Advisory Council Bios

Veronica Vargas Stidvent, Chair

President, CEA Consulting, LLC; Lecturer, McCombs School of Business

A longtime leader in state and national education policy, Veronica “Ronnye” Vargas Stidvent is the President of CEA Consulting, LLC and a lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. Most recently, she was Chancellor of WGU Texas. She has also served as the Head of Education and Training at Dimensional Fund Advisors and as Program Director for the University of Texas Hispanic Leadership Initiative and Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders at the McCombs School of Business. In addition, Ronnye was the inaugural Director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.

From 2004 to 2007, she was the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she provided advice and counsel to the Secretary of Labor on issues including immigration reform, worker health and safety, and job training. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Secretary, Stidvent served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Policy. She has held a number of positions for the University of Texas alumni association, including at-large representative to the Texas Exes Council, chair of the Hispanic Alumni Steering Committee, and member of the Board of Directors for the Texas Exes Scholarship Foundation.

Stidvent is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Indiana University School of Public Affairs. In 2009, she was appointed to a six-year term on the Texas Commission on Human Rights. Stidvent was honored by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers as a Latina Role Model. A native of El Paso, Texas, Ronnye received her B.A from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Yale.

The Honorable Henry Bonilla

Henry Bonilla was born in a housing project in a Hispanic community in San Antonio, TX. Three of his four grandparents were immigrants from Mexico. In spite of these challenges, Henry worked hard in school and eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.

Before becoming a member of the U. S. Congress, Henry had a successful career in television news. At his peak, he was in charge of the 11 p.m. newscast for WABC-TV in New York City, the flagship station for the ABC television network. After 15 years in broadcasting, Henry ran for Congress and was elected to his first term in 1992.

As a member of Congress, Henry rose to become one of the most influential political figures of his time. In his first term, TIME magazine featured him as one of America’s Top 50 Up and Coming Young Leaders. Later he was ranked as the 7th most influential member of Congress by Congress.org. He also co-chaired two Republican National Conventions. He worked closely with the top political leaders in Washington, including Presidents. Henry’s last day in Congress was in 2007. He is now a Partner with The Normandy Group, a Washington based government relations firm. He is married to Sheryl Bonilla and has two children, Alicia and Austin.

Henry G. Cisneros

Executive Chairman, CityView

Henry Cisneros is Executive Chairman of the CityView companies, which work with the nation’s leading homebuilders to create homes priced within the range of average families. Before his work at CityView companies, Mr. Cisneros was president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications, where he continues to serve on the company’s board of directors. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Cisneros served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet, Secretary Cisneros revitalized many of the nation’s public housing developments and formulated policies that contributed to achieving the nation’s highest homeownership rate. Prior to his service at HUD, Mr. Cisneros served four terms as mayor of San Antonio, Texas, from 1981 to 1989, where he was the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city. City and State Magazine selected him as the “Outstanding Mayor” in the nation in 1986, and The American Mayor ranked him as one of the fifteen best mayors during the twentieth century. Mr. Cisneros also served three terms as a San Antonio City Council Member.

He has served as President of the National League of Cities, as Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and as National Chairman of the After-School All-Stars. He is Chairman of BioMed S.A., an effort to accelerate the San Antonio’s healthcare and biosciences sector, and he is currently a member of the advisory boards of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation.

Mr. Cisneros holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University. Mr. Cisneros is married to Mary Alice P. Cisneros. They have three children and four grandchildren.

David B. Garcia, PhD

Founder and Former CEO, CEDRA Corporation and CEDRA Clinical Research

Garcia is the founder (1990) and former CEO of CEDRA Corporation and CEDRA Clinical Research, LLC, both headquartered in Austin, Texas. He also founded the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium in November 2004 to provide scholarship opportunities for the growing number of Hispanic high school graduates in Central Texas. As chairman, he has committed to this task by ensuring that adequate educational and financial resources are available to Central Texas Hispanic youth. Garcia, a community leader and philanthropist, is passionate about education. As a result of his passion, he has invested in the future of many students by establishing opportunities for future leaders and mentors through endowments at the University of Texas and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.

At The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, he established the Jaime N. Delgado Endowed Presidential Scholarship and the Jaime N. Delgado Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry. At St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, he established the James T. Mason Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Chemistry.

