Supporting the University of Houston
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About Us

Since 2013, UH Alumni has served and supported the University of Houston, it’s over 300,000 alumni, its friends and the community it calls home. Our goal is enabling and encouraging lifelong alumni relationships with the University of Houston.

From alumni relations and communication to events, UH Alumni is working to enhance the value of your degree and your alumni experience.

Shasta
Mission

Serving and supporting the University of Houston, its alumni and its students

Vision

UH Alumni is a global community of alumni and friends committed to the growth and support of the University of Houston as a premier institution. Our commitment and pride are demonstrated through active participation and leadership.

Core Values
  • Commitment
  • Leadership
  • Integrity
  • Inclusiveness
  • Fun
  • Teamwork
Alumni Counts
  • 342,697 UH alumni across time
  • More than 317,372 living UH alumni

Meet the Team

University Career Services

We work together with University Career Services to help you succeed outside of the classroom.

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Meet Mike Pedé

Mike Pedé graduated from the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, now the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership, in 1989 and has served as AVP for Alumni Relations at UH since 2010. In his role at UHAA, he is the lead administrator for the University of Houston’s Alumni Relations program, aiming to relevantly engage the over 315,000 alumni of UH. He also serves as the daily liaison to the UHAAF Board of Directors

In addition to the UHAA team leadership, he is actively involved in the profession as the chair of the Big XII Alumni Council and has served as founder and chair of the AAC Alumni Directors council for three years, as well as a board member of CAAE (Council for Alumni Association of Executives). He also has served the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) as chair of the 2017 CASE IV Conference and as programming chair for the 2014 CASE IV Conference. He also served as a member of the global CASE Commission on Alumni Relations. He is also a past board member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA).

Pedé has received the Distinguished Alumni Award (2023) and the Distinguished Service Award (2018) from the UH Hilton College and has served as an adjunct professor for the college.
Pedé was honored with the 2023 MLK Leadership Award from the National Diversity Council.

He has also served on committees at the local level, including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, NCAA Houston Final Four Committees and the Houston Super Bowl Committee as well as serving as a founding member of the Greater Houston Basketball Committee (Guy V. Lewis Award) and the Sienna Men’s Golf Association Scholarship Foundation.

Pedé currently serves as president for the Art Colony Association Board (Bayou City Arts Festival) and is the president elect of the TD Club of Houston.

Since arriving at UH in 1984 as a student-athlete, Pedé served in several capacities at UH Athletics from 1986-1993 (was also “Shasta,” UH’s costumed mascot for two years) before his 13-year stint at Rice University as Associate AD. In 2006, he was in private business for three years before joining LiveNation as a VP of North American Music until his arrival at UH in 2010.

Originally from Philadelphia, Pedé and his wife, fellow UH graduate Melanie Stinson Pedé (’91), are UHAA Life Members and the proud parents of daughters Kelsey (’17) and Krista (’21). In his spare time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family. He is also a proud member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Houston and enjoys golf and travel.

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Meet Kendra Hakanson

Kendra Hakanson currently serves as Senior Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Houston, where she focuses on helping alumni stay meaningfully connected to the university and to one another through operational leadership and strategic execution. With more than a decade of experience in alumni relations and engagement, Kendra enjoys building programs and partnerships that create a strong sense of Cougar pride and lifelong connection while supporting the priorities of the institution.

Before returning to UH in her current role, Kendra spent three years at University of Houston-Clear Lake, building a comprehensive alumni strategy, shaping alumni leadership structures and supporting student engagement initiatives. Prior to UHCL, she held several positions across alumni relations at UH, overseeing general operations, signature events, student programming, reporting and more.

Kendra holds a BS in Sport Management from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA with a concentration in Leadership from the University of Houston-Downtown. She is active in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) community and serves on the Membership Committee of the Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals (CAMMP).

Passionate about the power of alumni connections, Kendra also serves on the executive board of the Texas Exes Houston Chapter. Outside of alumni work, she enjoys helping bring to life a variety of sporting events of all sizes, from the Super Bowl to a local golf tournament.