Staff

Brittany Hebert

CEO & Founder

Brittany Hebert hasn’t met a challenge she wasn’t up for. Her first challenge was growing up with big life aspirations yet making them happen when living in a small, rural town in South Louisiana. She met that challenge head-on by entering a beauty contest, which crowned her “Miss Acadiana” at the age of 14. That title offered her the opportunity to meet with people and travel to places which would have a hand in her next steps in life.

Before applying to college, life began to hand her some serious obstacles and it started as a child when her father crashed in a helicopter which caused him to become disabled and struggle with PTSD. At age 16, her parent’s divorce caused a domino effect for numerous unfortunate experiences including her mother’s drug addiction, father’s depression, grandfather’s heart attack and house fire which she nearly escaped alive. Not to mention the fact that during her parent’s divorce and while in high school, she worked to support raising her brother and handled the day to day household responsibilities. But that didn’t stop Brittany! She kept her faith and used her work ethic to get her to the next stage in life.

While attending The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she would be faced with her next challenge: applying to law school. As if studying for the LSAT wasn’t enough, she was approached to raise $10,000 for the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She remembered visiting St. Jude on a trip to Memphis, TN during her reign as Miss Acadiana. The memory of the children she met that day tugged at her heart and she decided she would accept the challenge to do something bigger than herself.

With close friends and fellow pageant queens, the magic began. Hebert’s goal of the first fundraising event (sporting clay tournament), was to raise $10,000, but after pulling in friends and resources to join the cause, Hebert raised a net profit of $50,000! Donations were made to St. Jude and The Ronald McDonald House Charities, Memphis.

Soon after in 2007, on the steps of Dupre’ Library at The University of Louisiana, Hebert officially created Sky High, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide comfort, fund research and save lives of those fighting pediatric cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

Two weeks after the tournament, one semester shy from graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in English, Hebert was offered a job with oil and gas giant, Pegasus International in Houston. Life has a unique way of throwing you curves but Hebert saw them more like a sign from God and packed her bags.

At 22 years old, Hebert found herself in a new city, with a new career path and desire to expand her newly formed nonprofit to Texas. Plans soon began for the first Sky High sporting clay tournament in Houston in the Spring of 2008. Hebert called upon several friends and colleagues in the oil and gas business to join her team, including sponsorships from giant corporations like Anadarko Petroleum.

During the summer of 2012, Hebert was offered a sales position for Extreme Energy Services and never content with “meeting goals”, Hebert began looking for new ways to take Sky High to the next level. In 2013, Hebert and Sky High took the tournament to the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio where they hosted over 1,000 shooters and raised a record-breaking $750,000 net profit for kids fighting cancer.

Her career would take a new path in 2014 when she began working with Furmanite America (TEAM) as one of three women on a sales team of 30 professionals reached across the Gulf Coast. Hebert was the only female, and the only sales representative to cover both the midstream and upstream sector of pipeline sales.

On August 26th, 2016 Furmanite America laid Brittany off during the energy downturn so she took three months to focus on what she really wanted. She opened BMH Performance on January 1, 2017, and began working as a Sales consultant for Weldfit Energy Group but most of all, she was named CEO of Sky High (holding a part-time contract position for the nonprofit).

Hebert continues to raise the bar each year. Her vision is to find a cure for pediatric cancer and since launching Sky High, she has partnered with numerous celebrities to help bring awareness to the public; her nonprofit’s name is now on two oncology wings at hospitals, and Sky High donates to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Memphis and Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer & Hematology Center amongst others. Most of all, she gives the credit to the team she has built for taking Sky High where it is today and saving countless lives.

Hebert has been named 2016 – Houston Business Journal 40 under 40; 2014 St. Jude Houston Gala Guest of Honor.

Jessy Deardurff

COO

Jessy Deardurff was born and raised in Mason, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2009 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education. Jessy joined Sky High as the Operations Director in March of 2015 and is currently responsible for event management and also maintaining relations with St. Jude, Ronald McDonald House of Memphis, the Board of Directors, sponsors, advisors, committee members and supporters. Prior to joining Sky High Jessy worked for Occidental Petroleum as a Human Resources Associate working with international employee relations. She enjoys fitness, traveling, time with friends, family, sports and being actively involved with her church.

Kristina Gutierrez

Marketing & Communications Director

Kristina joined Sky High in January 2017. In her current role she leads brand and logo management, manages the website and designs collateral along with other public relations and marketing efforts. In addition to leading marketing and communication initiatives, she also serves as a senior event coordinator for the organization, executing two of Sky High’s largest events. Prior to joining Sky High, Kristina worked with a private oil and gas company in South Texas and with a nationally recognized law firm handling public relations. She graduated from The University of Texas at San Antonio where she studied communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in business administration. Kristina enjoys reading, working out, tennis, golf and shopping.

Jamie Sullivan

Senior Event Coordinator

Jamie Sullivan was raised in Katy, a suburb of Houston, Texas. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of science in public relations and a minor in business foundations. After graduation, Jamie moved back to the Houston area and worked in public relations before moving into event design and coordination. Jamie joined the Sky High team in October of 2018 as a senior event coordinator and is responsible for our Ladies Who Brunch event, the San Antonio banquet, and our fundraising partnership with Buckeye. Jamie enjoys thrilling mystery novels, trivia games, podcasts and red wine.

Grace Theriot

Event Coordinator

Raised in Pearland, Texas, Grace is a Texas State University graduate with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Public Relations and Business Administration. Prior to joining Sky High, Grace worked for a South Austin Real Estate team as the Marketing and Events Coordinator, where she tuned in on her passion to create memorable events and serve others. Grace joined Sky High as an event coordinator in July 2018, and continues to fall in love with the mission. Grace enjoys fitness, reading, spending time with family and friends, and volunteering at her hometown church.

KIM JANCA

Event Coordinator

Kim grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana and graduated in 2014 from LSU with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Disorders. Prior to joining Sky High, she worked as a Regional Political Director for the Republican Party of Louisiana, focusing on Grassroots and Field Operations. Kim joined the mission to end pediatric cancer at Sky High as an Event Coordinator in November of 2017 and is responsible for the development of event strategies, planning and seamless execution of events. She is currently training for the Houston Half Marathon!

SHAUNTAE PIERCE

Office Manager & Executive Assistant to the CEO

Shauntae was raised in an agricultural wonderland on the plains of North Dakota. Prior to Sky High, whilst home on the range, she was the Swine Festival Queen for two years straight. She studied at the University of Minnesota and yes she uses the word “Pop”. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, attend church and cook!