Additionally, Joel “Jerry” Porras is new appointee for District 7.
01-31-2023
SAN ANTONIO — The Port San Antonio Board of Directors has selected its newest slate of officers.
The Board is comprised of 11 members appointed by each City of San Antonio councilmember, including the Mayor. They serve on a voluntary basis and provide extensive private- and public-sector expertise as the Port advances its mission.
The Port and the more than 80 private- and public-sector employers on the campus are driving the region's economic growth by providing strategic operational spaces and connecting with global sectors. Advanced industries that include aerospace, cybersecurity, defense, applied technology and advanced manufacturing are rapidly expanding at the Port as they create and deploy innovations that have applications worldwide. Today, the Port is home to over 16,000 workers from across San Antonio and has a regional economic impact in excess of $5.6 billion annually.
Officers are elected to serve two-year terms.
Margaret Wilson-Anaglia is the new Board Chair.
A member of the Board of Directors since 2018, she is appointed by San Antonio City Council District 2. She previously served as Board Secretary from 2020 to 2022.
An SA native with deep community roots, Wilson-Anaglia is the first African-American woman Port Board Chair. She's a seasoned entrepreneur and small business advocate with 30-plus years honing her acumen.
She currently works to empower entrepreneurship in SA as Director of LiftFund’s Women’s Business Center. She’s also founder of Al's Gourmet Nuts—a food products firm she launched in 2000. She’s held past leadership roles in the City’s Economic Development Department and Travelers Insurance.
Wilson-Anaglia’s past board service includes Trinity University’s Venture Mentorship program, Bexar County’s SMWBE Advisory Committee, Brooks Development Authority Board and Pearl Farmers Market Board.
Among her distinctions, she was keynote at the Governor’s 2018 Small Business Forum and recipient of the 20x20 ACCION Texas Award, the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Entrepreneurial Spirit Award for Innovation, and SABJ’s 2007 Women’s Leadership / Family Business Award.
"My fellow officers and I are honored to have earned the confidence of our colleagues and look forward to continuing our work during this transformative period in our history," said Wilson-Anaglia. "This is an exciting time for our organization as we keep advancing our mission to create generational changing opportunities for people across our entire community: opportunities in careers, in education and in entrepreneurship."
Alberto "Beto" Altamirano is the new Vice Chair.
A member of the Board of Directors since 2021, he is appointed by San Antonio City Council District 1.
Altamirano is the CEO & Co-founder of Irys, a company building AI-driven tools that engage communities to bring real-time visibility and data analytics to urban stakeholders. Altamirano's interest in public policy has led him to work at the Texas House of Representatives, United States Senate, White House - United States Trade Representative, and the Alamo Area MPO.
Altamirano’s involvement in public policy was recognized by the Aspen Institute Latinos & Society and the Center for Urban Innovation, where he served as a scholar, co-authoring reports highlighting the Millennial civic potential. He is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur list maker, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and an American Express-Ashoka Emerging Innovator.
In 2022, he was appointed as a Member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Task Force on Digitalization in Energy, representing the United States.
Altamirano holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master's in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he served as a U.S Latino Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Center for Public Leadership and as a Cheng Fellow at the Harvard Social Innovation and Change Initiative Center.
Bill Mock has assumed the role of Board Secretary. He previously served as Board Treasurer from 2018 to 2022.
He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2016 and is appointed by the San Antonio City Council District 9.
Mock has held key leadership positions over a career spanning the military and public sectors.
In 2015, he retired from the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. During his 21-year tenure with the organization, he held the positions of Executive Vice President, Director of Military Affairs, Vice President of Small Business/Area Business Councils, Vice President of Economic Development and Vice President of Membership. He led important civic and business initiatives on behalf of the chamber, including the creation of BioMed SA and Pathways to a Great City. He also played a key role in efforts that brought the 24th Air Force to San Antonio.
Prior to his career with the Chamber, Mock served in the U.S. Air Force for 30 years, retiring with the rank of Colonel. Following retirement, he maintained organizational ties with the Department of Defense, including a four-year tour as the Honorary Commander of the 67th Cyber Wing and a four-year tour with the Air Force Space Command's Commanders Advisory Group at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado — parent command of the 24th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
Mock also served as a member of the Air Combat Command Commanders Advisory Group at Langley Air Force Base — parent command of the 16th Air Force, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland — and as Honorary Commander of the 25th Air Force at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
Minnie Abrego-Sanchez is the new Board Treasurer.
A member of the Board of Directors since 2019, she is appointed by San Antonio City Council District 10.
Following a career in education spanning nearly 30 years as a teacher and administrator with the Edgewood and San Antonio independent school districts, Abrego-Sanchez joined the staff at the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel — part of the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD).
She subsequently served as community outreach director and district director for Texas State Senators Leticia Van de Putte and Jose Menendez. Currently, Abrego-Sanchez is an associate consultant for Andrade-Van de Putte and Associates.
She also volunteers extensively for her community, including as past president of the Bexar County Democratic Women, San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame and the Mexican-American Business and Professional Women's Club — the latter where she established the first local and statewide leadership program for professional Texas women.
Abrego-Sanchez holds an undergraduate degree in education from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and a Master's degree in educational administration from Trinity University.
Additionally, the Board welcomes Joel "Jerry" Porras as its newest member, appointed by San Antonio City Council District 7.
For more than 30 years, Porras has been an educator in the San Antonio community and is currently a music teacher for the Somerset ISD, where he is the director for the junior high school mariachi band.
He is also a Realtor specializing in residential properties.
Porras holds an undergraduate degree in music education from Texas A&M-Kingsville and a Masters of Business Administration from Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU).
"We're very proud to have Jerry join our team," said Wilson-Anaglia. "From his dedication to empowering our youth as an educator to helping many area families achieve the American dream of home ownership, he brings broad experience that will be an important part of our Board's ongoing work to grow the Port as a place where people are building their futures."
"I'm tremendously grateful for the opportunity to join such a prestigious Board," said Porras. "I've been very impressed with the Port's trajectory in recent years and how it has become a huge economic engine for our region and an example for the nation. I'm excited to do my part and work alongside my Board colleagues to make great things happen for our community in the years ahead."