Garcia has lent his educational and professional expertise to various boards and commissions—as a member of The University of Texas at Austin Commission of 125, chairman/member of the University of Texas Pharmaceutical Foundation Advisory Council and chairman of the Capital Campaign for the College of Pharmacy and Adjunct Professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

Jim Henson, PhD

Director, Texas Politics Project

Jim Henson directs the Texas Politics Project and teaches in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also directs the Department of Government Internship Program and is associate director of the College of Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services unit. He co-directs the University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll, the only regular public statewide poll in Texas, and has written frequently about Texas and national politics for The Texas Tribune since its inception in 2009. He helped design public interest multimedia for the Benton Foundation in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s and has written about politics in general-interest and academic publications. He lives in Austin, where he served from 2009-2012 on the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission, including a term as chairman, and is a current member of the Travis County Elections Study Group. He received a Ph.D from UT-Austin in 1996.

Israel Hernandez, Jr.

Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce

Israel Hernandez recently served as Senior Advisor to Wilbur Ross, then Acting Under Secretary of International Trade with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Hernandez has worked in the tech industry, including his work with the Head of Communications and Marketing with Afero, and Senior Corporate Communications at Facebook, the worlds largest online social network with over 1.3 billion people connected on the platform. Israel focus was on International Communications at Facebook.

Prior to Facebook, Israel was at TPG Capital, a private equity firm with over $50 billion in assets based in San Francisco serving as Chief of Staff for the founding Partner. Before his time with TPG, Israel was a Director at Brunswick, an international communications and public affairs firm.

Israel has also held a number of appointed positions in the Federal government, including serving in the White House as a Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, and at the Department of Commerce as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Israel holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in public policy from the Bush School of Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Kenneth M. Jastrow, II

Kenneth M. Jastrow, II served as Chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland Inc., an Austin-based Fortune 500 company with interests in paper, forest products, real estate, and financial services from 2000-2007. Jastrow worked at Temple-Inland for over 27 years. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer in 1998 and 1999, Group Vice President from 1995 - 1998, and Chief Financial Officer from November 1991 until 1998.

Jastrow is Non-Executive Chairman of Forestar Group, Inc., and serves as a Director of KB Home, MGIC Investment Corporation and Genesis Energy, LP. He is past Chairman of Texas Taxpayers Research Association and Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. In 2007 he was awarded the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal presented by the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. In addition, he received the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association Distinguished Service Award and Boy Scouts of America (Midland, Texas) Distinguished Citizen Award.

At the University of Texas, Jastrow served as Chairman of the following: Development Board, Advisory Council of the McCombs School of Business, and Neighborhood Longhorns. Jastrow also served as Chair of the Commission of 125. Currently, Jastrow is Chairman of UT’s Capital Campaign. In 2004 Jastrow was named a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas, and he was inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame in 2003. Kenny Jastrow is the founder of Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders.

Wolfgang Niedert

Managing Partner, Duke Capital Management

Wolfgang is originally from Chicago, IL, with his maternal family, Farias, hailing from the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Wolfgang and his wife Julie have been in Austin for nearly 20 years. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1998 with a B.A. in Government/Economics and a minor in Spanish, including a semester at La Universidad de Salamanca, Espana. He went on to complete UT’s Certified Financial Planner program in 2005.

Duke Capital Management primarily operates in the Security Brokers and Dealers business industry within the Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services sector. This organization has been operating for approximately 7 years. He also spent several years as a financial planner with American Express, Ameriprise Financial, and as an independent advisor specializing in wealth management, estate planning, and corporate retirement plans. Wolfgang serves on the board of a number of private companies in both Texas and Illinois.

Wolfgang’s philanthropic involvement includes: the UT System Chancellor’s Council; Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education; numerous councils and societies for UT Austin, such as the 1883 Council, Advisory Councils for the School of Information, the Ransom Center for the Humanities, Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders, UT’s Book Press, 40 Acres Scholarship Society, Littlefield Society, President’s Associates, Texas Leadership Society; Texas Exes Council, Hispanic Alumni Network, UT Advocates for Higher Education, and Public Affairs Committee; Board of Trustees for the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts; Director’s Council for Blanton Museum of Art and Butler School of Music; Texas Book Festival; Committee Chair of the 2014 Menuhin Violin Competition; Next Generation Project Texas/American Assembly; and Hispanic Voter Network of Texas.

Raymund A. Paredes, PhD

Commissioner of Higher Education, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

Raymund A. Paredes is the Commissioner of Higher Education at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Prior to joining to the Coordinating Board in July 2004, Dr. Paredes was Vice President for Programs at the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) where he was responsible for scholarship and outreach programs. Before joining HSF, he was Director of Creativity & Culture at The Rockefeller Foundation from 2001 - 2003.

Before joining The Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Paredes was Vice Chancellor of Academic Development for ten years at UCLA, where he had also been a professor of English since 1971. In addition, he served as special assistant to the President of the University of California system from 1998-2000 on outreach efforts intended to improve access to higher education for students from educationally disadvantaged communities.

