacinto College, initially providing in-class instruction before developing an online instruction program. She was involved with the Texas Tumor Registrars Association, serving roles as President, Vice-President, Education Director, and serving on multiple boards, such as Ways and Means for Fund Raising.
She is currently retired and on the board of Braeswood Place Community Garden, serving as Treasurer with the responsibility of receiving all cash intake and deposits, as well as paying all valid invoices. Maintaining the financial books and records, as well as presenting the organization’s financial status to the Board of Directors, taxing authorities, and/or legitimate stakeholders.
Gwen Hulsey
Advisor
Gwen Hulsey has a BBA in Accounting from the University of Houston and a Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law. Her career began as a CPA in the tax practice at Arthur Andersen, then she proceeded to work as a tax attorney at El Paso Energy and Baker & McKenzie.
She currently works as a tax advisor for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services and equipment sector. Her professional background made her ideally qualified to help us obtain our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
Gwen has been residing in this neighborhood since 2011. She loves gardening! Besides assisting with our project, she devotes her time to women’s organizations, fundraising for her son’s school, and her church’s youth ministry. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Braeswood Place Homeowners’ Association.