Bill Shown is CEO of Oxbow Development Group. In this position he oversees the creative process and the talented team that has been responsible for giving new life to the built environment at the historic Pearl Brewery. Bill has worked on Pearl since its infancy and embraced a vision-led approach to making San Antonio a culinary destination. Oxbow is poised to continue to bring soul to place throughout San Antonio and beyond.

Bill is a strong advocate for Central City development and toward that end served for nine years on the Board of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation. He is also active in Centro San Antonio and the Urban Land Institute, helping promote San Antonio’s urban renaissance and continued growth.

Bill is a graduate of Texas A&M University and has a law degree from St. Mary’s University. He is married and has two adult children, Cody & Will.

Rebecca J. Viagran is a San Antonio native. Her family has a 250-year legacy in San Antonio and South Texas.

Rebecca made a commitment at a very young age to serve those in her community and served as the City of San Antonio Councilwoman for District 3- representing the South & Southeast side of San Antonio from 2013 to 2021.

Viagran now proudly serves as the President & CEO of South Texas Business Partnership where she is eager to bolster San Antonio, Bexar County, and the entire South Texas Region. She is amplifying the organization’s mantra that “All Roads Lead South” and aims to bring the area together with a collective voice.

Viagran earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and a bachelor’s degree in Urban and regional Planning from Texas State University.

She recently served as the Director of Workforce Development and Community Partnerships at Texas A&M University- San Antonio where she led the University’s strategy for advancing initiatives and partnerships to increase educational attainment and enhance the talent pipeline throughout the region.

During her tenure on the City Council, Viagran served as the Chair of the Economic and Workforce Development Committee for the City of San Antonio. In this role, she led the city’s work on global economic development while ensuring that San Antonians have access to the education, training, and support services they need to thrive in a 21st-century economy.

During her time representing District 3 and the City of San Antonio, Viagran led the resurgence of educational, cultural, economic, and reinvestment in South San Antonio. She was instrumental in fostering tremendous economic development and revitalization at Brooks, a former Air Force Base, brought a new medical school, expanded the Hike and Bike Trail, and attracted thousands of new high-paying jobs to the Southside.

In 2013, Viagran was named the City Council’s liaison for the San Antonio Missions UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination, which was secured in 2015, and she was instrumental in the effort to create a World Heritage Office and Work Plan. She represented the City of San Antonio in numerous speaking engagements on world heritage and cultural representation from East Asia to South America.

In March of 2021, Viagran was appointed to the Alamo Management Committee and now serves as Vice Chair representing the City of San Antonio on the development and execution of the Alamo Master Plan. She also serves as a Tri-Chair for the Alamo Citizens Advisory Committee. Viagran served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the National League of Cities. She finished her Council tenure as the longest-serving Latina ever in City Council District 3.

The Honorable Rebecca Viagran was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019, and in that same year named “La Campeona” by Visit San Antonio for her advocacy of the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. In 2021, she was awarded and named a “Legend of the Southside” by the South and West San Antonio Chambers of Commerce for her tireless advocacy in the effort to create opportunity and prosperity. She serves on the Board of Directors for the San Antonio River Foundation and always looks for ways to uplift women.

Because of her strong roots in the Southside community and South Texas, it is her vision to continue providing opportunities for prosperity, public safety, and progress for the entire city of San Antonio and region.

Chief Strategy Officer Connie Gonzalez is responsible for establishing strategic direction to further advance Brooks’ growth, expanding on the success of the last 20 years. In addition, she leads business development, public affairs, community engagement, and project management initiatives. Connie is also the Executive Director of Brooks Gives Back, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves as the vehicle by which all members of the Brooks community can invest in nonprofit initiatives impacting people in the neighborhoods surrounding Brooks, which has distributed more than $250,000 since 2019.

Connie joined the Brooks team in November 2015 and previously served as the Director of Strategy & Community Relations and Director of Public Relations. Prior to joining the Brooks team, Connie was a weekend anchor and reporter for both KNWA and KFTA in Fayetteville, Arkansas and KSAN in San Angelo, Texas. Raised in San Antonio, she began her professional career as an intern with News 4 WOAI and worked in public affairs at Spurs Sports & Entertainment.

An advocate for community involvement, Gonzalez serves as the Immediate Past Chair for the South Texas Business Partnership Board of Directors, formerly known as the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Connie is an Executive Committee member of the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) Foundation, CAST Med High School Advisory Board of Directors, and the Texas A&M University – San Antonio Mays Center Community Advisory Council. She served as Chair for the City of San Antonio’s Planning Commission and participated in the 2021 Harvard Business School Young American Leaders Program. A graduate of Leadership San Antonio Class 44, the City South Leadership Class 30 and the North Chamber Innovative Leadership Program, Gonzalez also served on the Leadership San Antonio Class 45 Steering Committee.

