Centro San Antonio is honored to announce that Trish DeBerry, Founder and CEO of TD Strategies, LLC has been appointed by the Centro Board of Directors as interim Board Chair. DeBerry had previously served as Board Chair of the organization from 2018-2019 and will serve for the remainder of the 2023 term. Her appointment follows the tragic and untimely passing of Centro Board Chair Rene Garcia only two weeks ago.
“Rene had a transformational impact on Centro and the city of San Antonio,” said Trish DeBerry. “We will always remember his kindness, generosity, and humility. In that spirit, we strive to honor his life through our work. I am looking forward to collaborating with the Centro board and team to help fulfill Rene’s vision of creating a thriving, welcoming, and beautiful downtown for all.”
DeBerry went to on to praise Garcia for his work of late on the city’s Westside via his transformational work on the Scobey Compex – a now defunct six-story storage facility reimagined as a mixed-use retail and residential development. “Rene and his business partner Julissa Carielo built an incredible development company aptly named, DreamOn. Both were unafraid to dream big and look for game changing opportunities to impact the poorest area in San Antonio”, said DeBerry. “Centro looks forward to working with Julissa to bring that project to fruition.”
DeBerry brings over 30 Years of experience in public affairs, public relations, public outreach, crisis management, event management, government affairs, media relations, and digital communications. As a Centro Board Member, DeBerry helped shepherd three transformational downtown projects to voter approval as part of the 2017 City Bond. As Chair, she oversaw Centro’s implementation, guidance, and community involvement as the projects broke ground and reached completion.
“Trish has always been a tireless leader and avid ally for the organization,” said Matt Brown, CEO of Centro. “We are excited to welcome her back as Board Chair and look forward to her leadership expanding upon our work downtown.”
Her return as Centro Board Chair coincides with another period of accelerated growth downtown, exemplified by the passage of the 2022 Bond Program, catalytic projects like the UTSA Downtown Campus, San Pedro Creek, and Alamo Plaza, as well as by the increase in residential units in the core.
Considering this momentum, DeBerry extended an invitation to the entire community to attend Centro’s upcoming “State of Downtown,” on Tuesday, May 16th at The Espee, during which the Downtown Tomorrow Strategy, representing years of work and countless collaborations, will be unveiled.
“This strategy sets an ambitious vision for our Center City, with concrete action and built-in community participation,” she said. “This work also represents Rene’s leadership in kicking off the planning. It’s an amazing way to meaningfully honor his memory.”
