Downtown Dallas Inc. Announces 2023 Chair of the Board, Holds Annual Meeting

Katy Murray, the president and chief financial officer of downtown-based DallasNews Corp., will serve a two-year term. Murray succeeds Mattia Flabiano III, of Page, who was chair for three years and remains on the DDI board.

This year's annual meeting kicked off a yearlong celebration of the nonprofit's 65th anniversary as the lead advocate for downtown.

Downtown Dallas Inc. announced that Katy Murray is the 2023 chair of the board for the 65-year-old nonprofit.

“It is an honor to assume this position at a time of historic growth for downtown,” Murray said in a statement. “For 65 years, DDI has served as the lead advocate for a vibrant, safe, and clean Downtown, a Downtown that is both a place to work and a place to live. DallasNews Corp. is proud of our nearly 140-year commitment to Downtown and there is no stronger advocacy group for our urban core than DDI.”

Murray, the president and chief financial officer of downtown-based DallasNews Corp., will serve a two-year term, the nonprofit said.

Previously, Murray was the DDI board treasurer since 2020 and has been on the board of directors since 2016. Her fellow DDI board Officers are Vice Chair Ted Hamilton, of Hamilton Properties Corp., Secretary Larry Daniels of HRI Hospitality, and Treasurer Amy Lewis-Hofland of the Crow Museum of Asian Art.

Murray succeeds Mattia Flabiano III, of Page, who was chair for three years and remains on the DDI board.

Murray oversaw the election of the 2023 DDI Board of Governors at DDI’s Annual Meeting & Luncheon, presented by Newpark Dallas by Hoque Global on Friday, February 24, 2023, at the Thompson Dallas hotel.

DDI said this year’s annual meeting kicked off a yearlong celebration of the nonprofit’s 65th anniversary as the lead advocate for downtown. The celebration will include a social media campaign encouraging Dallas-area residents to share their favorite memories of downtown using the #DDI65 hashtag.

DDI said it also will host a series of events to recognize significant moments from the past 65 years and how they continue to shape downtown’s trajectory.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Dallas native Lawrence Wright was the keynote speaker for the nonprofit’s annual meeting. Wright, a staff writer for The New Yorker, is the author of 11 nonfiction books, most recently “God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State” (2018), and “The Plague Year: America In The Time Of Covid” (2021).

Award-winning Dallas journalist and radio host Robert Wilonsky interviewed Wright.

Their keynote conversation, “Downtown Dallas: In the New World,” focused on the history and future of Dallas, with an emphasis on downtown. It included lessons from Wright’s 1987 autobiography, “In the New World: Growing Up in America, 1964-1984,” as well as his perspective on how Downtown Dallas fits into the future of Texas and the nation.

Also at the event, DDI honored Ambassador Ron Kirk as the first recipient of the nonprofit’s new Groundbreaker Award, recognizing a lifetime of achievement advancing Downtown Dallas. Kirk, the first black mayor of Dallas, also served as Texas Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative under President Obama.

DDI’s signature annual event was presented by Newpark Dallas by Hoque Global. The event’s Media Sponsor is DallasNews Corp.

Pinnacle-level sponsors are AT&T, Balfour Beatty, Corgan, Gibson Dunn, Headington Companies and The Joule, Hunt Consolidated, Inc., LDWW, Matthews Southwest, McKinsey & Company, and Westdale.

Urban Legend sponsors are 400 Record, AECOM, Atmos Energy Corporation, CIC Partners, D CEO, HKS, JBJ Management, Merriman Anderson Architects, Oncor, OUTFRONT Media, Page, and Perkins&Will.