BOARD OF DIRECTORS

David A. Brown

Founder, THE CHANGE LAB
Strategist | Storyteller | Civic Designer

David A. Brown is a civic designer and strategist whose interdisciplinary practice blends community organizing, cultural storytelling, and systems thinking to build bridges across lines of difference. As the founder of The Change Lab, he leads the development of tools and programs that strengthen civic trust, foster inclusive dialogue, and activate public imagination.

With over two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and engagement strategy, Brown has helped transform local challenges into opportunities for connection and collective action. His work centers the lived experience of everyday people and expands pathways to civic participation through empathy-driven design.

Rooted in Houston, David brings both local insight and national vision to his role—advancing The Change Lab’s mission to cultivate belonging and resilience through accessible civic innovation.

Michael Crowder

Board Secretary, THE CHANGE LAB
Artist | Activist | Preparator

Michael Crowder is a sculptor and museum professional whose multidisciplinary practice fuses material tradition with contemporary social inquiry. Working primarily in cast glass and ceramics, he adapts the ancient technique of pâte de verre to craft fragile forms that evoke memory, impermanence, and cultural inheritance.

As a Senior Preparator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, for more than 15 years, Crowder has supported curatorial vision and exhibition design with a rare combination of technical expertise and aesthetic insight. His own artworks have been exhibited globally and are held in major permanent collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Museum of American Glass.

Crowder’s dual roles as artist and museum steward exemplify how creative labor can deepen civic memory, catalyze reflection, and shape public understanding of who we are.

Christa M Forster

Board Treasurer, THE CHANGE LAB
Writer | Educator | Performer

Christa M. Forster is a writer, educator, and interdisciplinary performer whose work investigates identity, kinship, and the cultural intersections of language and land. Drawing from her roots in California and her long-standing commitment to education in Houston, Forster brings an embodied, contemplative approach to public storytelling.

A longtime faculty member at The Kinkaid School, she teaches Upper School English and co-leads “The Art and Science of Mindfulness,” a course integrating meditation and reflective practices into adolescent learning. Her performance work—including the critically acclaimed Californio—spans stage, sound, and screen to create immersive, narrative-driven experiences.

Forster’s contributions reveal how storytelling and pedagogy can serve as tools for social connection and cultural healing, aligning powerfully with The Change Lab’s ethos of civic engagement through creative expression.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Maria del Carmen Montoya

Artist | Organizer | Educator

Maria del Carmen Montoya is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose socially engaged practice blends participatory art, public intervention, and cross-cultural collaboration. She is an Assistant Professor of Sculpture and Spatial Practices at the Corcoran School of Art and Design at George Washington University, a core member of the international collective Ghana ThinkTank, and a recipient of major awards including the Creative Capital Award and Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Grant. Her work has been exhibited globally at institutions such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, ZKM, and the New Museum. Montoya’s practice exemplifies how art can serve as a powerful lever for policy innovation, community wellness, and inclusive civic engagement. Her global participatory projects reveal new models for meaningful social interventions—precisely the kinds of creative strategies Change Lab cultivates.

We’re a brand new organization focused on connection, civic participation, and shared understanding. This is our temporary website while we build out a full online platform to better serve our community. In the meantime, we’d love your support and input as we grow. You can support our work or schedule a conversation to learn more and get involved.