Debra Guerrero has spent almost thirty years in the rooms where San Antonio's biggest decisions get made, first as the only woman on City Council in 1997, then on the SAISD Board during one of the district's most difficult stretches, and now as a senior leader at The NRP Group, where she's helped build tens of thousands of housing units across Texas.

In this episode, Debra traces her path from a childhood on the southeast side, where her father worked at Kelly Air Force Base and her mother ran a neighborhood beauty salon, through an early start in campaign politics at age 14, a Planning Commission appointment that introduced her to the developers shaping the city, and into a career built around one core idea: that housing is as essential as water and electricity. She talks candidly about her four years on City Council, her decision to help turn around a struggling school district, and why she believes San Antonio still hasn't fully learned to celebrate its own wins.

• (00:30) Welcome and Introduction
• (03:01) Growing Up on the Southeast Side: Family, Faith, and a Neighborhood Salon
• (07:12) Getting Political at 14: Campaigns, the Hatch Act, and Finding Her Path
• (14:59) The Planning Commission Appointment That Changed Everything
• (24:02) From City Council to the SAISD Board: Nearly a Decade Shaping Schools
• (32:33) Four Years at City Hall: Being the Only Woman in the Room
• (44:30) Joining The NRP Group and the Legacy of Dan Markson
• (55:51) The State of Affordable Housing in San Antonio and Texas
• (01:03:04) Advice for Young Women in Leadership, Plus Rapid Fire Questions

• The NRP Group: https://nrpgroup.com
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com
• SAISD: https://www.saisd.net

Podcast Production Services by EveryWord Media - https://everyword.media

Melissa Robinson didn't set out to run Hemisfair. She started as a board member who took a chance meeting at a Christmas party seriously, then spent years learning the project from the inside before stepping into the CEO seat as only the second person to ever hold it.

In this episode, Melissa traces her path from a childhood spent bouncing between five states, through construction finance, a layoff that redirected her career, and a leap into development on her own, all the way to leading one of San Antonio's most consequential public spaces.

She breaks down what the 90-acre Hemisfair district actually includes, why the parks anchor the development rather than the other way around, and what's still left to build as the surrounding sports and entertainment district takes shape.

• (00:00) Cold Open
• (00:31) Welcome and Introduction
• (02:00) Melissa's Winding Path: Five States, Two Countries, One Twin Sister
• (13:47) From Construction Finance to Real Estate Development
• (28:44) The Leap: Leaving a Steady Career to Build Her Own Path
• (31:41) Becoming Hemisfair's Second-Ever CEO
• (35:23) The Story of Hemisfair: Three Generations of the Same Land
• (39:22) Inside the 90-Acre District and the Sports and Entertainment Conversations
• (43:41) Where Downtown San Antonio Is Headed in the Next 5-10 Years
• (49:36) Rapid Fire Questions

• Hemisfair: https://hemisfair.org
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com

• Port San Antonio: https://www.portsanantonio.us
• https://vimeo.com/1204624708/67c9b99b89?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Podcast Production Services by EveryWord Media

Hope Andrade has been a bus girl, a tortilla factory worker, an IBM word processor, a healthcare entrepreneur, a TxDOT commissioner, and Texas' first Latina and longest-serving Secretary of State. Now she's leading the Alamo Trust as President and CEO, overseeing the $700 million restoration set to open in 2028.

In this episode, Hope talks about growing up in San Antonio, learning she was adopted in her 40s, building a business empire out of a childcare need in the 1970s, getting talked into a career in state government, and what's coming next for the Alamo, including a 160,000 square foot event center and a film produced by Taylor Sheridan.

Episode Chapters

• (00:00) - Cold Open
• (00:18) - Welcome and Introduction
• (01:33) - Growing Up in San Antonio and Being Adopted
• (07:52) - Finding Mentors and Learning by Watching
• (19:39) - Getting Into Politics Through Business
• (21:41) - Starting a Business as a Woman in 1979
• (28:05) - From IBM to Building a Home Care Empire
• (33:27) - TxDOT, Secretary of State, and Bringing Jobs to Texas
• (44:57) - Leading the Alamo Trust's $700 Million Restoration
• (1:03:47) - Rapid Fire Questions

Links and Resources

• The Alamo: https://www.thealamo.org
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com/
• Port San Antonio: https://www.portsanantonio.us

Sponsored Links

• Port San Antonio: https://www.portsanantonio.us
• https://vimeo.com/1204624708/67c9b99b89?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Podcast Production Services by EveryWord Media