Reed is Chief Financial Officer for University Health System. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Houston and a Masters in Accounting from Nova Southeastern University. He is a Certified Public Accountant. He also holds positions on the Community First Board and the UHS Pension Board.

He is married with four children and enjoys time with family, hunting, fishing and sports.

Shanna is Vice President and Chief Integrated Security Officer for CPS Energy. She is also actively involved with a number of area organizations including Just 1 Foundation and Above the Bones Foundation and was a founding member of Women Empowered and Next Gen, both at CPS Energy.

She has been recognized as one of “San Antonio’s Best Lawyers” and by the San Antonio Business Journal “Rising Stars: 40 Under 40.”

Vanessa Lacoss Hurd has more than 25 years’ experience in the educational nonprofit leadership, change management and consulting. Currently, she is building a consulting practice to provide coaching services to nonprofit executives along with philanthropic investment advisory and due diligence services to high-net worth individuals.

Previously, Vanessa served as the Deputy Director of the City of San Antonio’s Tricentennial celebration, where she led efforts to successfully turnaround and execute on all programmatic activities associated with the City’s milestone birthday. Prior to that, Vanessa served as the Founding CEO of the DoSeum, where she led the organization’s successful visioning and relocation efforts, culminating in a new, 70,000 square foot facility and $62mm capital campaign, including the organization’s first-ever endowment. Earlier in her career, she served as a Partner for The New Teacher Project, where she led the regional development and expansion of new teacher cohorts with school districts in San Antonio, Dallas, Austin and El Paso. She also served as the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Jumpstart for Young Children and as the Executive Director of Teach For America in Houston, where she expanded the region by more than 300% in a four-year period. Vanessa started her career in education as a teacher of middle school history and social studies in Houston and multi-level English in Japan.

Vanessa holds a Master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA in History and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Vanessa is active civically, where she currently serves on the Boards of the UP Partnership, Rebecca’s Wish and the Clarity Child Guidance Center. She has previously served on the Boards of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, Great Hearts Schools, the Good Samaritan Center and the San Antonio Visitors and Convention Bureau. She was one of 13 members of former Mayor Julian Castro’s Brainpower Initiative, which led to the development of the City’s Pre-K 4 SA program. Vanessa holds numerous awards and is married with 3 children.

Tony is Chief Financial Officer for Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. He is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of the University of Texas – San Antonio. Tony is also Chairman, Board of Pensions and Benefits of the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.

He and his wife Carrie have two grown children and one grandchild. Tony’s interests include cars, cooking and traveling.

Alex Rapp was most recently with USAA and served as chief of staff to the Enterprise Chief Information Officer (ECIO). Prior to this role, Rapp was chief of staff to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and to the 12th Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He was also an executive on the corporate communications team and led external and crisis communications and served as the communications officer for two senior executives.

Rapp joined USAA in January 2013 from Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K), formerly Public Strategies, Inc., and has more than 30 years of experience in communications, public affairs and marketing across several sectors including energy, telecom, consumer packaged goods and IT outsourcing.

Rapp earned a BS in business from Babson College and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He is active in the community and is a graduate of Leadership San Antonio (LSA) for Class 40 and was on the LSA Steering Committee for Class 45. He enjoys soccer, fitness, travel, family activities and is married with two children.

Peggy is a retired hospital CFO and been a member of the Clarity CGC Governing Board since 2006. She was Governing Board Chair in 2011-2012.

She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Peggy is married and enjoys spending time on daily walks, visiting family, scrap booking and puzzling. She also enjoys adventure and world travelling and has a goal to visit all 50 states.

Justice Luz Elena D. Chapa was elected to serve on the Fourth Court of Appeals effective January 1, 2013, and when elected, she was the youngest appellate judge in the State of Texas.  She was re-elected in 2018 and is currently serving her second term.  Prior to her election, Justice Chapa practiced on both sides of the civil docket in counties across Texas, with a concentration in products liability litigation.