Connie was recognized as the “Texas 100 Influential Professionals to Watch in 2023” and as San Antonio Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 “Woman of the Year”.

Watch Connie’s feature on ¡Salud! on KLRN TV (start at 13:07).

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Electronic Media, Texas State University.

Perschbach joined the Port in 2014—leading a team that provides strategic support to grow advanced industries on the 1,900-acre technology innovation campus, including aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, manufacturing and global trade. The Port is one of South Texas’ fastest-growing economic engines—home to over 80 tenant customers and their 18,000 employees, which generate a regional economic impact of over $5.6 billion annually.

Previously, he worked as an attorney in private practice with one of the nation’s largest law firms, where he counseled clients in sectors that include aerospace and advanced manufacturing.

In addition to his work at the Port, Perschbach serves his community in other leadership roles. He is a past chair of both the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Aerospace Committee and Alamo Colleges’ Scobee Education Center / Challenger Learning Center. He is also a past member of the United Way of San Antonio board. Currently, he serves on the board of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU).

In 2018 he was appointed Honorary Commander of the 502nd Airbase Wing / Joint Base San Antonio. He has also been named by the Business Journals as one of the country’s top 100 executives to watch in 2019.

Perschbach holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from The George Washington University and earned his law degree from The University of Houston Law Center.

Melissa is currently the Director of Real Estate and Finance for Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation. Melissa has over 25 years of experience in the construction and real estate development industry and has focused on finance and development serving as a former CFO before pursuing her passions for development. Melissa has worked on residential lot development, multi-family, retail, medical, restaurant, and office commercial projects, master planning, and now has the privilege to work on creating one of the world’s great public places. She believes that development, anchored with a clear vision, delivers new places to create experiences that add value to the community, investors, and owners. Melissa is an active member of the development and real estate community and serves as a board member for Business Community Lenders of Texas and the Magik Theater. Melissa is a member of the leadership team of SA’s Urban Land Institute and chairs the Urban Plan Program, is a WLI member, and serves on the Placemaking District Council for ULI. Melissa enjoys mentoring students in the Real Estate Finance and Development program at UTSA and other professionals. Melissa’s proudest accomplishment is that she is the proud mom of two children, Preston and Grace.

Jenna Saucedo-Herrera is the President and CEO of greater:SATX, a regional economic partnership charged with growing and diversifying the eight county San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA.

In this role, Jenna and her team work closely with the regional business community, and government to recruit new companies, foster global business relationships, help local companies grow and build the local talent pipeline. During her seven-year tenure at the helm of San Antonio’s economic development team, greater:SATX has secured over twenty-three thousand jobs for the region through recruitment and expansion projects that include: Ernst & Young, Victory Capital, Navistar, and Aisin.

Jenna has received accolades including the “2015 Women in Leadership Award” and the “2017 40 Under 40: Woman of the Year Award” from the San Antonio Business Journal, acknowledgment by the San Antonio Express-News in their “2016 Women Who Run San Antonio” feature, and recognition in Culturemap’s “Top Texans Under 30”.

She is an alumna of St. Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Management. She is also a member of the Texas Women’s Forum, the Texas Lyceum, and the International Women’s Forum.

Jenna also serves on several community boards and councils including Visit San Antonio, BioBridge Global, UP Partnership, Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

Dan Geddes is the region president in Frost Bank’s San Antonio. In that position, he oversees all aspects of banking operations in the region. Dan was appointed to the region president position in 2021 after leading the Commercial Real Estate Group in Frost’s Houston region for seven years as sales manager. While in Houston, Dan drew on his commercial real estate experience when he was chosen to lead Frost’s expansion effort, which resulted in the opening of 25 new financial centers – nearly doubling Frost’s size in the market – in a little over two years. In this role, Dan oversaw site selection, timing of new financial center openings, and staffing. The expansion project was even more successful than expected, with the new sites far surpassing initial goals for deposits, loans and new households. In addition to the expansion, Dan was instrumental in helping businesses secure loans through the 2020-21 Paycheck Protection Program.

Dan has been with Frost Bank since January 1997, starting as a credit analyst in the Credit Department before working in the Commercial Real Estate Lending Group in San Antonio. He moved to Houston in December 1999 as a commercial lender focused primarily on commercial real estate lending, and later became a production credit officer.

Dan is active in the community serving as Chair of the Finance Committee of The Remember the Alamo Foundation, an advisory board member of UT Health San Antonio Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics. He was also a member of Leadership San Antonio’s 46th class in 2022.

His ties to San Antonio go back to the fall of 1992 when he enrolled at Trinity University graduating in 1996, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with concentrations in accounting and finance.
Dan married his high school sweetheart, Missy. They live in Boerne, have four children and are members of Cross Mountain Church.

