The WooDevCru took LSA 47 on an exciting economic development quest to reveal how San Antonio is Diverse by Design. Our mission was to show LSA 47 San Antonio’s history of where it was (past), where it currently is (present) and where it could be (future) with the guidance and support of LSA 47 leaders and speakers who are expert economic developers.
The voyage began with the ‘Reimagine’ pillar at Jazz Texas located in the now thriving and vibrant community of the beautiful Historic Pearl. This location helped paint a unique portrait of San Antonio - on property once operated by the Pearl Brewing Company in 1883. Bill Shown started off the day by giving an invigorating story of the Pearl Brewery followed by a star-filled panel moderated by Rebecca Viagran that included Brooks/Port SA visionaries Connie Gonzales and Jim Perschbach.
We then made our way to the ‘Attract’ pillar by visiting the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in the heart of historic downtown, along the banks of the world-famous River Walk. Here, LSA 47 had an opportunity to meet Melissa Chamrad, Director of Real Estate and Finance for Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corporation. Melissa led LSA 47 through a place making event that allowed LSA 47 leaders to highlight a proposal to create a downtown sports district that would link each class day with economic development. After the activity, we had the honor of having Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, CEO of GreaterSATX, moderate a conversation with three exclusive panelists. This panel covered an immense span of time – one founded in San Antonio in 1868 spending years contributing to the city (Dan Geddes, Frost Bank), one remaining loyal to San Antonio and establishing the city as a tech leader (Bret Piatt, CyberFortress), and one recent relocation already making significant investments into the city (Mannik Dhillon, Victory Capital).
Recapping the group of the previous two pillars brought into the discussion the importance of our next pillar - the ‘Invest’ pillar. This pillar was moderated by LSA 47’s own Dr. Tunette Powell and included a powerhouse of panel members from the non-profit, public, and private sectors. Panelists included LSA alum - Laura Cabanilla (USAA, LSA 32), and current LSA 47 members own Mike Ramsey (COSA) and Kelli Rhodes (Restore Education). Pulling from a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech entitled “The Other American,” Tunette eloquently read an excerpt from it and tied it to the day’s conversation – how to confront the realities of two San Antonio’s and how to invest in the people of San Antonio who need us the most so we can become ONE.
Just when LSA 47 thought it could not be getting any better, the group traveled to Geekdom, a startup founded by techies and entrepreneurs, and introduced their final pillar - ‘Create’. LSA 47’s Laura Hotten moderated a panel consisting of Luis Martinez (Cap Factory), Juan Sebastian Garzon (Alamo Angel Investors), Charles Woodin (Geekdom) whose organizations continue to create opportunities for economic growth. After an insightful conversation, the WooDevCru yelled out, “but wait, there’s more!” as they explained the legacy they wanted to leave behind and introduced three startups - Alt-Bionics, Inc., Betty’s Co. and Developmate - they were given five minutes to make a pitch of their startups – WooTank style – to LSA 47 class members. LSA 47 class members were given the opportunity to vote for the best pitch and the winner was Betty’s Co.