Board and Consultants

Keith Gier is currently serving as President of Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District 151, having been a Director on the Board since 2012. Keith moved to Firethorne in 2010, along with his wife and three children.

Keith’s professional background is in Metallurgical Engineering, and he has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 30 years.

Nathan Shipley has been a member of the FBCMUD 151 Board of Directors since August of 2018. Born and raised in Katy, he sought out a position on the board to give back to the community and to help guide current and future projects that will benefit the district and its residents.

Nathan works as a marketing consultant in the Automotive Industry for The NPD Group. Along with his wife and three elementary-aged kids, he has been a Firethorne resident since 2015. In his free time, you can catch him coaching/cheering on kid’s sports, tinkering on a project car in the garage, or spending time at the lake.

Having served as both a Director for Fort Bend County MUD 151 and a Director on the Firethorne H.O.A. Board, it is Louis’ desire to serve the Community of Firethorne to make it the best place to live in the Katy Area.

Louis is the founder/owner of a boutique IT System Strategist firm serving businesses in Louisiana, Texas, and internationally. With 35 years of experience, Louis focuses on small businesses helping them in their IT system needs. Areas of knowledge include both “Micro’s” and “Mini’s” for use in financial back-office work as well as HR and payroll processes. Originally from Louisiana, Louis previously pastored a small congregation in St. Bernard Parish as a bi-vocational pastor. Louis is fully bilingual in both Spanish and English.

Louis & Ruth, residents of Firethorne since 2006, have been married for nearly 47 years. Both Ruth and Louis have three children and four wonderful grandchildren. Since 2006, Louis has served Firethorne as Community Watch Chair, and sat on the Amenities Committee and Architectural Review Committee as was the first elected Firethorne HOA Resident Board Member for the community.

Jared Ciarella has been a member of the FBCMUD 151 Board of Directors since November 2021. He, his wife Erin, and their two children have lived in Firethorne since July 2017.

Jared is a native of the greater Houston area and has a Civil Engineering degree from Texas A&M University (Class of '05) and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. He currently works as a Director of Engineering Services in the Energy Industry. He enjoys coaching his kids sporting teams and making time for golf and exploring all of the Firethorne lakes and trails on a long run.

Cory McFarland was appointed to the FBCMUD 151 Board of Directors in October 2020 and has been a resident of Firethorne since May 2010.

Cory’s professional experience is in finance/accounting, and he is currently the Corporate Controller/Finance Director at Arion Blue LLC (Arion), a multi-discipline contractor providing services to the Energy industry, where his role is to support the rapid growth and expansion of the young, startup business. Prior to joining Arion, Cory gained diverse experiences across several industries in multi-national, publicly listed, Fortune 100 scale companies. During his career, he has developed particular interest and expertise in leading continuous improvement initiatives.

Cory and his wife Nanci are both graduates of Katy High School and Texas A&M University; they have 3 young boys enrolled in Katy ISD schools, and Nanci is an educator in the district. As active residents in their hometown, they viewed the Board position as an incredible opportunity for Cory to further strengthen their commitment to service in the community they are so proud to be from and live in. In his free time, Cory enjoys spending time outdoors, whether hunting, making routine visits to the Texas Hill Country or spending time with family and friends.