UTSA Roadrunners are making a difference all around the world and have exciting stories to share. It is those experiences that create the rich history of UTSA. In celebration of the 50th anniversary, UTSA wants to feature alumni, staff, faculty…anyone who has called themselves a member of the Roadrunner Family in the last 50 years.
The most important letter in UTSA is “U,” so please share those special times as an alumni, faculty, staff, family…past or present. Send an email to 50years@utsa.edu . Make sure to send a current photo or two and tell those stories.
María Villagómez
Bachelor’s Business Administration in Accounting, 1996
Maria is the new Deputy City Manager for the City of San Antonio, overseeing the police, fire, city budget and animal care services.
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Alex San Martin
Bachelor’s of Arts in Communication, 2000
Alex has recently been appointed by Governor Greg Abbott of Texas to serve on the State Independent Living Council.
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Enrique Trevino
Master’s of Public Administration, 2018
Enrique is currently an independent Public Policy and Public Affairs Researcher.
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Dana Bashara
Master’s, Educational Administration, 1996
Dana is the superintendent of Alamo Heights Independent School District.
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Alexander Hilmy
Bachelor’s, Business Entrepreneurship, 2011
Director of Strategy and Partner at HILMY, a branding, design and strategy firm.
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Sheeba Thomas
Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D. 2007
Sheeba is currently the Senior Technical Engineer for the San Antonio River Authority.
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Tiffany Vargas
Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture, 2018
Tiffany is currently an intern for RVK Architects in San Antonio
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Tyler Temperton
Bachelor’s of Public Administration, 2012
Tyler is a Project Manager of Commercial Construction for Metropolitan Contracting.
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William “Frankie” Trynoski II
Bachelor of Arts Political Science, 2017
Frankie currently serves as the Director of Policy in the office of San Antonio City Council District 2.
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Guy M. Walsh
Executive Director of the National Security Collaboration Center (NSCC)
Guy joined UTSA in July 2019 as the founding executive director of the NSCC and as a retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General.
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Kelly Toepperwein
Bachelor's of Psychology and Criminal Justice, 2008
Master's of Public Administration, 2015
Kelly is the director of community and donor relations at Morgan's Wonderland.
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Jude Valdez, Ph.D.
UTSA Graduate Student, 1972
Jude completed his doctorate in 1976 and was offered a position of Assistant Dean in the College of Liberal Arts at UT Austin. In late 1979, he was invited to apply for a new position as founding director of the Center for Economic Development at UTSA.
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Hon. Yvonne Katz, Ed.D.
Master’s of Educational Administration, 1974
Yvonne is currently the President of the Hot Wells Conservancy; President of the San Antonio Women’s Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Executive Director of the Chamber. She was in school administration for over 20 years.
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Melissa Cabello Havrda
Master’s of Business Administration, 2013
Melissa is currently an attorney and newly elected San Antonio City Council Representative for District 6.
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Ileana Gonzalez
Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship 2016
Ileana is currently the Operations and Community Manager for Tech Bloc.
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Xianwei Wang
Environmental Science and Engineering Ph.D. 2008
Xianwei is currently a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
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Hiromi Stringer
Master’s of Fine Arts in Arts, 2018
Hiromi is a professional artist and also teaches drawing classes at UTSA as a Lecturer II. She recently was awarded the 2019-2020 Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts.
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Phil Guthrie
Master’s of Science in Finance, 2010
Phil is currently a Foreign Service Officer at the United States Department of State.
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Andrew Hutton
Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science, 2018
Andrew is a software engineer for the National Security Agency (NSA).
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Robert Bryant
Bachelor’s of Arts in History, 1996; Master’s in Education, 1999
Robert “Bob” Bryant is currently Director of Educational Technology for the United States Air Force Academy.
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Lucinda Canavan Mantz
Bachelor’s of Arts in the College of Education, 1985
Lucinda is an attorney and solo practitioner in the Law Office of Lucinda Canavan Mantz. She focuses primarily on Child Protective Services cases in Bexar, Comal, Frio, Atascosa, Wilson and Karnes Counties.
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Melanie Hennis
Bachelor’s of Science in Education, 1987
Melanie is currently working with Strategic Resources Inc. as a counselor for the military is currently relocated to Ft. Drum NY.
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Ryan Sprott
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Ph.D. 2016
Ryan currently teaches at the International School of the Americas in San Antonio. In 2017, he was named the James F. Veninga Outstanding Teacher of the Humanities in Texas.