Justice Chapa was raised in El Paso, Texas and pursued her secondary education in San Antonio at St. Mary’s University, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts in English and her Juris Doctor. Between college and law school, she headed to Capitol Hill, where she interned for US Congressman Lloyd Doggett and worked for the late US Congressman Frank Tejeda. During law school, Justice Chapa interned for Chief Justice (Ret.) Alma L. López, and upon graduating, Justice Chapa began her legal career in El Paso, working with the law firm Oaxaca, Bernal & Associates. She later moved to Corpus Christi in 2001, where she joined the law firm Hartline, Dacus, Barger & Dreyer, LLP before returning to San Antonio in 2005 and working with Chapa Law Group.

Starting in 2005, Justice Chapa firmly planted her roots in San Antonio, where she has raised her three children.  At the age of 42, she made history again when her youngest child was born, a first for a sitting Fourth Court justice.

Justice Chapa is a proud American Bar Foundation Fellow, a Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow, a San Antonio Bar Foundation Fellow, a 2014 Inductee to the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame and is a member of numerous organizations.  She serves on the boards of the ABA Appellate Judges Conference (Board Director and Diversity Chair) and the Appellate Judicial Education Institute (Board Director and Education Committee).  Justice Chapa also serves on the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division’s Standing Committee on Judicial Diversity.

In addition to her responsibilities to her family, the Fourth Court, and the legal profession, Justice Chapa is a long-standing mental health advocate.  She has served on the board of Clarity Child Guidance Center since 2014.  Clarity is the only mental health treatment center in South Texas dedicated to treating children ages three to seventeen.

Blakely Fernandez focuses her practice on transactional law, public law, economic development, and project finance. She has served as developer’s counsel, corporate counsel, bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel, and special disclosure counsel in a variety of public and private financings. In addition, Blakely is experienced in traditional bond financings and corporate financings and acts as general counsel to public and private entities. She has represented clients, both public and private, in the public procurement process, environmental regulation, Public Information Act determinations, economic development agreements, and public private partnerships. Her clients have also called upon her to draft legislation on their behalf.

Adele is Executive Vice President, Project and Consulting for CUTEK. In addition to her role on the Clarity CGC Governing Board, she volunteers her time as VP for CUBuild, Common Cents Lab, She Code Connect and Youth Code Jam. She received her MBA, Masters in Information Technology from Grantham University and ACE from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Adele enjoys spending time with her husband Giancarlo and daughters Emma and Olivia. Her interests include artificial intelligence, behavioral economics, system dynamics and video games.

Yvonne has an extensive background in community involvement, ranging from her current position as a Development Coordinator at Antonian College Preparatory High School and immediate past chair of the University Health Foundation Board, to her early days working at the District Attorney’s Office. She is also a proud alumni of the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in criminal justice.

She and her husband, Don, have been married for over 20 years and have two beautiful daughters, Sarah and Sophia, together. In her free time, Yvonne loves to travel and enjoy a good meal with family and friends!

Ami is a Partner with Golden Steves & Gordon. She also trained at the Wilmington Institute during her undergraduate and law school studies, and co-authored strategy books titled, The One Minute Witness and On the Witness Stand. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Ami is also the president and founder of DaisyCares, a 501(c)(3) corporation.

She has been named a “Rising Star” in Real Estate Law (Texas Monthly Magazine) and a “Best Lawyer” in Real Estate Law (Scene in SA Magazine).

Gina joined Broadway Bank on September 1, 2022, as the Consumer and Private Bank Product Manager and Bank Digital Integration leader. Most recently she was appointed EVP of Consumer Banking, where she leads product, underwriting, and project delivery for the organization. Gina has 25+ years in retail banking, serving all product lines to include credit card, deposits, consumer loans and residential mortgage. She has held roles in data analytics, strategy and planning, marketing, product management, project and information technology delivery, call center operations, and mortgage servicing.

