Welcome to business of business, San Antonio.

I'm Henry Cisneros.

On this episode, we wanted to take a look at the rising stars of San Antonio business.

For decades, we've known exceptional civic and business leaders in San Antonio, and we've been fortunate to have their leadership.

Now the door is opening to young new leaders taking the reins.

Today we welcome two of these dynamic leaders, Nadege Souvenir and Gina Salcedo Herrera.

Nadege souvenir is CEO of the San Antonio Area Foundation, where she presides over 600 funds and $1.3 billion in assets to close opportunity gaps.

She's a member of Texas and 100 influential professionals and brings deep philanthropic, legal and arts leadership experience, serving on regional and national arts boards and the Council on Foundations board.

Gina Salcedo Herrera is head of corporate impact at USAA, a fortune 93 company where she spearheads initiatives that strengthened military family resilience and foster community development nationwide.

She has strategic oversight of the USAA Foundation, the USAA Educational Foundation, and corporate philanthropy and military advocacy.

Welcome to you both.

Jenna and the dish.

San Antonio's been blessed to have a generation of leaders that made this city what it is.

Names like general McDermott of USAA and HB Zachary and Red McCombs, and Larry Mays and Edith McAlister and Rosemary Kowalski and Lila Cockrell and Henry B Gonzalez and Joe Bernal.

And we've just been blessed.

And the city's now looking to the next generation, looking for the next leaders.

And both of you have distinguished backgrounds.

And also head institutions are in position to truly influence the direction of our city going forward.

Jenna, you are at USAA after having run the greater SAT.

In fact, you rebranded the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation to become greater SAT.

What's your sense of the leadership environment in San Antonio today and frankly, your role in it?

Thank you.

Thank you.

I mean, no pressure, right?

That's a very, very humbling statement.

But I'm sure the two of us both appreciate that very much.

You know, when I think about my role at USAA and think about the almost a decade that I spent serving as the CEO of greater SAT, the artist formerly known as the Economic Development Foundation.

I can't help but think about the transition of leadership in San Antonio and and the names that you mentioned.

You know, I never had the privilege of meeting general McDermott, but as you know, you and he founded what was then known as the Economic Development Foundation.

So these were leaders that created the very organizations that we now have the opportunity to lead and enhance and innovate and take into the future.

And I do believe that while there might not be a small few leaders influencing the trajectory of our city, there are many leaders that are serving in different capacities to include the two of us that can influence in our own respective ways, whether it's through the Area Foundation, through greater SAT, through my role in corporate America today, and I think our opportunities are endless.

If we continue to collaborate and work together on behalf of not just the city of San Antonio, but the residents of San Antonio.

Your job at USAA puts you in contact with the community in much the same ways that you did before, when you were at Greater SAT.

Correct.

It does.

And therefore, you're very much involved in philanthropy and other aspects of building the future.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

So within Corporate impact, which is a relatively new division at USAA, of course, there's corporate philanthropy.

There's our foundations.

We have an operational foundation that, believe it or not, actually white labels products for the Department of War civic engagement, which is what you're referring to, kind of how we show up in our regional campus communities, including San Antonio, where we're proudly headquartered, but also across the country in Phoenix and Tampa.

And then belonging is the other part of that integrated model.

And to your point, you know, here in San Antonio, we will continue to be focused on early childhood education.

We'll continue to be focused on educational attainment in general and workforce development and economic development.

So certainly those relationships that I had during my time at greater SAT will only help catalyze our work at USAA.

Great philanthropy.

The very idea of the San Antonio Area Foundation speaks philanthropy.

It's arguably the largest philanthropic entity we have in the city.

In the days you are the CEO now, two years.

By my calculation, this April is exactly two years indeed from when you started.

What is your general sense of the state of play in San Antonio?

From your the perspective that you've gained in the last two years?

Oh, the state of play.

Well, you know, San Antonio is really a community built on relationships and connections.

One of the things is a new San Antonio and I found is people really look out for each other, and you see that at an individual level, but then you see that at the corporate level, the philanthropic level, you see that in the collaborative and relationships that happen across and at the area.

Foundations.

I'm privileged to sit at the intersection of a lot of those communities.

We work with donors.

We work with the nonprofit partners across the city doing the critical work.

We are the largest regional scholarship program, so we are a part of helping the future generations of San Antonio leaders find their place at the table.

And then ultimately, we work with other leaders like Jenna and USAA and other organizations on the issues that are most important for the city today.

It's a it's a $1.3 billion of assets under management and about $900 million of scholarships that have been put out over time.

Yes.

So it's a major, major force in the community.

And do you find yourself leading in the the contour of other philanthropy in San Antonio, organizing others to maximize your impact, that sort of thing?

