Executive Leadership and Board Members
Teofilo Tijerina
Executive Director and Co-Founder
teo.tijerina@edcoonline.org
(915) 539-5552
Mr. Tijerina is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of EDCO Ventures. Born in Reynosa, Mexico and raised in McAllen, TX, Mr. Tijerina is an entrepreneur who co-founded Innovei International, LLP (www.innovei.com), in El Paso, Texas. He has held executive and senior engineering positions with Dell, Inc., Rockwell Semiconductor Systems, and Dow Chemicals. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and attended the Graduate School of Business and the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) program at University of Texas El Paso.
Laura Bosworth-Bucher
Venture Executive
laura.bosworth@edcoonline.org
Laura is a venture executive mentoring nascent start-ups on all aspects of strategic planning from critical hiring, business development to capitalization. She is an experienced executive with 20 years of combined service with Dell and IBM.
She was most recently director of Dell’s WW Customer Experience effort where she worked with leaders across the corporation to define Dell’s strategy and execution plans for improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. During her tenure, satisfaction improved 40-50% in core support organizations. Within Dell, she led several marketing and engineering functions and delivered solutions that enabled over $500M in revenue. Ms Bosworth was also part of launching Dell’s consulting services business. Prior to joining Dell in 1998, Ms. Bosworth held a variety of management positions at IBM with experience in customer support and both product and manufacturing process engineering. Laura is also applying her strategic planning skills to a variety of other non-profit organizations, sharing her expertise through consulting, volunteer and board service. Ms. Bosworth holds a degree in engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Patricia Mercado
Development Associate
Institutional Relations
patricia.mercado@edcoonline.org
(512) 413-8601
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Ms. Mercado is an entrepreneur who co-founded FINLE Technologies which was sold to semiconductor industry leader KLA-Tencor in 2000. She has held senior engineering and management positions with Advanced Micro Devices, the National Security Agency, FINLE Technologies, Expert Application Systems Inc., and Mercado Enterprises, and has assisted in raising millions of dollars during her fundraising career. Ms. Mercado holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University, an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park, an M.S. degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from the University of Texas at Austin.
Perla Cavazos
Program Manager
perla.cavazos@edcoonline.org
Perla is program manager for EDCO’s new community capital fund, Innovación Investments. Perla previously worked advising Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr on policy issues related to education, business, affordable housing and taxes and as a program specialist at the Texas Association of Community Development Corporations, an organization dedicated to affordable housing and economic development. Perla serves on various Austin Community Forums such as the Mayor’s Community Cabinet, the city’s Resource Management Commission and the citizen’s advisory committee on the Comprehensive Plan, Imagine Austin. In the past, she has been active in numerous other community and philanthropic organizations and has earned such awards as a 2008 Austin Under 40 award in the category of Government/Public Affairs. Perla earned her B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Board of Directors
Alberto Tovar, Chairman
Senior Project Manager, Pacific Charter School Development
Mountain View, CA
alberto.tovar@gmail.com
Alfonso Morales, Secretary
Sociology Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
amorales@ssc.wisc.edu
Angel Fierro, Treasurer
Investment Banker, Vice President, Credit Suisse Energy Banking
New York, New York
angel.fierro@credit-suisse.com
Board Advisors
Adriana Cruz
Vice President, Global Recruiting, Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin, TX
acruz@austinchamber.com
Ms. Cathy Swain
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Commercial Development, University of Texas System
Office of Research and Technology Transfer
Austin, TX
cswain@utsystem.edu
Dr. Javier Angel Kypuros
Asst. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas Pan American
Edinburg, TX
jakypuros@utpa.edu
Jesse Tijerina
R & D Programs, Praxair Corporation
Houston, TX
Jesse_Tijerina@Praxair.com
Lance Jones
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Trilogy, Inc.
Austin, TX
lance.jones@trilogy.com
Leo A. Ramirez, Jr.
CEO, MiniDonations and EDCO Ventures Co-Founder
Austin, TX
leo.ramirez@edcoonline.org
Phil Pompa
Former CEO, Sigmatel, Inc.
Austin, TX
ppompa@austin.rr.com
Steven Chang
Principal, Reservoir Capital Group
New York, NY
steve@clearlakecapital.com
Violet Bell
Independent Consultant, Business and Non-Profit Development
Austin, TX
VKBell@aol.com