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

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