Center for Community and Business Research

Anna Borrego joined the San Antonio Small Business Development Center in 2007.

Anna is the Stakeholder Communications Coordinator and is responsible for analyzing, compiling, and reporting economic impacts of SBDC services. She also communicates SBDC clients' successes to various stakeholder groups.  She has over 14 years of extensive customer service experience.  

Anna earned a BBA in Marketing from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.   She also holds the Certified Administrative Professional designation.

Andrew Denzer is a Project Manager with the Rural Business Program.

Andrew recently served the Institute's economic development efforts as a Senior Business Development Specialist with the Minority Business Enterprise Center.

Andrew graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Finance.  He has spent several years in restaurant management with Fuddruckers, worked 16 years with GE Capital, and acted as VP of SBA Lending for both PNC Bank and Small Business Loan Source.

Ashley Diaz joined the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center Network, Rural Business Program team in July 2010.

Ashley serves as the Administrative Analyst for the Rural Business Program and is responsible for gathering and analyzing information on a wide range of topics. Ashley is also responsible for developing marketing strategies and working closely with external stakeholders to promote businesses in small communities.

Ashley has been with UTSA since 2003, and joined the Rural Business Program from the Office of the Provost. Ashley holds a BBA from the University of Texas San Antonio in General Business and a minor in Management.  She is originally from Edinburg, Texas.

Mr. Salgado is the Director of the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center Network, which is hosted by UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development. The program serves 79 counties with field offices in San Antonio, Austin/San Marcos, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Edinburg, Eagle Pass, Laredo, Alpine, San Angelo, and El Paso, including two specialty centers in San Antonio.

Mr. Salgado’s professional experience includes small business management and ownership, strategic planning, organizational leadership, and entrepreneurial management. He holds an M.B.A. from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and a B.B.A. from Eastern New Mexico University. Mr. Salgado is married and has two children living in Dallas, Texas. He shares his expertise and experience with numerous professional and trade organizations.

Aaron serves as the Project Manager of the  Contracting Resource Center.  Mr. Sams has over 8 years of government contracting experience including 6 years in the United States Air Force and senior level experience writing contractual instruments for the acquisition of services, construction, and commodities.  He has extensive experience performing market research, soliciting proposals, performing negotiations, and evaluating bids.  Aaron is an excellent communicator with great interpersonal skills for counseling, mentoring, and public-speaking.  He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Education with a specialization in Contracts Management from Wayland Baptist University, a Level II Certified Acquisition Professional in the functional specialty of Contracting, and holds the designation of a Certified Business Advisor.

Ambrose Turkson is a Researcher for the SBDC National Information Clearinghouse. Prior to this position, Ambrose worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 16 years, and he also worked in real estate sales.

Ambrose earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Marketing from California State University in Los Angeles.  He also holds an MBA in Global Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

Ambrose is married with two children, and in his spare time he enjoys traveling, reading and dancing.

Berenice is a Sr. International Business Consultant, at the International Trade Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Management with concentration in International Business from the University of Northern Iowa, and is a Certified Global Business Professional. She joined the International Trade Center in 2005 and has also served as International Market Research Specialist, Interns Coordinator and Client Services Coordinator.

She is a member of the North American Small Business International Trade Educators. She is bilingual and bicultural having worked and lived in both the United States and México.

Ben Garza joined the San Antonio Small Business Development Center in 2007.

As a Business Advisor, Ben provides his clients with confidential, one-on-one advising, specializing in business plans and intellectual property development, strategic/tactical planning, sales and marketing, accounting and finance. 

He has over 15 years of small business ownership & management experience, primarily in consultative business solutions and private investment funding.  In addition, he has more than 20 years technical and management consulting experience, as well as experience in mergers and acquisitions, preparing due diligence packages and validating business models for investor groups.

He holds a BBA in Accounting and an MBA in Finance both from Our Lady of the Lake University.

Ben supports clients located south of San Antonio, in Atascosa, Frio, Medina, and Wilson counties. 

Robert Velasquez has served as the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center director since 1990 and has extensive experience in the area of economic and business development at the federal, state, and local levels.

His experience includes work on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Honorable Henry B. Gonzalez and in the U.S. Senate for the Honorable Lloyd Bentsen. He completed his tenure in Washington, D.C. as the Community Development Director for the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations and moved to Austin to work as the liaison between the OSFR office and the Texas State Legislature.

In 1986, he worked for Texas Governor Mark White as a member of the Office of Economic Development and co-founded the Governor’s Conference on Small Business, which is held annually. He also developed and promoted a statewide forum, the Historically Underutilized Business Roundtables, which brought various state agencies together for the purpose of outreach to the minority business communities throughout the state. He continued his work in economic/business development as the Acting Director of the Small Business Division at the Texas Department of Commerce, as the Procurement Director for the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and as an Associate Director with a non-profit organization funded by AT&T, which was established to provide employee training to AT&T employees.

He has served on various boards and committees as the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center representative. He is serving on the Board of Directors of the American Business Council, Inc., the TAAC trade association. He also is serving on the board of the University Economic Development Association, a national, professional economic development association. He was also on the board of the Aztlan East, Inc., an organization to encourage the matriculation of Mexican American students to East Coast universities and colleges.