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James Bodenstedt
Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting, 1996
James is the President and CEO of MUY Companies, which owns over 750 Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s.
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Kelley Frost
Master’s of Business Administration, 1996
Kelley is the owner and president of Frosted Home in Alamo Heights.
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Jorge Alvarez
Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, 1996
Jorge is currently an interventional cardiologist with the Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio and director of the South Texas Structural Heart Clinic at Methodist Hospital.
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Dr. Jeanette Ball
Master’s in Education Administration, 1999
Dr. Ball is currently the Superintendent of Judson ISD in San Antonio.
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Trevin King
Bachelor’s of Criminal Justice, 2014
Trevin is an airline pilot for Piedmont Airlines.
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Fatema Basrai
Master’s of Business Administration, 2018
Fatema currently serves as the assistant director of Innovate Health Yale at Yale University.
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Matt Roth
Master’s of Business Administration, 2016
Matt is currently the director of Supplier and Contract Analytics at USAA.
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Yvonne K. Addison
Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering, 2009; Executive Master’s of Business Administration, 2018
Yvonne is currently serving as president of the Junior League of San Antonio.
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Susan Hough
Master’s of Business Administration, 1991
Susan is presently the Director of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in San Antonio.
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Oscar L. Garza
Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting, 1982
Oscar is the owner of Oscar L. Garza & Associates, P.C. and partner in Tax Advisory Services Group, LLC.
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Danny Derrick, AIA
Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture, 1998
Danny is an architect and principle at Wigodsky & Derrick Architects.
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Patrick J. “Pat” Clynes
Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting, 1989
After a thriving career in the energy industry and retirement from BP Energy, Patrick is now a real estate developer in Houston and owner of Fritz Kennel.
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Robert Rivard
Bachelor’s, Political Science, 1996
Bob is the founder, editor and publisher of The Rivard Report
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April Ancira
Master’s, Business Administration, 2003
April serves as a Vice President of the Ancira Auto Group.
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Brigadier General Jimmy Canlas
Bachelor’s, Electrical Engineering, 1992
General Canlas is Commander of the 618th Air Operations Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill..
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Zack Dunn
Bachelor’s, Business Administration in Finance, 2015
Zack is in his third year of law school and will soon become an associate with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, headquartered in New York City.
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Ashley Lucero
Bachelor’s, Music Performance, 2015; Master’s, Music Performance, 2018
Ashley is an adjunct professor at the Baptist University of the Americas in South San Antonio. She is also a featured performer at the San Antonio Airport and UT Health San Antonio. She is a writer and composer.
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Joseph De La Garza
Bachelor’s, Business Administration in Accounting, 1977
Joseph has been a banker since 1978 and is currently with Jefferson Bank. He is the new Board Chairman for the South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
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Barry Bridges
Bachelor’s, Business Administration, 2008
Barry is a manager of Organizational Change Management at UT Health San Antonio.
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Sara Dibrell
Bachelor’s, Biochemistry, 2018
Sara is attending California Institute of Technology to earn her Ph.D. in Chemistry.
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Jason Nemons
Bachelor’s, Interdisciplinary Studies, 2011
Jason is a teacher/coach at Groesbeck High School. He recently completed his master’s degree in Higher Education Administration.
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Brett Seybold
Master’s of Business Administration, 2009
Brett currently serves as Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Treasurer for USAA
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Lori Houston
Master’s in Public Administration, 2003
Lori is the Assistant City Manager for the City of San Antonio.
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Farnam & Tris Jahanian
Farnam: B.S. in Computer Science, Math and Systems, 1982; Tris: B.A. in Computer Science, 1982
In 2018, Farnam was named the president of Carnegie Mellon. Tris holds a patent for algorithms allowing banks to talk to one another.
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Mahdy Saedy
Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, 2012
Mahdy is a vice president at JP Morgan Chase, driving organizational modernization and adoption of new methodologies and technologies as well as cultural shifts across the firm. This initiative is meant to transform the way JP Morgan delivers digital products and services.
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Mohammed A. Alabdani
Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, 2013
Mohammed is currently a project manager.
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Colleen McReynolds Swain
M.P.A. in Finance, 2004
Colleen is the director of the World Heritage Office for the City of San Antonio.