What I really appreciate about the philanthropic community in San Antonio is it is super collaborative.

The the leaders get together regularly across our program teams.

Those folks work together.

For example, in the last year in partnership with the United Way, and we launched a campaign called All Hearts on Deck, also supported by Methodist Healthcare Ministries and H.E.

but to help lift up the nonprofit sector because of the challenges that they're going through right now.

And so what I have found is that that community of or that feeling of community or Corazon or, you know, just the way people take care of each other shows up in how we take care of each other professionally, in the philanthropy that we give in the focusing on children, education, housing, workforce development, all of those issues that we find a way to collaborate.

Speaking of of leaders, there's Richard Goldsmith, who recently passed, who is the founder?

He's the first person I ever talked to about the San Antonio Area Foundation.

I was a council member at the time, 1970s, and Richard talked about the tradition of area foundations across the country.

I think Cleveland was the first and that we needed to put that together in San Antonio.

And lo and behold, he did.

And it's grown to something very significant.

You are leaders, but you're also people with backgrounds.

And I want to just kind of get a little bit into your backgrounds.

Jenna, you're from San Antonio, originally grew up on the South Side.

Tell us a little bit about growing up on the south side of San Antonio.

Yeah, so I was born and raised just south of San Antonio and Elmendorf, Texas, on a working ranch.

My parents still live out there today, and that's where I spent a lot of my weekends.

If I if I wasn't on the ball field with my sister and my father, who was always coaching us, we were out there working cattle.

But I went to school at Holy Name on the south side of San Antonio.

And really, that was where all of our, our youth kind of unfolded, right on the streets of Goliad, proudly.

But but I remember it fondly.

I mean, my my parents kept us busy.

We were always in athletics or, you know, had that steady rhythm of.

School church.

I ended up playing softball at Saint Mary's University, indeed.

Not just playing softball.

You were captain of the team that won the national championship at Saint Mary's, and.

We had a great team.

You were a second baseman, as I recall.

I was a second baseman.

Yes.

So I've told Jenna in the past nothing about corporate conflict frightens her, because when you have somebody running in from first base with their cleats up and you're the second baseman, that that's fear.

Oh, yeah.

It's actually happened to me.

I have two torn ACL to prove it.

You went to CPS and you went to and they recruited from there to be head of the Development Foundation.

You were chief of staff to the director of CPS, to the leader of CPS.

And I first met you when you were at the chamber working on infrastructure, and was very proud to see you become the head of our economic development efforts.

Just talk just a bit about that.

Those steps of that transition so people can know know you better.

Absolutely.

So I spent about a decade at CPS energy, a decade at Greater SAT, and then now, of course, at USAA and a corporate impact capacity.

But you know, those those years at CPS energy, working for Doyle, Barnaby and a variety of different capacities ultimately was the chief of staff and then left when I was the vice president of public affairs and brand.

But during that time, as you'll recall, the organization was going through a fair amount of change.

So Doyle was brought in from the outside after a little bit of what we would call internally a nuclear debacle of sorts, and he was brought in as a change agent to to really help professionalize the outfit.

That was CPS energy.

And so they brought him in from Exelon, and he had a different way of operating.

And I appreciated it because I had the opportunity to learn in every different interaction with him and because he wasn't from San Antonio, but interestingly enough, came from the Miami, Florida area from modest beginnings.

It was interesting how he was driving change at the organization in a way that that made sense and mattered for the residents of San Antonio.

And and CPS energy needs to do that, right.

As the largest municipally owned electric and gas utility in the country.

But, you know, serving there, I was able to get my C, a C leg, so to speak.

You know, in different capacities, kind of really the grind out work that nobody wanted to do.

I took on all the hard assignments, stood up the quality assurance program, stood up in business planning, wrote his speeches.

I mean, you name it, I was the go to.

And he had actually asked me to serve on the board of what was then the Economic Development Foundation, alongside Wayne Peacock and Cheryl Scully and you name it.

They then ultimately asked me to consider the CEO role there at greater.

So you mentioned relationships.

You mentioned people look out for each other.

We also hold each other to a high bar of accountability.

You had a good run at San Antonio Economic Foundation later, greater SAT.

In fact, you headed the brand rebranding effort.

But some of the companies named some of the companies that came on your watch.

I know JCB.

JCB, Big.

One manufacture about to open a major facility here.

Yes.

North of 2000 jobs international.

Yeah.

So you know, Toyota was, you know, one of the crown jewels as you well know, having facilitated the deal that really got the local manufacturing industry up and running.

We now have advanced manufacturing as a city that we didn't have before.

Absolutely pure and simple.

It's a it's a sector of our economy that didn't exist.

And it's the number one sector you would want in terms of wages and so forth.

