Jason E. Payne recognized for outstanding commitment to alma mater at UH Law’s record-breaking 49th Annual Gala.

HOUSTON, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Jason E. Payne, founding attorney of Payne Law Firm, has received the President’s Award from the University of Houston Law Alumni Association, one of the law center’s highest honors for graduates who demonstrate exceptional professional achievement and enduring loyalty to the institution that shaped them. 

“Thank you to the University of Houston Law Center for presenting me with the President’s Award at this year’s 49th Annual Gala,” says Jason Payne, Founding Attorney. “It was truly an honor to be recognized by my alma mater.” 

For more information on how Jason Payne and his law firm give back to the community, visit https://www.paynelawfirm.com/.

A Personal Injury Legal Career Built on Accountability

The award was presented May 2, 2026, at the 49th Annual Law Gala & Auction, themed “Bond, Barristers, and Black Tie,” which raised more than $1.6 million, the most in the event’s history for support of student scholarships, advocacy programs, and faculty research. UH Law Dean Leonard M. Baynes called it “an evening of bonding and celebration,” crediting the UHLC community for “achieving the impossible by working together.”

The President’s Award recognizes graduates who build highly respected careers while dedicating their time to supporting UH Law Center students, alumni, and broader civic institutions, a standard Payne has met on both fronts throughout a career representing injured Texans.

Payne, a board-certified personal injury trial attorney and Port Arthur, Texas, native, earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2002. His practice, which serves clients in Texas and North Carolina, focuses on complex personal injury cases, including the growing field of rideshare accident litigation, where navigating overlapping insurance frameworks has become increasingly consequential for injured victims.

In rideshare cases, the insurance coverage available to an injured passenger, motorist, or pedestrian shifts depending on what the driver was doing with the app at the moment of collision — a distinction that can determine whether a victim recovers thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is precisely the kind of high-stakes, detail-driven advocacy that has defined Payne’s two-decade career.

Sustained Legal Recognition in Texas

Payne’s service to the University of Houston runs deep. He sits on the University of Houston Alumni Association Foundation Board, its Executive Committee, and the UH Board of Visitors. Before founding Payne Law Firm, he interned in the offices of then-State Rep. Garnet Coleman and then-State Rep. Sylvester Turner during his undergraduate years at the University of Houston. His professional accolades include the 2025 Cougar 100 Award from the University of Houston, Texas Super Lawyer recognition from 2019–2026, and Texas Rising Star from 2012–2017.

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SOURCE Payne Law Firm

Data center industry veteran to oversee development, product strategy, and service delivery as Flexential accelerates nationwide growth

DENVER, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Flexential, a leading provider of secure and flexible data center solutions, has appointed Sam Rudek as Chief Operating Officer (COO) as it accelerates investment in high-density infrastructure, AI-ready environments, and nationwide capacity expansion.

In this role, Rudek will oversee all Flexential’s data center services, including development, engineering, product strategy, infrastructure management, and the FlexAnywhere® Platform, across more than 40 data centers in 18 markets nationwide. He will report to CEO Ryan Mallory, who was promoted from COO and President in October.

Prior to joining Flexential, Rudek held a COO role within CBRE’s Data Center Solutions group, serving as a senior leader across a 3,000-person engineering and operations organization spanning 350 data centers and a $1.2 billion capital asset upgrade and modernization program. He led HSE, technical, and reliability optimization across the portfolio and partnered with global leaders and OEMs to enhance CBRE’s Global Operational Excellence Academy. He also helped drive key changes to operational processes, introducing process enhancements, human factors training, and AI analysis that reduced human-caused downtime by 30%. Rudek previously held senior leadership roles at World Wide Technology, BGIS/Schneider Electric, and IES Communications, where he guided the company’s data center division to profitability within 14 months.

“Sam started his career on the data center floor and has spent more than 20 years building and running the processes that keep these environments reliable,” Mallory said. “That hands-on experience informs how he thinks about power, cooling, uptime, team development, and customer expectations. As we continue to bring new capacity online and prepare facilities for increasingly dense compute and AI workloads, Sam’s experience is exactly what we need.”

Under Rudek’s guidance, Flexential will continue its aggressive development timeline across the United States. The company recently acquired a parcel in Hillsboro, Oregon, that will be home to its sixth data center in the city and closed on two other facilities it already runs there. It purchased property for a second data center in Norcross, Georgia, its fifth in Greater Atlanta, and its fourth Denver-area facility will come online later this year in Parker, Colorado.

