Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients 2026

Sameer is currently Professor, Cullen Foundation Endowed Chair, Vice-Chair of Research, and McNair Scholar in the Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine, with joint appointments in Neuroscience and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and an adjunct professorship at Rice University. He directs the Gordon and Mary Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories at Texas Children’s Hospital and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, focusing on genetic and neuromodulatory therapies for refractory epilepsy.

Clinically, Sameer specializes in epilepsy, movement disorders, and select psychiatric conditions, using surgical and neuromodulatory approaches to restore healthy brain function. His research centers on understanding complex brain circuits through direct neural recordings, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, to advance treatments for neurological and psychiatric disease.

Sameer has served on NIH advisory councils, published over 300 scientific papers, and has been continuously NIH-funded since 2012; in 2025 he was the highest NIH-funded investigator in neurosurgery departments nationwide. He is especially proud of the accomplishments of his trainees and their future contributions to the field.

Sameer and his wife Sarita have been married for 25 years and are proud parents of their son Ronak, a Dedman Scholar at UT Austin, and their daughter Naina, a high school sophomore. He is deeply honored by this recognition and credits Kinkaid for providing the foundation for his success.

Driven by a commitment to social impact, Ryan built a career developing responsible technologies at leading global companies. She spent eight years at Palantir Technologies, rising to Senior Vice President and Head of Product for the government sector, where she earned multiple patents and helped create life-saving analytical software used by U.S. and allied agencies. Her work contributed to Palantir’s successful 2020 IPO and continues to support global security and humanitarian efforts.

Ryan later joined Meta as one of the company’s youngest Directors of Product Management, leading teams across Instagram and Facebook on initiatives involving global elections, public health, youth safety, and disinformation, as well as overseeing charitable giving programs that enable approximately $1 billion in annual donations. She currently serves as Vice President of Product Policy at OpenAI, where she leads AI safety technologies and policies focused on responsible use and equitable global impact, including speaking at the 2025 Paris Peace Forum on democratizing access to AI safety tools.

Ryan lives in San Francisco with her fiancé, Jesse, and remains deeply connected to her creative roots as a painter, avid reader, crossword enthusiast, and devoted Houston Astros fan (honoring her namesake, Nolan Ryan). She is forever grateful to her parents, Robin and Geoffrey, for the love and sacrifice that made her Kinkaid education possible and changed the trajectory of her life.

Under the mentorship of Headmaster John Cooper, Judy studied at the Gesell Institute of Child Development at Yale, launching a lifelong focus on aligning educational environments with students’ developmental readiness. At Kinkaid, she helped advance developmentally informed placement, particularly in the Lower School, strengthening student confidence and long term academic success.

Judy earned graduate degrees from the University of Houston and Harvard University in Mind, Brain, and Education, later serving for nine years as a Teaching Fellow in Educational Neuroscience at Harvard. A national lecturer and published author, she has translated research into practical guidance for educators and families and has served on the National Advisory Board for the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Judy’s connection to Kinkaid is also deeply personal, extending across multiple generations of her family. She and her husband, Rob, are parents of Chad Muir ’88, Katrin Muir Lau ’90, and Lara Muir Laitala ’94, and proud grandparents of Grace Muir ’20, Prescott Lau ’22, Paysan Lau ’23, Watt Muir ’23, and Hale Muir ’27.

Across her many roles at Kinkaid, Judy’s defining contribution has been her belief in individuality, helping students understand who they are, what they value, and where they will thrive. Now an independent educational consultant, she continues to guide families worldwide and remains deeply grateful for the opportunity to spend her life’s work in service to Kinkaid and its students.

In addition to his trustee service, Brandt is an active and generous volunteer, who has contributed his time to the Advancement Committee, the Sporting Clays event, the Golf Tournament, and Interim Term programming, where he taught an entire section on the campus transformation to a class of sophomores and juniors. Together with his wife, Mary Kay, Brandt is the proud parent of four, Russell ’28, Annabelle ’30, Blye ’32, and Mayfair ’35. A devoted Kinkaid parent, brother of Jeb Bowden ’98, and uncle to Riley Bowden ’24, Piper Bowden ’31, Wells Bowden ’34, Drewsie Willson ’28, and Clementine Willson ’34, Brandt’s connection to Kinkaid spans generations.

Beyond his service to Kinkaid, Brandt is a seasoned executive with more than two decades of experience in the real estate industry. As Chief Executive Officer of The Hanover Company, he oversees capital, development, and construction efforts and plays a central role in shaping the firm’s corporate strategy. Under his leadership, Hanover has experienced significant growth, with Brandt overseeing the execution of approximately 8.7 billion dollars in apartment and industrial development. His professional expertise has been invaluable to Kinkaid as the School has navigated the transformational reconstruction of its campus. 

Through his leadership, service, and unwavering devotion, Brandt Bowden truly embodies the spirit of the Outstanding Service Alumni Award.