Council Member Edward Pollard
Edward Pollard is a proud product of Southwest Houston. He attended all HISD schools (Lovett, Johnston, Lamar), before accepting a basketball scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. While in college, Edward was recognized as an NCAA Academic All American and graduated with honors earning his BA in Political Science. After playing professional basketball overseas in the Republic of Singapore and Chile, South America, Edward returned to Houston to pursue his law degree. He attended Thurgood Marshall School of Law where he graduated with honors earning his Juris Doctorate with a concentration in Government and Policy. Edward also received his Certificate in Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School.
Professionally, Edward is the principal owner of Pollard Legal Group, LLC, a boutique civil litigation law firm located in District J. Edward is also the founder of Suits for Success, a 501c3 organization that mentors teen boys on life skills at District J high schools. The semester-long program focuses on public speaking, etiquette training, personal finance, resume building, interview techniques, and how to tie a tie. At the completion of the program, each student earns a free suit, shirt, and tie for high school graduation and life beyond.
As Council Member, Edward led the creation of the city’s Food Insecurity Board, launched MoreJobsHouston.com to provide easy and accessible resources and employment opportunities for job seekers, initiated the Police Transparency Dashboard that gives current public-facing police department data and policy, granted over $100,000.00 in tax dollars to support after-school programing with a priority on programs for kids on the autism spectrum, and most notably, completely transformed the notorious Bissonnet Track, where his leadership efforts and strategies have resulted in crime stats dropping by a staggering 90 percent.
Edward’s signature program of his tenure has been the creation and success of the District J Patrol. This patrol is a modern approach to community policing where District J residents report neighborhood related offenses to DistrictJPatrol.com and a specialized HPD officer will address the issue in streamlined fashion and notate a response back to the constituent on the website for full transparency and accountability.
Edward is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a lifetime member of the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church downtown, and has two children, EJ and Nadia.