Absolutely.

And capital investment and infrastructure, it's steady and sustainable.

And also when you look at the San Antonio economy and you look at where San Antonio's are at, it's a great bridge industry for addressing generational cycles of poverty and getting people in a good jobs.

But to enter your direct question, you know, JCB was certainly a great win for the greater SAT team.

So was international.

Navistar was we recruited them.

So if you think about manufacturing in general, I mean, we are the truck manufacturing hub of of North America, and the supply chains come along with manufacturing investments.

E standing up a regional operation here, victory Capitals headquarters relocation.

I mean, there were multiple projects, successes I was proud of.

But further, I was really proud of this strategic shift where we weren't just focusing on the transactional job and capital investment wins, but we spent time focusing on educational attainment and developing our people.

Nadege, your background and you were born in the Chicago area and went to school at Iowa State and then went to Saint Paul, Minnesota to go to law school and then stayed on in the area.

Is that the track?

Yeah, you're missing a slight detour.

Also went to graduate school for Arts Administration because those things go together, law and arts.

But that makes you a human of the law.

I'd like to think so.

And then how did you get into philanthropy?

I note from your background that you were given many awards as a rising star in the legal profession in Saint Paul, but somehow made the transition to philanthropy.

Talk about that.

Yeah.

So I was working at one of the largest law firms in the city, in the country, actually in an international law firm, a rising associate, you know, on track to make partner, did corporate complex commercial litigation.

So, you know, in courtrooms dealing with big, weighty issues.

And I realized one day that I did not love it the way that my colleagues loved it.

While I loved the learning about the businesses and the sort of grappling with complex things, I didn't like the the forced, adversarial nature of the work.

And I thought to myself, how can I find my way to something that lets me hold on to all of my background, right?

The nonprofit arts background, the legal background.

And so I started looking at philanthropy and particularly community philanthropy, because it's not single issue focused, right?

You think about the whole of the community, and philanthropy can sometimes be a hard place to get into.

But I made my case.

I use those legal skills, and I persuaded the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation to take a chance on me.

And I started with them in their programs team and ultimately became their chief operating officer.

And from chief operating officer, you were recruited to come to San Antonio.

Big step, not not just going up and becoming the CEO, but to leave the Twin Cities and come to Texas and Santonio.

It was just a drive down 35.

That's true.

How's it been?

How do you like being in San Antonio?

It has been really fantastic.

People often ask me what drew me here, and in all candor, it was.

Just a week.

Yes, it was Fiesta.

We know, in all candor, it was the Area Foundation, because I believe so deeply in the power of community foundations.

And I could tell that the Area Foundation was at a place that it is sort of in transition.

It's on the precipice of what it gets to be for this community.

But then when I got here, thought, man, I really lucked out.

I also picked a fantastic community.

I've only been here a couple of years, but I can count, you know, the number of people I consider close and dear friends.

I have had a lot of people mentor me, not just in the professional sense, but you know, when you're new and you don't have relationships in a relationship city, you need some you need some professional relationships fast.

And people, you know, the willingness to sit down, have a coffee.

We had one early in my time here and make introductions and help me understand the lay of the land.

What do you see your job being as head of the Area Foundation?

That's a big question.

That is a big question.

You know, honestly, at the highest level, I see it as being the steward of a community resource that is intended to endure in perpetuity.

It's large, it's significant and impactful, impactful.

And what that means at any given moment depends on the circumstances in front of me.

So, for example, what that meant last summer with the devastating floods in the hill country, was being a partner to our friends at the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, realizing with their small staff they have the bandwidth and they have been fantastic.

But we put our team right behind them and we gave them extra.

Staff efforts to get warnings established and help families directly.

Absolutely.

Can I insert here really quickly?

Because, you know, when when all of that was transpiring, that was the first place we were looking because leadership asked us to look in that direction.

But you were going to USAA in corporate USA, all of our partners.

But when we were talking to the organization, they said very, very quickly, we're going to need help.

We've never facilitated this type of change, and we've never worked with this amount of money.

And it was a very quick conversation with the Area Foundation, who then brought in United Way and others.

So so they stepped up significantly.

Let me ask both of you.

What is the principal need for philanthropy in San Antonio?

I know that's a broad question, but if you had to choose, I've got limited dollars.

This is the place.

Oh, man.

Both of you.

Starting with you.

Honestly, particularly for the Area Foundation, because I think that the dollars we have for grantmaking aren't as large as people think they are when they hear about the assets under management.

I think it is.

Our role is to be a catalyst or sort of the light in the storm, and identify those organizations or those community groups that are doing the critical work.

What is the work well?

Is it education?

You know, the generational poverty?

Is it health issues?

It is all of the above.

