09 Feb Selection Committee Finalized
In just a couple of days, the 2018 CivTechSA Residency application period will come to a close. Startups: you have until Monday February 12th at 11:00am (CST) to submit your proposals to the City of San Antonio.
Once the application period closes, it will be up to the Selection Committee to review all of the amazing proposals our startups and entrepreneurs have put together. It has been truly exciting and fulfilling to see so many people in our community get engaged.
The Selection Committee will have a little over a month to sift through the applications and to request more information from the applicants. Ultimately—only three startups will be selected to participate in the 2018 CivTechSA Residency Program and solve three out of the 7 Civic Challenges.
The City’s Selection Committee consists of 6 influential and knowledgeable leaders in both the City and in the startup ecosystem:
Maria Villagomez, Assistant City Manager, City of San Antonio. Maria is the right-hand to the City Manager who oversees the Office of Innovation, Office of Management and Budget, Parks and Recreation, Animal Care Services, the Department of Human Services, and the Office of Equity.
Jose De La Cruz, Chief Innovation Officer, City of San Antonio. Jose leads the City’s SmartSA strategy, CivTechSA program, and process improvement projects that have saved City taxpayers over $20 million in efficiencies.
Craig Hopkins, Chief Information Officer, City of San Antonio. Craig brings more than 20 years of experience at USAA leading efforts in customer service, digital transformation, corporate strategy, information technology, procurement and innovation to the City’s Information Technology Services Department (ITSD).
Marina Gavito, Strategic Innovation Director, USAA. Marina builds partnerships with high-tech startups for USAA Labs and oversees strategic partnerships with major tech companies, academic institutions and the local tech community.
Chris Burney, Executive Director, Alamo Angels. Chris and his team regularly screen and make financial investments in early-stage startups; providing mentorship, education, and community resources to prepare startups for funding and growth.
Cat Dizon, Chief Operating Officer, Active Capital. Former Head of Business & Staff Operations at Rackspace, Cat is currently focused on leading seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies.
The Residency period begins in April and runs through July. The selected Residents will collaborate closely with City departments throughout the Residency in order to develop customized solutions for the City of San Antonio. This will finally culminate in a Demo Day presentation, at which the Residents will present their solutions to the City and the community at large, where the City may then purchase those solutions.
Geekdom has put together a list of specialized mentors that will be available to assist these Residents as they work on their challenges, which includes:
- Crystal Darby, Business Advisor, UTSA Small Business Development Center
- David Jones, Partner, Innocenti Jones, PLLC
- Lea Sims, Assistant VP, Employee & Member Innovation, USAA
- Jeremy Karney, Sr. Design Onboarding Experience Architect, USAA
- Christopher Smiley, Business Performance Advisor, Insperity
- John Nanna, Founder, Dryden Labs
For more information about CivTechSA, the 2018 Residency, and our mentors, email us at civtechsa@geekdom.com.