The full news conference can be viewed here.

The Special Events Task Force was created to review and make recommendations to improve communication, protocols, and permitting requirements in Houston and Harris County to ensure consistent operational standards for future events. Existing policy, procedures and requisites will be reviewed, as well as industry standards and best practices, to enhance operational management and other event disciplines.

‘Our decision to form the Task Force is about looking to the future and not back on any incident. We realize that by working together and bringing together many of the best individuals in event planning and safety, we can and must form stronger alliances,” said Mayor Turner. “We will not directly investigate the deadly Astroworld Festival, and I think we would be dishonest if we say it didn’t precipitate it. Certainly, it did. The task force will be futuristic. The investigation into the Astroworld event continues, so we certainly do not want to impede that investigation.”

“As the county and city continue to grow their events portfolio, it is more important than ever to develop procedures that ensure public safety. In the immediate aftermath of any emergency, clarity is crucial. This task force of industry and government leaders is designed to create new best practices,” said Commissioner Garcia. “I am confident that the team led by our new Deputy County Administrator for Public Safety and Justice, Perrye Turner, along with his co-chair from the city of Houston’s Office of Special Events, Susan Christian, will work expeditiously to develop plans that will make Harris County a leader in hosting world-class events. I also want to thank our other committee members for lending their expertise to these efforts.”

Mayor Turner and Commissioner Garcia have selected ten industry leaders to serve on the Special Events Task Force. Each member of the task force brings individual expertise in various disciplines within the events industry.

The task force is expected to hold monthly meetings.

City of Houston 

• Susan Christian, Director, Mayor’s Office of Special Events
• Troy Finner, Chief of Police, Houston Police Department
• Samuel Pena, Chief, Houston Fire Department
• Steven Adelman, Vice President, Event Safety Alliance
• Rob McKinley, Co-Founder, President and Owner, LD Systems

Harris County

• Perrye Turner, Harris County Deputy County Administrator for Justice & Safety and Task Force Co-Chair
• Laurie Christensen, Harris County Fire Marshall
• Rolf Nelson – Harris County Sheriff’s Office Major over Homeland Security
• Ryan Walsh, Executive Director, Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation
• Mike DeMarco, Chief Show Operations Officer, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Susan Christian is Director of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events (MOSE). While embracing public and private partnerships, she developed the city’s year-round Civic Celebration Program that includes nationally noted signature events. Today, the program is an ambitious revenue-generating platform that manages nearly 1000 events, representing over 2000 event days, and attended by more than 10 million people. Christian also developed the City’s Special Events Ordinance, Chapter 25, one of the most contemporary ordinances in the nation. She serves as Ex-officio Director of Houston Civic Events, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit, local government cooperation, which supports MOSE programs and services that was established in 2015 by Houston Mayor and City Council.

Steven A. Adelman is a lawyer focusing on safety and security at live events, as well as Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance and Deputy Chair of the Global Crowd Management Alliance.  He is principal author ANSI ES1.9-2020, the authoritative standard for crowd management in the United States.  He has taught Risk Management in Venues at Arizona State University’s law school, and he has served as an event safety expert in some of the largest lawsuits in recent U.S. history.

Troy Finner has served the citizens of Houston for 31-years. He was named Houston Police Chief in April 2021 and has risen through the ranks to lead a police force of about 5,100 officers and 900 civilian employees. Troy Finner was born in the 5th Ward area of Houston and raised in the Hiram Clarke neighborhood. He holds a Bachelors of Science, Criminal Justice from Sam Houston University and a Masters of Criminology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He believes in strong community policing and is committed to youth mentoring programs that help to bridge the gaps in trust and communication with the police. Chief Finner leads from the front line during major events, civil unrest, and protests. He embraces the use of technology and data-driven analysis in the reduction of crime. He has a proven record of bringing community unity, leading operational improvements, and enhancing departmental productivity to reduce costs.

Samuel Peña is a 28-year veteran of the fire service and leads the third largest municipal fire department in the country. Peña has general responsibility for the supervision and management of emergency fire and medical response, and enforcing all laws of the state and ordinances of the City of Houston covering fire prevention and the adopted fire code. Peña has served in Unified Command directing Houston fire department assets during Hurricane Harvey, Tropical Storm Imelda, Tropical Storm Beta, Hurricane Nicholas, Winter Storm Uri, Super Bowl 51, World Series 2017, 2019, 2021, and the Watson Grinding explosion in 2020. Chief Peña holds a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso, and served four years as a command and control specialist in the U.S. Air Force. His is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); National Association of Search and Rescue.