Prior to joining Broadway, Gina managed a 200-person organization at USAA Federal Savings Bank where she led strategy, data analytics, project management, and IT business delivery for the Residential Lending division. Her recent accomplishments included co-leading a bank-wide workstream which identified $1B in expense savings for the organization and led the division’s agile technology transformation resulting in $5MM or 15% in productivity gains. Prior to her role in residential mortgage, Gina led the bank’s $20B consumer lending business where she managed the auto loan portfolio to deliver an 18% increase in revenue year over year through redesign of the online application flow and integrating a car buying service experience. Additionally, Gina delivered enhancements to the personal loan portfolio, increasing close rates by 10%, and driving additional $9.5MM in revenue annually.

Gina attended the University of Incarnate Word and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking and Finance. She is an AIPMM certified Product Manager and attended the Consumer Banking Association’s Executive Banking School.

She also volunteers with the Humane Society of San Antonio, San Antonio Animal Care Services, and the San Antonio Food Bank. Gina and her husband Jay have two grown children, Megan and Trey. She and her family love movies, art, travel, and a myriad of outdoor activities.

Christine Keating was recruited to CHRISTUS Children’s in March of 2018. As the Vice President of Ambulatory Services, she is responsible for Baylor College of Medicine pediatric and women’s physician practices. Prior to moving to San Antonio, she served as executive leader for nine years at Texas Children’s Hospital and for 15 years at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts from Centenary College of Louisiana and her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University. Upon arriving in San Antonio, she joined the Trinity University Health Care Administration Advisory Committee. Christine had the opportunity to serve on the board for Healthcare for the Homeless, a Houston based Federally Qualified Health Center from 2014 – 2022.

Mesha Millsap is the Chief Executive Officer of Pearl Real Estate Company, LLC. Millsap joined Pearl in 2007 and has played an integral role in building the business. Millsap began her career at Pearl as a part of the accounting team and supported the early phases of development and real estate operations. During her time at Pearl, Millsap was part of the team that planned and executed many events, including Tamales and Meatopia. Getting deeper into the operational aspects of the business, Millsap began oversight of property management, engineering and security, which has helped her to develop a love for the details that make Pearl work. Her role has also included the management of the Stable, a well-loved event venue that until 2020 was home to over 300 events per year.

Mesha moved into her new role as CEO of Pearl Real Estate as of January 2022. This role allows her to deepen her focus on the vision of making Pearl the pioneering plazamaker of North America through creating places and experiences to cultivate human connectedness.

Prior to joining the Pearl team, Millsap worked as an auditor for Ernst & Young. Her clients included Clear Channel, Tower Life, USAA and HEB. During this time, Millsap was able to explore a variety of exceptional businesses and to learn that she was truly passionate about small businesses in our community. This passion has been fed through working every day with the business partners that make Pearl unique.

Outside of being a Plazamaker at Pearl, Millsap loves spending time with her husband and two daughters, working in our community and contributing to her church family.

Number One Best Selling Author of “Your Marketing Roadmap” and founder of myCMOnow, Liz Papagni is a leading brand and marketing thought leader who has worked with a vast array of clients, from established small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. As a marketing and leadership expert with a passion for helping companies develop strategies that convince and convert customers, she has launched and propelled brands like Seneca Foods, Kaiser Permanente, and Toshiba.

With her Fractional CMO services through myCMOnow, Liz works closely with key company stakeholders to determine goals, develop strategies and plans to streamline and scale their businesses, build and mentor powerful marketing teams, and maximize their revenue.

Ben is the Group Vice President of Real Estate and Shopping Center Development at H-E-B. Ben began his H-E-B career in 2005 as a Regional Asset Manager and has since held various positions within the Real Estate and Development teams before taking ownership of the company’s total real estate and store planning strategy in 2017.

He holds a B.S. degree in Finance and Marketing from Boston College, an MBA from Texas McCombs School of Business, and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 2019.

