Rural Business Program

Andrew Denzer is a Project Manager with the Rural Business Program.

Andrew recently served the Institute's economic development efforts as a Senior Business Development Specialist with the Minority Business Enterprise Center.

Andrew graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Finance.  He has spent several years in restaurant management with Fuddruckers, worked 16 years with GE Capital, and acted as VP of SBA Lending for both PNC Bank and Small Business Loan Source.

Ashley Diaz joined the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center Network, Rural Business Program team in July 2010.

Ashley serves as the Administrative Analyst for the Rural Business Program and is responsible for gathering and analyzing information on a wide range of topics. Ashley is also responsible for developing marketing strategies and working closely with external stakeholders to promote businesses in small communities.

Ashley has been with UTSA since 2003, and joined the Rural Business Program from the Office of the Provost. Ashley holds a BBA from the University of Texas San Antonio in General Business and a minor in Management.  She is originally from Edinburg, Texas.

Gilbert (Gil) Gonzalez served as deputy undersecretary and acting undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development mission area in Washington, D.C. He managed Rural Housing Services, Rural Utilities Service and Rural Business-Cooperative Service managing efforts related to minority home ownership, broadband, renewable energy, small business and faith-based programs. While at USDA Mr. Gonzalez also served as an advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman during the Katrina and Rita hurricane recovery efforts in the State of Louisiana.

In 2006, Gonzalez joined the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding team, as deputy director where he facilitated the long-term rebuilding efforts in Louisiana and in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Region.

Prior to is appointment to USDA, Mr. Gonzalez served as president of the Community Development Loan Fund, Inc. overseeing the company’s investment and loan portfolio.  The CDLF was a collaborative between the City of San Antonio and 21 bank investors to serve the credit and capital needs of small businesses and non-profit organizations. He also served as a business advisor for the UTSA San Antonio Small Business Development Center.

On Sept. 1, 2009, Mr. Gonzalez joined the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development to serve as Director of the Rural Business Program (RBP). He will manage the Rural Business Program (RBP) with major emphasis on rural community capacity-building and business development casework within the South-West Texas Border SBDC Network.

 

Tom Kennelly is a project manager with the Rural Business Program. He joined the Institute for Economic Development's San Antonio Small Business Development Center in 2009.

Tom brings over 10 years of commercial banking experience to the SBDC.  He was a credit analyst and commercial lender, and has extensive experience in credit/financial analysis, bank lending, and customer service.

Tom has a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Indiana University-Bloomington.