You know, honestly, it's a little bit all of the above because they're so inextricably intertwined.

You know, we really focus on youth success, older adults and livable and resilient communities because, you know, our charge is the whole of the community.

So we have to take sort of a broad position.

Let me ask you the same question in a different way from your background, where you saw where San Antonio could go.

What did you determine then was the greatest needs?

And are you able to work on those from USA?

Absolutely.

Early childhood education okay.

If I had a dollar, that's where it's going.

I think educational attainment in general is our biggest unlock.

If we can address educational attainment, so much more happens downstream and upstream.

But it starts with early childhood education and access to.

Let me ask you a question related to education, which is on everybody's minds.

Education and workforce.

And that is the role of AI.

The coming significance of AI as a displacement, potentially, of jobs, as a replacement for the kind of education that young people have had.

What do you have a theory of the case on AI that you, you know, use to guide you?

You know, when I think about AI, it's it's a tool and a resource that I don't think most of us fully comprehend the full impact of.

But ultimately, you know, in the business that I'm in and in this community, we are so relational AI will never replace that aspect of how business gets done in San Antonio.

What it will do is be a force multiplier for those organizations that need additional capacity.

But budget constraints don't allow you to hire ten more people.

But if you've got staff were trained up and can use the tools, they may be able to create this, the semblance of that.

And so I think that if we could find a way to to ensure that, you know, the students coming out of school were, you know, trained and understood the mechanics of how AI could be a part of the success of their job.

That would be important.

What I'd hate to see is us lose those entry level positions for AI, because how do you get to the next job?

Are you in that position to do something about this at the Area Foundation?

You know that the Area Foundation, we're really thinking about it and we're thinking about how can you know, in our capacity building work, in our learning and development work that we do with nonprofits, how can we bring some of that into that so that it can be a part of the thinking?

So I don't see AI as a replacement or displacement mechanism.

I see it as as enabling advancement.

And so USAA, we are an early adopter of AI, and even with my team, Corporate Impact Communications, we're leveraging it not just for drafting communications and plans, but for assessing nonprofits and and just increasing our efficiency and productivity overall.

Now we are 40,000 strong as an association.

We have 17,000 employees here.

I think now more than ever.

Upskilling those teammates is is paramount.

And then we're also investing upstream.

In fact, we just announced it in partnership with UT San Antonio, a $2 million investment in their new college of AI, Cyber and Computing, specifically for their Student Success Center.

Because it's not just about upskilling for today, it's about preparing the talent pipeline for the future.

And we're we're very proud of our ability to do both and simultaneously.

You're both young and rising and have great potential as leaders of this community.

I presume you run into and work with people of your age and and others that that you also see, as you know, a generation of leaders.

How do you generally feel about your leadership role into the future?

I mean, I'm excited, so thank you for calling me young.

I feel like that we're off about comparatively young.

Will take.

Take it.

I'll take it every day.

Mr.

Secretary, you know, I'm excited in particular.

I mean, both of us are in relatively new positions.

I'm extremely proud of of the leadership capacities I've served in prior to joining USAA, but now being at USAA, a fortune 93 company headquartered proudly in San Antonio with, you know, all upside potential, I just.

You've watched the objective of San Antonio for a lot of years.

Are we on the projector we're supposed to be on?

Are we rising at the rate we should?

We are rising and we will continue to grow.

And the momentum that I have experienced in various capacities is very real.

Having said that, I think we need to stay focused on it.

I think we need to continue to focus on the priorities that we've discussed.

I think we need to not let egos get in the way.

I think the private sector and civic leaders need to continue to work together and think 5 to 10 years out.

I mean.

You're seeing this from experience of other places.

How do you see the future of San Antonio leadership and general trajectory?

I think there is a lot of opportunity here in San Antonio.

I see all of the parts.

They're just not always moving together in lockstep.

You know, I come from a community where the community Foundation was a first phone call for the mayor's office for Business Leaders.

You know, whenever you know, the critical issues of the day, you know, be it we're talking about minimum wage or are we talking about voting, whatever it was, that is a new muscle for the Area Foundation to start to lean into here as it continues to mature in its evolution as a community foundation?

And I think that the evolution that the community foundation, that the area Foundation is on is reflected across the community.

I see it in how the leaders, the peers in organizations, how we're working together, maybe in a slightly different way.

And I think that that just leaves a lot of opportunity ahead of us.

I think we're going to see a lot of your work in the years to come.

Both of you.

I think we're going to see the result of your decisions now as legacy for our city.

And I think part of it will be because you're going to be working together.

Thank you very much for joining us.

Thanks for.

Having us.

Thank you for having us.

Thank you for joining us for Business of Business, San Antonio.

We'll see you next time.