Dr. Paredes has completed terms as a trustee of The College Board and on the Board of Directors of the Texas Cultural Trust. He was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Education Commission of the States and also serves on their Advisory Committee for Developmental Studies. He is President of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Nationwide Hispanic Advisory Council, a member of the NAEP High School Achievement Commission and was named one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics of 2007.

Geronimo M. Rodriguez, Jr.,

Vice President of Advocacy and External Affairs - Seton Healthcare Family

Geronimo M. Rodriguez Jr. currently serves as Vice President of Advocacy and External Affairs with Seton Healthcare Family in Austin, Texas. He joined the Seton Family in June 2006 to help expand efforts across the healthcare system in the areas of diversity, inclusion, cultural competence, federal contract compliance, workforce development and civic engagement. Mr. Rodriguez has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at both the LBJ School of Public Affairs and St. Edward’s University. He has over twenty three years of public service experience advising federal, state and local elected officials and helping manage presidential, gubernatorial, and attorney general campaigns. Mr. Rodriguez also served in the White House Office of Congressional Affairs, as well as served as Deputy Associate Director and later Acting Associate Director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel where he was responsible for recommending a third of the President’s senior level appointments. He was also responsible for advising senior White House staff on appointments affecting the Hispanic community.

In January 2014, he received the Education Service Award from the San Juan Diego Catholic High School for his support of placing work study students at Seton Healthcare Family. In March 2007, he received the Austin Under 40 Award for Government/Political Affairs. He was named a 2006 and 2005 Rising Star by Texas Monthly. In 2001, he received the St. Edward’s University Alumni Achievement Award.

Mr. Rodriguez, a native of Alamo, Texas, graduated from St. Edward’s University with a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, and served as student body president. Mr. Rodriguez also attended the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

Deanna Rodriguez

Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs, Entergy Texas Inc.

Deanna has served in her current role at Entergy since June 2012. She is charged with building and enhancing relationships with government officials throughout the state.

Rodriguez has held various roles throughout Entergy during the past 20 years. Most notable was her role as the director of external affairs where she coordinated a corporate-wide team seeing post-Katrina funding which resulted in more the $200 million in community development block grant funding for Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Orleans operating companies. During her time as the vice president for corporate contributions, Rodriguez oversaw Entergy’s social responsibility and philanthropic efforts while managing $11 million in corporate and foundation contributions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

She previously held positions as the associate vice chancellor of community relations for the University of Texas System and minority affairs liaison for the State Bar of Texas. In 2015, Rodriguez’s profile was selected as a Corporate Executive of the Year in Latina Magazine. She currently serves on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Advisory Council and the Board of the Association of Women in Energy. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in government, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Raul Romero

President and CEO of Alliance Consulting Group, LLC

Raul R. Romero is President and CEO of Alliance Consulting Group, LLC with offices in Washington DC and Irvine, California. The firm is an Infrastructure Marketing, Development and Strategy Consulting group dedicated to helping engineering and construction companies formulate strategies and create opportunities in the public and private sectors. The firm’s core competencies include capture management and development of major infrastructure projects both domestically and internationally and has handled over $16 billion in project marketing/development in the last 4 years.

Romero is a founding partner of the Washington Nationals baseball team, is currently Chairman of the Board of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) and a former Regent of the University of Texas System.

Prior to his current position, Romero headed S&B Infrastructure, Ltd. based in Texas. The S&B group is the nation’s third largest privately-owned engineering and construction firm and Texas’ largest with revenues approaching half a billion dollars. In his capacity as CEO he controlled both operations and business development functions.

He led S&B Infrastructure, Ltd. for a period of 12 years and transformed a small local infrastructure group into a nationally recognized firm with projects exceeding 1.5 billion in Total Installed Cost (TIC). Projects included engineering, procurement and construction management of public and private infrastructure, including transportation, water, wastewater, telecommunications, energy, and emerging technologies including the renewable energy market.

Laura D. Sanchez

Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Laura is a Private Wealth Advisor. She serves on the West Coast Operating Committee and is also a member of the Private Wealth Management Leadership Council. Laura joined Goldman Sachs in 1994. She was named Managing Director in 2007. Prior to joining the firm, Laura worked at Procter and Gamble. Laura serves on the advisory board of the Stanford Women’s Initiative Network and Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders at the University of Texas at Austin. She previously served on the boards of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Management, the Stanford Business School Alumni Association, GirlVentures, the San Francisco YMCA Association, and the Okizu Foundation. Laura earned a BBA in Marketing and the Business Honors Program from the University of Texas in 1989 and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1994. She lives in San Francisco with her sons, Mateo and Gabriel.