Robert received a BA in European Intellectual History from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Urban Studies from Trinity University.

Clara Chavez, has been with the Institute for Economic Development for over 11 years working as an Administrative Associate II for the SBDC Contracting Resource Center. Clara handles all financial, budgeting, purchasing and assist with training and all other special projects. She also serves as a receptionist. She was awarded the Innovation Award in 2005 by her peers.

Chris Clark is the Administrative Assistant II with the Center for Community and Business Research. She has been with UTSA for three years and has worked for the Center for Research and Training in Sciences, the Academy for Teacher Excellence, and the Office of Development. Prior to coming to UTSA she was in the insurance business in San Antonio for over 18 years.

Crystal Darby joined the Small Business Development Center in 2011.

As a Business Advisor, Crystal provides her clients with advice on all facets of starting or expanding a business, with expertise in start-ups, business plan development, marketing (including website, social media, and search engine optimization), proposal writing and small business certification.

For the 12 years prior to joining SBDC, Crystal owned a consulting, training and writing business, working primarily with small businesses.  She provided one-on-one coaching and group training on communication-related topics: business networking, business etiquette, business writing, customer service, dealing with difficult people, interpersonal skills, team building and managing change.  Crystal has also worked with people with disabilities to start small businesses.  On a pro-bono basis, sha has acted as an advocate for small business including minority-owned, women-owned and home-based businesses.

Crystal holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of New Orleans.

Chris Delgado joined the San Antonio Small Business Development Center in 2010.

As a Business Advisor, Chris helps clients who want to start a new business or expand an existing business.  His areas of expertise include small business development, loan packaging, investment advising, and business continuation planning.

Before joining the SBDC, Chris was a banker and registered investment representative with over 10 years of experience.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

Carla Gonzalez is the SBDCGlobal.com Site Specialist at the International Trade Center. As the SBDCGlobal.com Site Specialist, Carla overseas the development, maintenance, usage and promotion of the online trade platform, which connects the small business clients of the U.S. and Mexican SBDC networks for bilateral trade opportunities and education. Carla joined the International Trade Center in 2008 and previously served as an International Market Research Specialist. In this position Carla conducted and provided market research for the small and medium-sized businesses of the 79-county South-West Texas Border Region.

Carla holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Business Administration as well as a Master of Arts in International Relations with a concentration in International Development, both from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She was born and raised in San Antonio and is fluent in English and Spanish.

Curtis Mohler serves as a Senior Business Development Counselor at the Contracting Resource Center for the Veterans Assistance and Service Program , providing free business advising services to veteran entrepreneurs.

He is a 20 year U.S. Navy veteran who has served in several management capacities, including NJROTC administrative and budget manager, human resources recruiter, combat communications instructor, warfare coordinator and NCIS direct special agent support.

Previously, Curtis served five years as a defense management consultant and director of business development for the Performance Military Group in support of a Fortune 500 defense contractor. 

In this role, he managed and implemented the Saber-Diamond Business plan, which was targeted to develop, capture and expand new business opportunities, while improving business operations and processes. This resulted in streamlining business costs in support of 20 commercial small businesses encompassing 27 states and over 1000 personnel.

Curtis is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University, where he earned a B.S. in occupational education with a major in management.

Cliff is director of the South-West Texas Border International Trade Center. He leads the center's vision and strategy.

He previously served as a Senior International Trade Specialist where he provided consulting and seminar services for businesses in the Southwest Texas Border Region. He also has experience working with the U.S. Department of Commerce San Antonio Export Assistance Center and the Casa San Antonio in Mexico City where he promoted two-way trade opportunities between the small businesses of Mexico and South Texas.

Cliff is a Certified Global Business Professional.

Christine joined the Center for Community and Business Research as a Business/Economics Research Associate in January 2010. Previously, she has worked for the SBDC National Information Clearinghouse, the University of Texas at San Antonio's Economics Department, and the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. She holds an M.A. in economics from UTSA and a B.A. from Providence College.

Carolyn received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Management from the University of the Redlands in California. She is certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM). She also has a certificate in production and inventory practice from California State University. For the last eight years, Carolyn served as the Director of Business Development for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana (MEPOL). Previous work experience included Materials Manager at Datum, Inc. in Irvine, CA, and as the Production and Inventory Control Manager at Western Financial Printing and Vinyl Company in Santa Fe Springs, CA. She has worked with automotive, medical, and electronics manufacturers.

Her responsibilities at GOSDAA include introducing the new Gulf Oil Spill Disaster Adjustment Assistance Center program to partners, stakeholders, and businesses. She will work directly with the business to access their needs, prepare their grant application, and manage the consulting projects that will generate growth opportunities and stimulate the economic climate in our state.

Since 2004, Carolyn has served on the LSU Louisiana Forest Products Development Center Board (LFPDC). Also, she was on the Louisiana Industrial Development Executive Association (LIDEA), Business Retention and Expansion Committee for the last two years. In 2008, Governor Jindal appointed her to the Workforce Council. In 2006, she received the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana Unsung Hero Award.

