AUSTIN, Texas — September is National Hispanic Heritage Month. Throughout the month, KVUE will highlight local leaders who are truly making an impact in their Austin-area community.
This article will be updated every morning for the rest of September as we introduce you to more Latino leaders in the Austin area.
Roxanne Saldaña Jones
Roxanne Saldaña Jones is the senior vice president for United Ways of Texas. She works to support public sector organizations with business development and growth. In addition, Saldaña Jones is also the co-owner of fashion jewelry line Via Ray Designs.
Saldaña Jones currently serves as the chair of outreach for the UT Hispanic Alumni Network. She truly believes that engaging and supporting your community is the best way to advance together and make valuable change.
Officer Bino Cadenas
As a district representative, Officer Bino Cadenas is a spokesperson for the Austin Police Department. He works to build a good, trusting relationship between the community and the police department. He does this by meeting with community leaders on a regular basis and shares crime trends as well as makes recommendations to help prevent crime.
Officer Cadenas is the chairman of the Austin Cops for Charities and a board member in the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation, which aims to provide affordable housing to people living in East Austin.
Veronica Hinojosa Segura
Veronica Hinojosa Segura is the associate vice chancellor and controller for the University of Texas System – one of the largest public university systems in the world. She is responsible for the system-wide oversight of accounting and financial reporting for fourteen health and academic institutions with a budget of $22 billion.
Segura mentors numerous aspiring women leaders, she is a member of the Executive Latina Leaders (ELLAS) and is the 2021 chair-elect for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Matt Garcia
Matt Garcia is a founding member of the law firm Barnett & Garcia. As a lawyer, Garcia believes that everyone should have access to good legal advice. That's why he started a free legal clinic in conjunction with volunteer legal services. The free clinic is aimed at the Spanish speaking community in southwest Travis County.
He also volunteered for "MAS," or Mentoring A Student, which is an organization that allows lawyers to teach a law class at Travis High School.
It is his personal belief that "juntos," or together, we can lift each other up.
Rosemary Banda
Rosemary Banda is the giving coordinator at Tito's Handmade Vodka. Her role includes vetting charities and helping them support the community through their philanthropy department.
Her goal is to set an example and inspire others to let their heart lead when it comes to serving the community.
Joseph Cajas
Joseph Cajas is the founder and CEO of The Cajas Digital Agency, Turnkey Social and Cajas Cleaners. He currently serves as the chairman of the board for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
His mission is to help local businesses survive during this pandemic and find a way for those businesses to thrive and evolve.
Emmy Alcocer-Hil
Emmy Alcocer-Hill is the vice-chair of the Bingham Group Foundation, a nonprofit organization improving the quality of life for underserved communities in the Austin metro area.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and sits on the executive leadership team. Emmy believes strongly in the importance of ensuring that all voices are heard at the decision-making table.
Geronimo Rodriguez
Geronimo Rodriguez is the Texas chief advocacy officer at Ascension Seton's Dell Children's Medical Center. He also serves as president of the Austin ISD Board of Trustees with a mission to prepare every student with the knowledge to thrive in college, their career and their life.
Geronimo grew up as a migrant farmworker and every year he travels to Oregon to help his parents harvest potatoes. He is the first in his family to graduate high school, college and law school.
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