Ben has served on the board of Clarity Child Guidance Center since 2006. He also serves on UTSA’s Real Estate Finance and Development Founder’s Council and was the founding Chair of Bexar County United Way’s Emerging Leaders Council. He is married with 3 children.

John served as the Governing Board Chair from 2018 – 2020 and now serves as a member of our Governance Committee. He is the Market Manager for Employer Flexible, a Professional Employer Organization.  John is a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Finance.  He is also a member of The Nonprofit Council – Business Advisory Council and actively supports several local nonprofit organizations.

John and his wife Natalie have been married for 38 years and they have two children, Megan and Trevor, who are both married with one child each (so far).  He enjoys family activities, golf, pickle ball, boating and the beach.

Caprica Wells is an innovator who continues to defy the odds with strength and compassion. She is a an educator who has spoken at women’s conferences, youth conferences, leadership conferences, and school assemblies. By using her bridge building speaking gift, along with a little humor, audiences are transformed into revolutionary thinkers in their field.

Being raised in poverty as an only child to a single mother with schizophrenia, and teaching and coaching in a lower socio economic school allows her to connect to multiple people on different levels. Understanding that education was the key, she excelled in academics and sports at Yoe High School in Cameron, Texas. She received an Associate’s Degree from Temple Junior College, her Bachelor’s Degree from Southwest Texas State University, and her Master’s Degree from Texas A&M Kingsville with a Principal Certification.  She also received her Doctorate in Education from Texas A&M Kingsville with a Superintendent Certification.

Her soon to be released book entitled, I Am Me, is a coming of age book that tackles the notion that true identity changes and has to be revisited at different phases of your life. She shares powerful “bridges” that were made, or she built, along the way. She has been a liaison between middle and high school.  She has been voted First Year Teacher of the Year by Northside ISD, as well as receiving a North East ISD Superintendent’s Award for her ability to motivate and inspire. She is an honoree of Who’s Who San Antonio Women and was recognized in its magazine. As a participant in Leadership San Antonio and other leadership professional development, Dr. Wells continues to move into diverse arenas being a lifelong learner. From teaching English to being a high school coach, and becoming an assistant principal, she continues her efforts the NEISD Executive Director for Adult and Community Education, pushing people to their next level of destiny.

Jessica Knudsen, LCSW, FACHE, is the CEO and President of Clarity Child Guidance Center. Since joining Clarity CGC in 2019, she has successfully guided the nonprofit organization through the alarming negative effects in children’s social development, academic development, and emotional health due to the pandemic, which caused an equally alarming need for Clarity’s services. Because of the ever-rising needs of its 8,000 children served annually, Knudsen is now guiding Clarity through an expansion of beds and facilities for its hospital and Crisis Assessment Services unit offering specialized inpatient and outpatient treatment for children. Knudsen is a Texas Hospital Association Leadership Fellow, and a member of Leadership San Antonio (Class 46). She received a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Founded in 1886, Clarity Child Guidance Center is the only nonprofit in South Texas providing a continuum of mental health services for children ages 3-17 and their families to manage mental health conditions ranging from depression and anxiety to suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.

Christine Bryan joined the Clarity Child Guidance Center staff in 2007 as the Legislative Liaison, after five years of volunteer and advocate work promoting children’s mental health issues. While this work is her personal passion, Chris is now using her 20+ years of technical education and professional experience to lead the enterprise health information and technology initiatives. Chris earned a BS in Computer

Science and an MBA in Electronic Commerce. Chris’ foundation as an application developer and a certified database administrator has led to her managerial strength in using business data to appropriately align technology needs to the organization’s strategic plan. Her work experience includes the design and development of an award-winning medical logistics system and the original implementation of an electronic retail site for a major corporation in San Antonio.

Carol began her work at Clarity as an RN staff nurse in 1982. She recently obtained a Masters in Nursing at Walden University. She has held several different positions over the past 33 years including Nursing Supervisor, Director of Nursing, Acute Care Program Director and Quality Assurance Coordinator. Currently, Carol serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She participates in community presentations on mental health issues and is a member of the American Nurses Association.

