Melissa Gutierrez- Matos serves as the Compliance Chief of Staff at a Fortune 100 company and is responsible for overseeing board governance, business operations and complex business initiatives, and has held various roles in the financial services industry for over 24 years. As a product of the Edgewood School District and first-generation college graduate, she recognizes the importance of serving our community by empowering and guiding others to pursue their passion.

Lily Garcia is a graduate from UTSA with her Bachelor's in International Business. She recently graduated from The Latina Leadership Institute, a program within the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where she gained knowledge on serving on boards and commissions. Lily is the Marketing Director for #IhaveaCPAguy (Robert Garcia CPA, PLLC) where alongside husband Robert Garcia CPA, they work to help educate, bring awareness to existing resources and provide mentorship to our Micro and Small Business community. In addition, she is a mom to three boys ages 8, 7, & 5. She loves creating theme birthdays and Halloween costumes for the family and enjoys listening to 90's hip hop music.

Stephanie Martinez, CPA has over a decade years of public accounting experience, dedicating her time with high net worth individuals, family groups, and privately-owned businesses. Stephanie  also focuses on working with real estate, medical practitioners, and non-profit organizations.  Stephanie provides planning and consulting so her clients maximize their value.

Stephanie graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with a BBA in Accounting and minor in Economics. She is originally from San Antonio and has family in Houston. Stephanie enjoys traveling and spending time with family.

Liz is the Education Liaison for Urban Strategies Inc. and is responsible for supporting the implementation of education strategies under the Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives (CNI) federal grant, with an emphasis on a cradle to career continuum of solutions for children and youth in the project service area. Liz develops strong working relationships with neighborhood schools and education partners to provide solutions to address needs around academic achievement and supports families in their efforts to educate children in the home, school and community.

Originally from Los Angeles, California, Sunny has lived in San Antonio for the last seven years and works as a College Coordinator of High School Programs at St. Philip's College. Sunny’s passion is educational equity has led her to pursue her Ph.D. at The University of Austin in urban education policy. As a former AmeriCorps, City Year - SA and a Masters from Dartmouth, Sunny is well equipped to serve our BRP Scholars well with direction and support to complete their educational goals.

Connie Washington began her banking career right out of high school and began attending college at night. Through perseverance, she earned her Associates in Banking, Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Human Resources. Through the years as a mortgage lender and senior banker, Connie has helped her clients achieve homeownership and ensured small businesses had what they needed to thrive.

Her passion for giving back keeps her busy volunteering in her community as she looks forward to mentoring young girls and women through BRP.

April is an author, speaker, radio personality at KLMO 98.9 FM, and community advocate based in San Antonio, Texas. She is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Live FromThe Southside Magazine, the first Latina-owned publication in Southside San Antonio. She is also a mentor in the City of San Antonio and Alamo Colleges Business Protege Program.

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April’s impressive achievements have earned her recognition as an influential Latina in San Antonio by KSAT12 News. Her publication, Live from the Southside, has partnered with KSAT12 and the local TV show SA Live to elevate community voices and news coverage of her Southside community. She was also honored by the 87th Texas Legislature for her achievements as a civic leader and community advocate.

Michelle can best be described as a cheerleader for all women. She uses her platform to champion for women through conferences, workshops, her digital publication and group coaching. Michelle’s passion for creating change is obvious to all around her. Her winning attitude and stand-out personality command a response. She is a natural-born entrepreneur with her first business being a newspaper girl at the age of 12. She is a Marketing Executive by training, an author, sought after Keynote speaker, Founder of She Is International, Editor-in-chief of She Is Magazine, a Certified Transformation Coach, an Ambassador for Brown Brown Skin Brunchin’; an international social group, founded in 2018 around a simple idea - brunch and a CASA Advocate.

Salena has over a decade of experience working in M&A, succession planning, business strategy and development for financial firms across the country.  Years of working in the male-dominated financial sector drove Salena to create and develop The Boardroom Project (BRP). Her ability to forge prosperous strategic partnerships in the non-profit and corporate world is her real forte, a skill-set she hopes to share with other future female leaders throughout the country. Since inception in 2018, Salena has been dedicated to the BRP's mission of developing future board leaders, one girl/woman at a time. Under Salena's leadership, BRP has grown to Dallas, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, and can be felt as far away as Kenya, Africa. 

Now accepting applications for our 2023 Board Scholar.