Dr. Tunette Powell, mother of three beautiful Black boys, is an activist mama, equity practitioner and storyteller who has published several books and papers on issues of kinship, race, racism, and system-induced collective trauma. Dr. Powell is an Assistant Research Professor at Arizona State University. She also oversees Saint Mary’s Hall diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Dr. Powell, who earned her PhD in education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has committed her scholarship and advocacy to disrupting system-induced collective trauma and centering both struggle and joy in historically and contemporarily marginalized communities.

Mike Ramsey is the Executive Director of Workforce Development for the City of San Antonio. He joined the City and opened the new Workforce Development Office in August of 2021. He oversees the implementation of the City’s workforce development strategies including the SA: Ready to Work Program.

Mike previously served as the Dean of Workforce Development of St. Petersburg College (SPC) in St. Petersburg, Florida. He functioned as the College’s principal administrator for Workforce, Career & Technical Education programs. He assisted in guiding the direction of SPC as a member of the President’s Cabinet, to ensure the effectiveness of all workforce programming. Mike provided direct leadership for the Division of Workforce, Community, & Corporate Partnerships in college-wide efforts to provide online and face to face in-demand short-term training programs aligned to local industry needs within the regions targeted sectors. Mike functioned as an intermediary between industry and the college to ensure the efficient re-skilling and up-skilling of employees and job seekers alike. He established community and business partnerships to ensure local industry labor needs were met by properly aligning the institutions workforce program offerings to ensure exceptional labor market outcomes for both students and employers.

Before SPC, Mike worked at Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) in Florida. He oversaw both secondary and post-secondary Career, Technical, & Adult Education (CTAE) programs. The programs provided training in high skill, high wage jobs to support the local workforce needs. He also oversaw the Adult Education programs leading to a high school diploma, GED, or English language acquisition. He has focused his efforts on establishing community and business partnerships that align training program offerings with local industry demand.

Laura Cabanilla is a director of Corporate Responsibility at USAA and a strategy lead for Face the Fight, a public awareness and health campaign founded by USAA to bring together businesses and organizations in the fight against veteran suicide. Laura previously led the Economic Mobility strategy, including the $50M Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) portfolio, aimed at empowering underrepresented communities to advance economic opportunity within education, workforce, small business, and financial readiness focus areas. She has 20+ years of experience designing and executing community development initiatives, brand management, corporate social responsibility, and DE&I strategies.

Prior to joining USAA, Laura was SVP Community Relations at Wells Fargo, covering Central Texas. An entrepreneur at heart, she is a small business investor, has owned small businesses and has mentored small business owners. Her career also includes serving as Chief of Staff for two San Antonio City Council representatives, leading a regional office for the Women's Sports Foundation, and driving economic strategies for an economic development organization.

Laura is a strong community advocate with key relationships across circles of influence across Texas. She was appointed in 2021 to the VIA Metropolitan Transportation Board of Trustees and serves as vice-chair, is a Texas Lyceum Director, and has served on numerous boards and committees throughout the last 20 years. She previously served as co-chair of Leadership San Antonio (LSA) 44, steering committee LSA 39, was an Honorary Commander 960th Cyber Wing, received the 2015 San Antonio Business Journal “40 Under 40" Award and the San Antonio Business Journal 2021 Women’s Leadership Award. In 2029, Laura will co-chair the Women’s NCAA Final Four basketball tournament in partnership with the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee.

Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from St. Mary’s University and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is also a graduate of the Washington Semester – Foreign Policy Program at American University in Washington, D.C.

Outside of work, you can find Laura on the coaching sideline supporting her two active daughters, Mia and Mya in their sports of volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball.

Kelli G. Rhodes, MBA, is the President & CEO of Restore Education. An alumna of UTSA, she has almost 20 years of experience in education, with a focus on underserved populations. In 2008, Ms. Rhodes co-founded Restore Education as an innovative and flexible program to help individuals earn their GED and successfully transition to postsecondary. During her tenure, Restore Education has seen exponential growth and has become an established leader in local adult education and workforce development outcomes in South Texas. Ms. Rhodes was awarded Administrator of the Year from the Texas Association for Literacy and Adult Education in 2020. Additionally, she serves as a Board member for Workforce Solutions Alamo. Recently, she was selected to serve as an Aspen Fellow as part of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program through Workforce Solutions Alamo's Workforce Leadership Academy.

Laura Hotten is a rare find in the marketing industry. Her wealth of expertise as a seasoned creative director and strategist is uniquely counterbalanced by her deep roots in software UI/UX and front-end coding. Laura’s profound understanding of the digital landscape is the bedrock upon which her solutions thrive, delivering exceptional results for her clients. Over the span of three decades, Laura has been at the helm of marketing campaigns for renowned brands across the United States and Latin America, continuously capitalizing on opportunities within the ever-expansive realm of digital marketing.

