Stewart Cory graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia where she received numerous fellowships and awards, including the Johnson Scholarship, a full scholarship based on merit and leadership. Following a lifelong interest in entrepreneurship, Stewart joined Venture for America, a highly selective post graduate fellowship that led her first to a SaaS startup in Detroit and then to an ecommerce company in Washington, D.C.
Stewart moved to Houston to put her geology degree to work and facilitated over $3Bn USD in upstream and midstream sell-side transactions on the US Energy Investment Banking team at Jefferies. Stewart then joined Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, LP on their energy private equity team where she advised on acquisitions for KACALP’s multi-billion dollar funds, management of seven oil and gas and pipeline companies, and divestments and sales.
Stewart was lured away from oil and gas for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build Houston’s tech ecosystem. She joined the Station Houston team as a special projects lead for the Ion Innovation Hub and moved quickly into the Chief of Staff role. As Chief of Staff for the Ion, Stewart oversees the daily operations and strategic growth of the organization.
In addition to her role at the Ion, Stewart serves on the advisory board of the Hermann Park Conservancy, the board of Ignite – an organization that encourages young women to run for political office – and is vice president of Washington and Lee’s Houston alumni chapter.