We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Jacquie Baly and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Jacquie, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Dr. Jacquie Baly earned her Doctorate in Public Policy and Educational Leadership at the University of Southern California with a 4.0 GPA, publishing her dissertation on higher education policy. With more than 30 years of public service and leadership, this achievement reaffirms her commitment to leading and serving with purpose, strengthening the impact she continues to make across academia, civic engagement, philanthropy, and community leadership.
Her leadership extends across multiple boards and commissions, including her role as Chair of the Harris County Women’s Commission, Board Director of Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists (BRASS), and the State of Texas University Research Initiative Board, where she helped secure over $116 million in research funding for Texas universities. She also contributes her expertise to the Houston Symphony League, Attack Poverty, and numerous other civic and philanthropic organizations.
Each of these roles reflects her ability to combine professional expertise with a personal passion for service. Her academic achievements provide the tools to analyze, strategize, and implement solutions, while her public service offers the platform to turn those ideas into action. Together, they define her lifelong purpose: to create meaningful impact through leadership, advocacy, and service to the community.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Dr. Jacquie Baly is a national award-winning public policy consultant, professor, and community leader with a career spanning over three decades. As the founder and president of BalyProjects, she advises corporations, government entities, and nonprofits on navigating complex policy issues and building strategies that deliver results.
In addition to leading her firm, Dr. Baly has dedicated nearly 20 years to teaching at the University of Houston, where she continues to shape future civic leaders. She earned her Doctorate in Public Policy and Educational Leadership with a 4.0 GPA, publishing her dissertation on higher education policy. This achievement reaffirmed her commitment to using research and practice to strengthen institutions and communities alike.
Her service includes leadership roles as Chair of the Harris County Women’s Commission, Board Director for the American Cancer Society, and Director on the state of Texas University Research Initiative Board, where she has helped secure more than $116 million in research funding for Texas universities. She also supports organizations such as BRASS (Baylor Research Advocates for Student Scientists) and the Houston Symphony League.
Dr. Baly’s dedication has been recognized with some of the region’s most prestigious honors, including the Texas Children’s Champion Award, Houston Legends Award, and Humanitarian of the Year. Each recognition reflects not only her professional expertise but also her heart for service.
Beyond her professional and civic life, she is most proud of her roles as a wife and mother. Her family—including her husband James and her two accomplished sons, Raphael and Alexandre—remains at the center of her story, grounding her while fueling her drive to lead with purpose and serve with purpose.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told her who she had to be, Dr. Jacquie Baly was a young girl from the Caribbean—bright-eyed, curious, and eager to learn. When her family immigrated from St. Croix to Texas, she carried with her the values her parents instilled: hard work, faith, and resilience. Her father, recruited by Brown & Root, modeled determination and sacrifice, while her mother emphasized the values of grace, service, and strength.
Even as a child, she had a love for learning. Classically trained on the flute, graduating magna cum laude in high school, and later pursuing advanced degrees, she developed a passion for service and leadership early on. Long before the titles, degrees, or national awards, Jacquie was an immigrant girl finding her place in a new country while staying rooted in the purpose and pride of her family’s legacy.
That foundation shaped the woman she is today: a wife, mother, professor, national award winner, and community leader who has dedicated more than 30 years to public service. Her story began not with recognition but with belief—that with faith, family, and perseverance, one can rise, lead, and create a lasting legacy.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If Dr. Jacquie Baly could say one kind thing to her younger self, it would be: *“Trust the process—you are stronger than you realize, and every challenge will prepare you for the impact you are meant to make.”*
As an immigrant girl from the Caribbean adjusting to a new country, she often felt the weight of expectations and the uncertainty of finding her place. Looking back, she would reassure that young girl that the hard work, faith, and resilience instilled by her parents would carry her through. She would remind her that one day she would not only become a professor, a national award winner, a wife, a mother, but also a community leader whose work on boards, commissions, and in public service would touch countless lives.
Most of all, she would encourage her younger self to embrace the journey with confidence, knowing that leading with purpose and serving with purpose would always guide her path.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
When asked if the public version of her is the real her, Dr. Baly affirms that it is. The qualities that define her publicly—discipline, service, leadership, and integrity—are the same values that guide her privately. Whether she is teaching in the classroom, advising clients through BalyProjects, serving on boards and commissions, or spending time with her family, she approaches each role with the same authenticity and purpose.
For Dr. Baly, the recognition and awards are not a performance but a reflection of her lifelong commitment to service. Her journey as an immigrant from the Caribbean has instilled in her resilience and faith, and those early lessons continue to shape the consistency between who she is in public and who she is in private.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
When reflecting on her legacy, Dr. Jacquie Baly believes the most significant misunderstanding may be that her achievements came easily. From the outside, people may see the awards, board appointments, academic honors, and leadership roles without realizing the perseverance, sacrifice, and resilience that are required to achieve them.
As an immigrant from the Caribbean, a single mother for many years, and a woman navigating spaces where she often had to be the “first” or the “only,” her path was filled with challenges that demanded discipline, faith, and unwavering determination. What may be misunderstood is that her legacy is not defined solely by titles or recognition, but by decades of consistent service—teaching, mentoring, shaping policy, and building opportunities for others.
Her true legacy is not that things were effortless, but that she led with purpose, served with purpose, and created a foundation for others to rise.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.balyprojects.com/about-the-founder/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjacquiebaly/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jacquie-baly-2b11501/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jacqueline.Baly.Chaumette/