Currently, Laura serves as the Chief Creative and Digital Officer at talkStrategy, where she holds dual leadership roles. Within the agency, she leads two distinct teams, overseeing both the creative and digital facets of the business. Laura's unique ability to harmonize her in-depth knowledge of both digital aspects and creative solutions fills a critical need in modern marketing, ensuring that her strategies are not only visually captivating but also strategically sound in today's ever-evolving landscape.

Charles’ career journey has moved him quickly to various roles from Business Development Manager to Membership Director to now CEO of Geekdom. His commitment and passion for service to the Geekdom team and its community has played an integral part in the greater growth and development of San Antonio. He leverages his background in engineering and technology to create innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives, establish strategic partnerships, and expand Geekdom's impact throughout the city. After growing up close to Detroit and Flint, where he watched much degradation take place, he is energized to put forth his best efforts to be a part of building up the place he now calls home. Charles also served in the United States Air Force for 8 years focused on the collection and communication of intelligence and training as an Airborne Korean Linguist, completing his duty as Staff Sergeant.

Charles lives in Texas and is a devoted father to his two phenomenal daughters, Penelope and Amelia. In his free time, Charles enjoys traveling and hiking around the country to places such as the Olympic, Grand Canyon, Teton, Acadia and to his favorite so far, Zion.

Dr. Martínez is highly sought by early-stage investors and senior management in private and public companies as a startup and innovation strategist, vc, founder, ecosystem builder, and startup coach/mentor. He has guided 200+ entrepreneurs from early stage to successful exits across a wide range of industries and sectors. He is sought for his expertise in venture capital and early stage venture investment, leadership, startup business strategy, new product and business development, design thinking and business model design, customer acquisition and retention, corporate positioning, corporate communications and investor relations, and competitive technology and corporate analysis.

He is currently the Sr. Associate in San Antonio for the venture team at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurship in Texas. He serves as a startup mentor with Geekdom, the Break Fast & Launch Culinary Business Accelerator, and HELM Small Business Accelerator in San Antonio, TX, the Pioneer21 Venture Mentoring Program in El Paso, TX, Capital Factory in Austin, TX, and globally with MassChallenge and Techstars. Dr. Martínez also serves on the Board of Students+Startups in San Antonio, Tx. He was previously on the Executive Advisory Board of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).

Dr. Martínez is also the former Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Trinity University where he taught courses in entrepreneurship and innovation; mentored student startups; and facilitated connecting Trinity students and faculty with entrepreneurs and accredited investors. He was responsible for all aspects of Trinity’s Entrepreneurship program, Trinity’s Technology and Licensing efforts, and helping make every student, faculty, staff and alumni become more innovative and entrepreneurial. Over the past 10 years, he facilitated the launch of over 65+ Trinity student ventures that have collectively gone on to raise over $60M in external funding. In 2021, Dr. Martínez led Trinity in receiving the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence award, the highest global honor that a University Entrepreneurship Center can receive.

Prior to his time at Trinity, he served on the faculty of Rollins College, Eastern Florida State College and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where he taught Organic Chemistry and as a Senior Scientist at the Scripps Research Institute-Florida. Dr. Martínez’s research effort was focused on the synthesis and application of small molecules to probe and study the biology of infectious disease, cancer, immune response, oxidative stress and cell cycle control. His research program was supported by the Welch Foundation, the NIH, and the Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar program. He holds two patents in organic synthesis.

Prior to his academic appointments, Dr. Martínez also served as a senior account executive with Feinstein-Kean Healthcare, an Ogilvy PR Worldwide Company, and as a consultant with Kendall Strategies, the agency's consulting practice. He also founded Students+Startups, a non-profit dedicated to connecting San Antonio startups with high-caliber university students through a summer internship program and co-founded BGV Strategies, a strategy consulting firm that served startups and small businesses in southwest Texas and southern New Mexico. Dr. Martínez also has extensive experience with K-16 science education, scientific workforce diversity and American competitiveness.

Dr. Martínez received a B.S. degree with Honors in Chemistry from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX and a A.M. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Juan “Sebastian” Garzon serves as Executive Director for Alamo Angels, the largest angel investment network in Texas. In this role, Sebastian provides access to capital via angel investing to companies across the U.S. and LatAm. Prior to joining AA, Sebastian worked in multiple roles at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). He also owns Passport2Fluency, a company that helps people improve on their Spanish skills.

Sebastian graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor's in Finance and earned a Master's in Business Administration from TAMU-CC. Most recently, Sebastian completed the prestigious VC Unlocked program, an invitation-only initiative by Stanford University in partnership with 500 Global. This program deepened his understanding of venture capital, innovation ecosystems, and strategic investments. Sebastian has received multiple recognitions for his professional achievements and community involvement including 2016 achievement honoree for the College of Business, Corpus Christi 40 under 40, and is a graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi Class 46 and the Alexander Briseño Leadership Development program in San Antonio.