Derrick joined Clarity Child Guidance Center in July, 2018 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer of the Army Medical Command. A graduate of the Howard University in Washington, DC with a Bachelor Business Administration, Derrick has also received his MBA from the University of Maryland and his Master of Health Science, Health Finance and Management from John Hopkins University. Holding his CPA license in Maryland and Texas, Derrick has over 27 years of progressive leadership, financial management and accounting experience.

Dr. Gentry worked in television and film production before taking his graduate training at Texas Tech in the areas of Human Development, Family Studies and Counseling psychology. He began working at the Clarity Child Guidance Center in 1995, and has served as Director of Psychological Consultation Service, the Partial Hospital Program and Outpatient Services. Dr. Gentry is Clarity’s Senior VP of Clinical Services, Joint Commission Survey Coordinator and Corporate Compliance Officer. He also provides clinical supervision/consultation and individual and family therapy. Dr. Gentry is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he teaches and provides supervision for psychiatry and psychology residents and Fellows. He has provided training at Clarity and the community in several areas of child and adolescent mental health, including Trauma-informed Care, Collaborative Problem Solving, and the Child/Adolescent Service Intensity Instrument (trainer certified by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry).

Dr. Gentry is a member of the American Psychological Association, APA Practice Organization, Bexar County Psychological Association, Bexar County Child Fatality Review Team, and San Antonio Society for Psychoanalytic Studies, and the Alamo Area Teen Suicide Prevention Coalition. His professional/clinical interest includes psychodynamic psychotherapy, integration of child/adolescent and family assessment and therapy, staff development and clinical consultation.

Lizmarie Gonzalez-Vega, M.D., is the Senior Medical Director at Clarity Child Guidance Center and Vice President at Southwest Psychiatric Physicians. She is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and offers bilingual inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services at the main campus since 2012.

Dr. Gonzalez-Vega holds a position as adjunct clinical faculty at UT Health San Antonio, formerly known as UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

Dr. Gonzalez-Vega earned her Doctor of Medicine from Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico and bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. She completed her general psychiatric residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program at UT Health San Antonio.

Dr. Gonzalez -Vega is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with Board Certification in Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescents Psychiatry.

Dr. Gonzalez-Vega is a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Texas Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, with a degree in Business Administration, Gina has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources in various industries including retail, legal, manufacturing, telecommunications and health care. She has been employed with Clarity Child Guidance Center since September 1997. Gina serves on the Speaker’s Bureau of the American Cancer Society and is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management. She is also an active volunteer in Special Olympics, American Cancer Society, United Cerebral Palsy, and Buffalo Valley Youth Association. Additionally, she serves as a host family for Cultural Homestay International.

Dr. Matthews is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the UT Health San Antonio School of Medicine, and became Interim Chief of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in May 2018. He is a San Antonio native, went to medical school at UT Health San Antonio graduating in 1997. He completed General Psychiatry Residency as well as a Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency at UTHSCSA in 2002. Dr. Matthews joined the faculty in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 2002, and was Medical Director of Outpatient Services at Clarity Child Guidance Center from 2007 till 2012. From 2012 to 2017 he served as the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for the School of Medicine and was the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Associate Training Director. He returned to full time clinical work and in May 2018 returned to serve again as Medical Director of Outpatient Services at Clarity Child Guidance Center

Melissa Mireles, Chief Marketing & Development Officer, is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Counseling from Sam Houston State University. She began her healthcare career as a Community Liaison at Safe Schools/Healthy Students—a multimillion-dollar federal youth violence prevention grant in Alexandria, VA. After six years as Director of Student Services for a private school in Hilton Head, South Carolina where she managed counseling department activities, she moved back to her hometown of San Antonio in 2011. Before joining Clarity Child Guidance Center, she worked at UT Health San Antonio, most recently serving as its Director of Development, overseeing all fundraising efforts for the School of Nursing.