Proven and outstanding economic development & public affairs professional with more than 25 years of demonstrated success in government affairs, business & economic development, external & media relations, marketing, research, social media management and leadership. I’ve accomplished some big things, and I’ve performed well at the highest of levels as an award-winning journalist, public relations professional, government affairs guru and economic development leader such as: -Economic Development Director at the City of Laredo – the largest inland port in North America -Editor in Chief of the Brownsville Herald and Senior Editor at the Arizona Republic -Government Affairs Director for the City of McAllen performing advocacy in Austin and Washington D.C. -Launched “Social Media Summit” event gathering hundreds digital media pros for annual conference -Media relations, PR & marketing expert delivering results to clients as a consultant -Co-chair of Diversity Committee for Gannet Corporation, coordinating with 100+properties and corporate leaders -Founded the RGV Partnership regional leadership academy -Laredo EDC Advisor, TAMIU Continuing Education Committee Vice Chair, Texas Lyceum director, CCLI- ASU scholarship committee, South Mountain CC Advisory Committee, UT-Brownsville civic engagement committee. In Laredo, the City hired me as its first-ever Eco Devo department director, and in the first 2 years attracted half a dozen new firms, $120M in new investment and 450 new jobs, established Chapter 380 and TIRZ guidelines, a trade missions program and brought forward 2 TIRZ agreements worth more than $2 billion. But I’m not all work and no play. I love to tell stories. I have been a prolific sports writer getting published more than 150 times in 2016-19 in local papers, magazines and websites. Hiking makes me happy, and I’m a book aficionado. Still, the bottom line is important, and I’ve been successful at every stage and stop of my career from leading troops in the USAF to editing journalists on election night or helping pass a bill at the state capitol. I’ve done a lot of things well – including running a municipal TV station and managing social media platforms – but I grew up on a farm as a migrant kid and then got my first job in town at age 11. That’s where I learned the value of hard work and how to get along with people. But perhaps, I am most proud of serving my country. I am a 6-year veteran of the US Air Force and served on bases in the US, England & Africa (some of the time during Desert Storm) as an airman and a non-commissioned officer.