Jesus Garcia-Gonzales is a Senior Program Officer at the San Antonio Area Foundation overseeing the Livable and Resilient Communities Impact Area, where he manages a portfolio of organizations working at the intersection of food security, affordable housing, tree equity, healthcare access, immigrant rights, houseless LGBTQ, journalistic freedom, and workforce development. He is currently leading the Latine Giving Trends study, which is the first study that will assess local Latine Giving and seeks to redefine what Latine Philanthropy is and how to better measure its impact.
Born in a rural town in Jalisco, Mexico Jesus immigrated to the U.S. with his family at 10 years old. After completing his master’s degree in Applied Biological Sciences from Arizona State, he opted to go work for an international nonprofit alongside smallholder coffee farmers throughout Central America. Upon his return to San Antonio, TX, he landed at one of the largest social services agencies within the county as Grants Director. During his tenure, he helped secure over 30 million in federal, state, and local funding for the more than 40 programs within the agency.