Contact Us

Staff contacts by office:
• Office of the General Counsel     • Office of Contract Administration

Office of General Counsel

Vice Chancellor / Vice President for Legal Affairs
and General Counsel
Dona H. Cornell
B.A., University of Texas, 1982
J.D., University of Texas School of Law, 1986
E-mail: dhcornell@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-0949

Assistant to Vice Chancellor / Vice President for Legal Affairs
and General Counsel
Donna Halton, CTCD, CTCM
B.S., University of Houston
M.S., University of Houston
E-mail: dhalton@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-0949

Associate Vice Chancellor / Vice President for Legal Affairs
and Senior Associate General Counsel
Mark R. Yzaguirre
B.A., Rice University, 1994
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1997
E-mail: myzaguirre@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-3701

Deputy General Counsel
Jeffrey D. Palmer 
B.S., United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, 1994
J.D., University of Texas, 2000 
E-mail: jdpalmer@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-0836

Associate General Counsel
Valerie Coleman-Ferguson
B.A.W., Howard University, 1981
J.D., Thurgood Marshall School of Law, 1985
E-mail: viferguson@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-7084

Associate General Counsel
Jennifer E. Bloom
B.A., Dartmouth College, 1989
J.D., University of Houston Law Center, 1997
E-mail: jebloom@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-7083

Associate General Counsel
Ruth E. Shapiro
B.A., University of Rochester, 1982
J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1985
E-mail: rshapiro@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-7088

Senior Assistant General Counsel
Talibah P. Young
B.A., Clark Atlanta University, 1997
J.D., Thurgood Marshall School of Law, 2000
E-mail: tyoung@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-7090

Senior Assistant General Counsel
Margot T. Rosson
B.A., Boston College, 2008
J.D., South Texas College of Law, 2012
E-mail: mtrosson@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-0948

Assistant General Counsel
Noah H. Alford
B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 2020
J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, 2023
E-mail: nhalford@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-4479

Healthcare Counsel
Allison Long
B.A., Louisiana State University
J.D., Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
E-mail: atlong2@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-6816

Legal Assistant
Johanna Valenzuela
B.A., University of Houston Downtown, 2023
E-mail:  jvalenzuela2@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-1855

Immigration Specialist 
Casmin Hicks
B.S., University of Houston, 2000
M.S., Texas A&M University, 2007
E-mail:  cghicks@uh.edu
Phone: (832) 842-7085
 

Office of Contract Administration

Associate Vice Chancellor / Vice President for Legal Affairs
and Senior Associate General Counsel
Mark R. Yzaguirre
B.A., Rice University, 1994
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1997
E-mail: myzaguirre@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-3701

Assistant General Counsel
Nick Bergman
B.A., Texas State University, 2014
J.D., South Texas College Law School, 2017
E-mail: nbergman@uh.edu
Phone: (713) 743-9279

Contracts Manager
Gillian Bautista
B.A., University of Houston, 2013
M.S., University of Houston, 2019
E-mail: contractadmin@uh.edu 
Phone: (832) 842-7078