Sara Speer Selber is one of those rare individuals who is a “household word.” There isn’t a business sector, a neighborhood, a Houston generation, a worthy cause — or a private prayer for help— to which Sara’s name has not been attached. How she answers all these prayers, I’ll never know. But I have been the recipient, as have my friends, family and business organizations I’m involved with, many times.

One such case was a bit close to the bone. My son, a filmmaker, had returned from a rather hair-raising experience in Uganda after shooting a documentary about the children abducted by rebels and then turned into six-year-old soldiers. Andy Krakower was the first Westerner to report on the atrocities sweeping Uganda right alongside the AIDS epidemic. But, as any young filmmaker knows, nothing happens to a can of film without money. Without funding, it stays in the can and change never happens. So I made one phone call. To Sara.

In short order, she was able to put him in touch with funding organizations that actually would give him their ear. Andy applied for several grants successfully, with Sara’s guidance. Sara then participated in a community fundraiser for the completion of “The Children’s War” and served as emcee to a full house, due in large part to her “household name.” “The Children’s War” was officially recognized by the U.N. as an “invaluable documentation of the horrors but also the courage slowly bringing the Acholi people back from the abyss,” (Jan Englund, UN Undersecretary). Thanks to Sara, Andy was able to complete the film and, quite simply, bring an unreported holocaust to light.

Though I could cite numerous examples of Sara’s business acumen, heart, passion (which is the jet fuel behind her success), I’ll simply say that with Sara and now Farah's business smarts and balanced, thoughtful demeanor piloting Questessential, one is in good and steady hands.

• Karen K. Kaplan
• Medical Writer
• Texas Medical Center