2026 Houston Spirit of Francis Award Dinner

Joseph A. Cleary, Jr.

Joe was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Temple University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Construction Technology, Joe moved to Houston to work for Harvey Construction Company. Joe recently retired from Harvey Cleary.

Over the past 40 years, Joe has been involved in a number of not for profits and is currently on the boards of The Houston Zoo, Texas Children’s Hospital, The University of St. Thomas and The Salvation
Army of Greater Houston.

Joe and Cathy have four children, John, Joe III, Randi and David, daughters-in-law, Brigid and Madeline, son-in-law, Jeff and grandbabies, Tanner, Jack, Hayden and Caroline.

Joe and Cathy enjoy traveling, outdoor sports, volunteer work and spending time with family

David E. Harvey, Jr.

One of David E. Harvey, Sr.’s 11 children, David E. Harvey Jr. was born and raised in Houston, Texas and started working for Harvey Construction as a laborer prior to graduating from high school. David studied Architecture at Notre Dame before completing his architectural engineering degree at the University of Colorado.

In 1986, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. David continues to follow in his father’s footsteps with Harvey Cleary. He takes pride in seeing our project teams manage competing deliverables with adept skills and their ability to complete projects that our entire community can be proud of. He is most passionate about human capital and the hiring, training and development of Harvey Cleary’s future leaders. David feels the investment in these relationships is especially gratifying when our future leaders develop relationships with clients based on trust and respect.

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  • David’s wife is a college professor at Rice University. Together, they have three sons, two daughters, and six grandchildren. David was a prior President of the Rice Design Alliance, Board Chair for Catholic Charities, Vice Chair of the Board at the University of St. Thomas and currently serves on the boards of Strake Jesuit and St. John High Schools’ boards, and co-chair of the Asia Society of Texas. David was a founding board member of Cristo Rey Jesuit.

    A fixture in the construction community, David has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of St. Thomas, the Houston Business Journal Lifetime Achievement award, ACRP Real Estate Professional the NAIOP Howard Horne Legacy Award, Entrepreneur of the Year honor from Ernst & Young and most recently the Red New

The Catholic Extension Society Spirit of Francis Award recognizes an individual or group who has made a significant impact on the mission of the Catholic Church in America through service or philanthropy. Spirit of Francis Award recipients are laudable for their commitment “to reach out to the margins of society” in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, the late Pope Francis, and the founder of Catholic Extension Society, Father Francis Clement Kelley. The Spirit of Francis Award was first presented in 2014 to best-selling author, Mary Higgins Clark in New York City. Since then, the award dinner has been held in Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis/St Paul, New York City and Washington D.C.