Meet Jeannette Garcia | Director of Communications

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeannette Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeannette, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Founded in 2009, UP Partnership’s mission is to ensure all young people in Bexar County are ready for the future. We are a San Antonio-based nonprofit backbone organization that coordinates data, aligns pathways and promotes policy change that can help to unlock the full potential of young people ages 0-24 years in our region. Our mission is ambitious, challenging, and achievable when we organize our efforts across the area, which we are doing through our Future Ready Bexar County Plan.

Launched in 2022, the Future Ready Bexar County Plan is a strategic plan to guide shared action, language, goals, metrics, and practices that drive progress alongside more than 90 institutional partners from various sectors including youth development organizations, K-12 school districts, postsecondary institutions, government agencies and corporate partners. These partners made concrete action commitments to scaling Healing, Access, and Voice for young people who undergo their services with a north star goal of of increasing the percentage of Bexar County high school graduates enrolling in a postsecondary degree or credential program to 70% by 2030. Reaching this goal through this first-ever countywide alignment will significantly improve the economic mobility of San Antonio youth and can have positive ripple effects for the future.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It’s not easy being a communications professional and it has taken a lot of volunteer hours, grace to make mistakes and good mentors to get me to where I am today. One thing I tell young people that want to enter this career pathway is that they have to have a lot of patience. Pay at the beginning of your communications career is usually on the lower end of the pay scale, but the key to getting to the higher-paying jobs is to build your own brand. You can’t be afraid to be out there, network and be willing to volunteer your time toward industry-related causes. Personally, I have served on gala committees and boards for organizations such as the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists and the local chapter of the University of Texas’s alumni group called the San Antonio Texas Exes. Both provide scholarships to local students looking to pursue a higher education.

At UP Partnership, many of our staff also sit on various committees and boards that also focus toward our mission of ensuring all young people across Bexar County are ready for the future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In 2017, San Antonio was designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site for Creative City of Gastronomy, so there are a lot of special places to eat in our city.

In particular, the hot spot would be Pearl, which is home to the Culinary Institute of America’s Texas campus and has gems of restaurants such as Ladino, Allora, Best Quality Daughter, Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, Botika, Cured, Savor, Blue Box Bar, Southerleigh, among others. It definitely a culinary destination with a view of the museum reach section of the River Walk.

Another up and coming San Antonio culinary area would be the St. Paul Square district, which has unique places such as Cuishe Cocina Mexicana, Toro Kitchen and Bar and Suck It ramen, as well as mixology experiences at Cellar Mixology and Francis Bogside.

On the Northside of town, the Eilan and shopping centers near there like La Cantera and the Rim also provide great food and shopping options. The San Antonio Spurs’s new practice facility called “The Rock” at La Cantera also has a beautiful park that hosts special events and game watch parties.

Of course, right by the UP Partnership office is Castle Hills, which is home to Clementine, as well as too many local spots such as Lucky Noodle House, Godai Sushi, Bilia Eatery, Zorbas Greek food, India Oven, among many, many others.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
UP Partnership could not do its work without the contributions of the more than 90 Future Ready Bexar County Partners. In particular, though, as we entered the next phase of our plan, our anchor partner institutions that include the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, San Antonio Area Foundation, H. E. Butt Foundation, Communities In Schools of San Antonio, CAST Schools Network, Charles Butt Foundation, and Alamo Colleges District are really helping us drive change.

The UP Partnership staff together through our systems change networks, collaboratives and leadership tables also contribute greatly to our success. A special shoutout goes out to our senior leaders: our CEO Dr. Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, our Chief Impact and Strategy Officer Dr. Emily Calderón Galdeano and our Chief Finance and Operations Officer Kimberly Sama who really drive our organization forward.

On the marketing and communications front, I have to give a lot of credit to my team and talented agencies and independent consultants for helping me co-create the brand and messaging. These people include UP Partnership’s senior manager of communications Ana Sevilla, UP’s communications manager of storytelling Carrie Ballard-Bañuelos, Nat Marie Alves of Nat Marie Design, Carlos Maestas and his team at Key Ideas Inc., as well as Melissa Vela-Williamson and her team at MVW Communications.

Website: https://uppartnership.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uppartnershipsa

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/35636721/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/uppartnershipsa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UPPartnershipSA

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@UPPartnershipSA

Image Credits
Photos taken by Key Ideas, Inc.