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Brandon Petrosky
B.B.A. in Accounting, 2008
Brandon is the Chief Financial Officer for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
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Alex Alcala
B.S. in Kinesiology, 2017; M.S. in Business, 2018
Alex is currently an educator in Denver, CO.
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Melissa Vela-Williamson
M.A. in Communication, 2009
Melissa is the Chief Communication Architect and Owner of MVW Communications
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Grant M. Gaines
Bachelor’s of Marketing, 2005
Grant is a partner with Patel/Gaines, PLLC Attorneys at Law.
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Thomas Marks
B.A. in Political Science, 2003
Thomas is currently a Government Affairs Specialist at the DeBerry Group.
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Laura Villarreal
B.A. in Communication, 2008; M.A. in Communication, 2014
Laura has been working as the Development Director at the World Affairs Council of San Antonio since May 2018.
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Felix J. Ziga, Jr.
B.S. in Architecture, 2010; Master of Architecture, 2012; Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation
Felix is currently a partner/owner of Ziga Architecture Studio, Oak Ridge Custom Homes and Ziga Investment Group.
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Ceasar Zepeda
B.B.A, 2003
Ceasar owns two popular San Antonio restaurants: Sangria on the Burg and Ceviche Ceviche.
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Jessica D. Beemer
B.A. Political Science/International Studies, 2008; Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership
Jessica serves as chief of staff to Houston City Councilman Dave Martin and was instrumental during Hurricane Harvey.
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A.J. Rodriguez
B.B.A., 1998; M.B.A., 2000
A.J. serves as vice president of external affairs for Zachary Group and is also an artist.
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William Curtis
B.B.A in Real Estate Finance & Development, 2013
William is a Leasing Manager with Tech Port SA.
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Brian Woods
Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2012
Since 2012, Brian has served as superintendent of Northside Independent School District, one of Texas’ largest school districts.
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Wayne Gonzales, AAP, CAMS, CFE, CFI, CCII
B.A. in Criminal Justice, 2011
Wayne serves as vice president of risk management and compliance for Payment Data Systems Inc.
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Kelly Nash
Ph.D. in Physics, 2009
One of very few African American women in the nation to hold a Ph.D. in physics, Kelly is making strides as a UTSA associate professor.
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Ryan Quinn
B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship, 2015
Ryan serves as CEO of Simmo3D, a 3D printing company that creates affordable organ models for the biomed industry.
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Dan Karam
B.B.A in Information Systems, 1997; M.S. in Information Technology, 2001
Dan serves as chief information officer at MUY! Companies. He also met his wife at UTSA.
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Caitlin Krobot
M.P.A, 2014
Caitlin is a special projects manager for the City of San Antonio.
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Curtis Wilkins
B.A. in Communication, 2011; M.Ed. in Educational Leadership – Higher Education, 2013
Curtis, an author and mentor, is one of UTSA’s Houston-based undergraduate admissions counselors.
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Lillian L. Cano Fernandez
B.A. in Spanish, 2005; M.A. in Spanish, 2008
Lillian, a UTSA Ph.D. student, is a lecturer for Spanish III in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.
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Alan Holt
B.A. in Electronic Communication, 2006
Alan is a broadcast meteorologist for KIII-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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Dr. Lindsay Fuller
Ph.D. in Physics, 2017
Lindsay, an astrophysicist, is completing a post-doc at UTSA and is obsessed with the great beyond.
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Chris Anderson
M.P.A., 2011
With a heart for public service, Chris is the business process manager for the City of San Antonio’s Aviation Department.
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Burcu Ozsoy
Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering, 2010
Burcu is the director of the Polar Research Center at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and a faculty member of ITU Maritime.
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Ying Li & Yeng Yang
Ph.D.s in Culture, Literacy and Language, 2016
Yeng was a first-generation college student and the first Hmong American to graduate with a Ph.D. from UTSA. He is a lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and a career advisor at Cal State Monterey Bay. Ying, an assistant professor, teaches Chinese to U.S. military students and personnel at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA.
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Benoit Lecomte
Bachelors of Business, 1995
Benoit is an accomplished swimmer who is planning a swim from Japan to California. He swam the Atlantic in 1998 and hopes to raise awareness of ocean pollution.
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Federico Balbi
B.S. in Computer Science 2000; M.S. in Computer Science 2003; M.S. in Management of Technology, 2007
Federico is a software engineer in the UTSA Office of Information Technology. In his spare time, he maintains the Conversation Exchange.
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