Keith Downey Named On Black Impact Magazine's 26 Of 2026 Men Of Impact List

Keith Downey is a native Houstonian and a Kashmere High 1980 graduate. He went on to attend Prairie View A&M University and the University of Texas Arlington. Where he majored in Architecture. He studied Servant Leadership at Cornell University and Environmental Justice at Texas Southern University. He designed affordable housing for low income families in Harlem, Spanish Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn, New York working on Broadway and Park Avenue where he became a successful architectural designer in New York City for 27 years and a Senior Construction Project Manager for the City of New York. Mr. Downey received the New York City Parks and Recreation Capital Team of the Year Award in New York City in 2011-12 for helping to rebuild over (20) parks around the city in Brooklyn and Queens New York. Including rebuilding the first handicap adaptable playground in Queens New York.

Mr. Downey is the Kashmere Gardens Super Neighborhood Council #52 President as well as the past Vice Chair of the City of Houston Super Neighborhood Alliance for two years, which is an advisory board to the mayor of Houston. Mr Downey is a radio host for the program Community Chat at KCOH AM 1230 THE SOURCE. Some of his guest have been elected officials, local organizations, healthcare professionals and national publication editors just to name a few. He serves as an MD Anderson Cancer Center Community Scientist and currently sits on the MD Anderson Cancer Center Community Advisory Committee along with the LBJ Hospital Alliance, the Harris Health Sheila Jackson Lee Center for Accelerating Health Outcomes community ambassador coalition for Harris Health and The Texas Southern University Center for Biomedical and Minority Health Research community advisory board. The Texas General Land Office CDBG-MIT Citizens Advisory Committee for the nineteenth counties along the Texas Gulf Coast and inland to Travis County.

Mr. Downey is the co-founder of the Wrap Around Services initiative in HISD providing known as "Every Community Every School", under ProUnitas aimed to connect students and families with non-academic supports to address critical issues such as mental and physical health needs, food insecurity, and unstable housing. He is a Director of Partnerships with Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council. The council acts as a platform for economic development, equitable education, and citizen empowerment. They focus on community resilience, specifically addressing food access, environmental justice, and disaster recovery. The organization recently, purchased Chatham elementary and will convert it into a resilience hub for the community.

Mr Downey is one of the founders for the Northeast Community Farmers Market addressing food insecurity in his Kashmere Gardens Community. The farmers market is now going toward 8 years in the community. Mr Downey helped establish the first resilience hub for a city of Houston facility which is now known as warming centers durng the winter. The Resilient Hub receiving a permanent backup generator in 2025 becoming the first community center run by the city to receive a permanent generator for the city of Houston. He was selected as a 2017 Houston Hero by the Houston Chronicle. 2018 Ford Motor Company Harvey Hero recipient and a 2018 Shell Hero of Houston. The City of Houston named July 23, 2020 Keith Downey Day. He received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He is also the recipient of the Who's Who Worldwide Humanitarian award for 2025. Mr Downey received the 2025 Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. Mr. Downey has been married to his lovely wife Roshida Downey for close to 30 years. They have two daughters Aysha, her husband Jerry Edwards Jr. another daughter Syeda Tison. Two grand children Amanda and Isaiah. Mr. Downey has one sibling Leslie Wolfe and a score of nieces and nephews.