“Every data center I’ve ever built or run comes down to whether the people inside it have the processes and the tools to make the right call and help the customer,” Rudek said. “The operational decisions we make today will define how these facilities perform for years, and with Flexential growing faster than most companies in this industry, my job is to make sure the infrastructure keeps pace.”

To learn how Flexential helps enterprises build and manage the infrastructure behind their most demanding workloads, visit flexential.com.

About Flexential
Flexential empowers the IT journey of the most complex businesses by offering customizable hybrid IT solutions designed for today’s demanding high-density computing requirements. With colocation, cloud, interconnection, data protection, and professional services, the FlexAnywhere® platform anchors our services in 40 data centers across 18 highly connected markets on a scalable 100Gbps+ private network backbone. Flexential solutions are strategically engineered to meet the most stringent challenges in security, compliance, and resiliency. Experience the power of IT flexibility and how we enable digital transformation at www.flexential.com.

Media Contact
Jaime Dumas
Corporate Marketing
jaime.dumas@flexential.com

Christian Rizzo
Gregory for Flexential
crizzo@gregoryagency.com

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SOURCE Flexential

Earns Recognition in Entrepreneur’s Inaugural “Top 10 Franchises in Every Industry” RankingAlso Named Among Franchise Business Review’s Top Franchises for Culture for 2026Showcases a Proven Business Model Built Around Both Purpose and Performance

LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mathnasium Learning Centers, a globally recognized franchise with over 1,200 locations across 12 countries, has been named one of Entrepreneur magazine’s Top 10 Education Franchises in its inaugural “Top 10 Franchises in Every Industry” ranking for 2026.

The recognition comes as families continue investing in supplemental education and STEM-focused learning support, with the U.S. private tutoring market projected to grow by more than $32 billion through 2030.

A Proven Model Meeting Rising Demand
The new ranking recognizes the top-performing franchise brands across 17 industries based on Entrepreneur’s annual Franchise 500® evaluation process, which assesses brands across more than 150 data points, including franchise growth, financial strength and stability, franchisee support, brand power, and operational performance.

“Mathnasium sits at the intersection of two powerful trends: growing demand for supplemental education and increasing interest in purpose-driven franchise ownership,” said Tyler Sgro, CEO of Mathnasium. “This recognition reflects the strength of our franchise network, the value our centers deliver to families, and the significant runway we see for continued expansion.”

Franchisee Feedback Validates Mathnasium’s Culture-First Approach
Mathnasium’s momentum extends beyond growth and performance metrics. The brand was also recently recognized on Franchise Business Review’s ‘2026 Culture100 List,’ which honors franchise brands with strong cultures based on independent franchisee feedback across key areas including leadership, support, franchisee community, engagement, and overall satisfaction.

Key differentiators contributing to Mathnasium’s recognition include:

Personalized learning support that meets the rising demand for supplemental educationA purpose-driven approach centered on student success, community impact, and franchisee supportA widespread and strong franchise network that motivates each other to deliver for families and students

Franchise Opportunities Open Across Key Territories
With prime territories available across the U.S. and internationally, Mathnasium continues to attract entrepreneurs seeking a scalable, purpose-driven business opportunity backed by a proven operating model and growing demand for supplemental education.

The brand’s lower entry costs and streamlined footprint make it an accessible opportunity for both first-time and experienced franchisees.

Additional franchisee benefits include:

Lower start up costs, streamlined buildout timelines, and recurring revenue potential through membership-based enrollmentComprehensive training, ongoing operational support, and access to proprietary curriculum, technology, and business toolsA balanced national-and-local marketing approach backed by infrastructure designed for long-term scalability and multi-unit growth

For information about Mathnasium’s franchise opportunities, visit — https://mathnasiumfranchise.com/.

About Mathnasium 

Mathnasium Learning Centers is North America’s leading math-only supplemental education franchise. Since 2002, the Mathnasium Method™ — the result of decades of hands-on instruction and development — has been transforming the lives of children in grades K-12 by offering comprehensive assessments, fully individualized learning plans, and teaching true math comprehension. With more than 1,200 learning centers worldwide in 12 countries, Mathnasium has been ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine’s list of top 500 franchises 18 times since 2004. For more information about Mathnasium franchise opportunities, visit https://mathnasiumfranchise.com/.

Contact: 
Bridget Roberts 
broberts@fishmanpr.com

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SOURCE Mathnasium