David Baenziger joined the San Antonio Small Business Development Center in 2000.

As Counseling Coordinator, David provides guidance and training to the Business Advisors of the SASBDC.  He also presents workshops and training seminars both within the Institute for Economic Development and out in the community.  Topics include business planning, financial management, marketing and Value Based Leadership.  As a Senior Certified Business Advisor, he coaches business owners on sales and customer service strategies for their businesses.  He assists clients starting or expanding a business, as well as preparing business plans and financial projections for loan packages.

David has over 20 years experience as a small business owner in the grocery and convenience store industry.   

David earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southwest Texas State University.

David Clark joined Startech in April 2006 as its Director of Enterprise Services. David is currently Startech’s Director of Investment Services. In this capacity David works directly with both entrepreneurs and potential investors in preparing ventures for possible investment activity – either through private sources or through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. David returned to his native San Antonio after a 15 year hiatus in Washington, DC and the Pacific Northwest. Prior to joining Startech, David had a 25 year professional career in a number senior sales & marketing management positions with such companies as IBM/Tivoli, PeopleSoft, and TRW.

In all David’s positions his responsibilities included not only management of sales and marketing operations, but also strategic and tactical control of new product initiatives, product launches, and marketing logistics. David's broad based sales and marketing background in a variety of markets and products brings real-world experience to the process of launching new ventures based on innovative technologies. David holds a BA and JD from Southern Methodist University and is a graduate of Schertz-Cibolo High School here in the San Antonio area.

In May of 2008 Doug joined the International Trade Center, a center within the Institute for Economic Development, as in-house graphic designer. In the last decade Doug has been the in-house designer for three organizations and runs his own freelance graphic design business, CohenMiller Design, where where he works with non-profits, small businesses and arts organizations.

Before joining the IED team, Doug completed a degree in Culinary Arts at the acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, Atlanta campus. Since then Doug has completed a degree in Graphic Design and holds a certificate in Digital Design from San Antonio College.

Dawn Jimenez has been a Researcher with the SBDCNet since January 2009. Prior to joining the SBDCNet staff, she worked for the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington, NCH Corporation and the Disney Corporation.

Dawn holds a Masters degree in Library Science from the Univeristy of North Texas and a Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in eduation of the Gifted and Talented from the University of Texas at Arlington.

She and her computer science professor husband enjoy traveling within the United States and Europe.

David Lozano is a Senior Business Development Specialist with the MBDA Business Center. David comes to us with more than 30 years of management experience, including running his own businesses N-Home Healthcare Agency, Summerset Rural Health Clinic and Empire Integrated Services. David was a MED Week winner in 2004, received the Award of Excellence from the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2005. and graduated from the 8(a) program allowing the enterprise to grow and prosper. David possesses a first-hand knowledge of the challenges MBEs face today. David graduated from St. Mary’s University with a BBA in Marketing/Accounting and also holds an M.D. from Universidad del Noreste Tampico, Mexico.

Deirdre Pattillo, SPHR, is Project Manager/Human Resource Specialist for the South-West Texas Border SBDC Region's Contracting Resource Center at UTSA.  She has served the SBDC community for over 11 years with the past 4 years being focused on Human Resources and regulatory compliance.  Her goal is to be a key resource for the people side of small business.

Deirdre has worked with the Institute for Economic Development for the past eleven years in various capacities and programs ranging from administrative/research to program development.

Deborah Schueneman has been with the SBDC program since 1991 when she began as a business advisor. Prior to that time, she enjoyed partnership in Celebration Savvy, Inc, a food service business whose success is owed to an unwavering focus on a very targeted market. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, TX and an MBA from UTSA.

 

Deborah assumed the directorship of the SBDC National Information Clearinghouse in June, 2005.

Douglas Smith is the assistant director for the International Trade Center at UTSA's Institute for Economic Development. The center provides international trade consulting to small and medium-size companies in 79 Texas counties. Doug works with San Antonio, San Angelo, and Austin-area clients, including companies in the medical equipment, processed foods, steel, industrial equipment, and information technology industries.

He has been involved in international trade and marketing consulting for more than 25 years, focusing on import and export development, international marketing strategy, international market research, marketing channel management, industry and economic research, and trade finance. His international experience includes numerous projects involving Western Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa.

He holds a B.A. in history from DePauw University, an M.A. in Government and International Relations and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the University of Texas at Austin, and has done additional graduate work in economics at American University. He is a Certified Global Business Professional.

Erica Bishop joined the Startech team in 2006 and serves as the Client Services Analyst. Erica is directly involved with initial client counseling and consulting services. She is responsible for coordinating resources and coaching clients toward optimum mix of assistance to help achieve their goals. Erica is responsible for maintaining financial records of Startech, assisting in the preparation of financial reports, and overseeing the financial affairs of the firm.

Prior to joining Startech, Erica was a marketing financial assistant for MetLife, Farmers, and New York Life Insurance. She has also been involved in various capacities of event planning. Erica has over 7 years experience in human resources, management, administration, and marketing.