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Thursday - January 27, 2022
The Border's Moment: A Fireside Chat with Ambassador Christopher Landau and Congressman Beto O'Rourke
Moderator:
Angela Kocherga, News Director of Public Radio KTEP
Speakers:
Christopher Landau, United States Ambassador to Mexico
Beto O'Rourke, former United States Representative (TX-16)
In the previous decade, the U.S. - Mexico border entered the national discussion and has become a symbol for larger political debates occurring in other parts of both countries. All of this attention, however, has often obscured the reality of life on the border, a reality that is more nuanced and more beautiful than most news headlines and political sound bytes suggest.
Friday - January 28, 2022
Welcome to the "BorderPlex" Region
Speakers:
Sarah Jackson '17, President of Texas Lyceum
Oscar Leeser, Mayor of El Paso
Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, Presidente Municipal of Ciudad Juárez
The Frontiers of Commerce
Moderator:
Roberto Coronado, Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso and San Antonio Branches
Speaker:
Jon Barela, CEO of Borderplex Alliance
Teclo Garcia, Economic Development Director for the City of Laredo
Helen Ramirez, CEO of Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation
Leading economic development professionals from across the Texas border will discuss the unique assets that border communities can offer businesses, but also the challenges that they face in securing resources commensurate to their impact on the larger Texas economy.
From Old Frontiers to New
Moderator:
Ryan Abbott, Senior Vice President of Sundt Construction, Inc.
Speakers:
Dr. Eric MacDonald, Professor of Mechanical Engineering of University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Joel Quintana, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering of University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Heather Wilson, President of University of Texas at El Paso
Since its founding in 1914, the University of Texas at El Paso has been the focal point of higher education in the El Paso Region, drawing students from both sides of the border and spawning innovations whose impacts are being felt as far away as outer space.
The 1965-66 Texas Western Miners
Moderator:
Laura Uribarri '05, Assistant Dean of the College of University of Texas at El Paso
Speakers:
Dr. Charles Martin, Professor Emeritus of History of University of Texas at El Paso
The incredible story of the first integrated men’s team and – until the 2021 Baylor Bears – the only men’s team in the state of Texas to win an NCAA championship.
Welcome from MountainStar Sports
Speakers:
Brad Taylor, Senior Vice President of MoutainStar Sports Group
Healthcare's Role in Resiliency on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Moderator:
Monica Vargas-Mahar '18, Market Chief Executive Officer of Carondelet Health Network
Speakers:
Dr. Joel Hendryx, Chief Medical Officer of University Medical Center of El Paso
Tasha Hopper, CEO of The Hospitals of Providence East Campus
Dr. Richard Lange, President of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
Emma Schwartz, President of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation
The border presents a different set of challenges to healthcare professionals, but groups in El Paso have leveraged the cultural strengths of the region to deal with them, creating economic opportunity on both sides of the border in the process.
How Botas Became Boots
Speaker:
Nevena Christi, Bosslady of Rocketbuster Handmade Custom Boots
Nevena Christi is a Parsons School trained fashion-designer who found her calling as the Bosslady and creative director of El Paso’s Rocketbuster Boots. With leather as her medium and the border as her inspiration, Mrs. Christi mixes classic tradition with cutting edge style today for customers across the globe.
Wrestling with Culture
Speakers:
Cinta de Oro, Professional Luchador
Ciudad Juárez is the birthplace of Lucha Libre, and El Paso has produced more professional wrestlers and even family wrestling dynasties per capita than perhaps anywhere else in the U.S. What is it about the Borderplex that makes it such a wrestling hub?
Walking Through History
Speaker:
Adair Margo, Founder and Director of Tom Lea Institute
As the Founder of the Tom Lea Institute and a former member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, Adair Margo appreciates as deeply as anyone the cultural heritage that is on display every day in downtown El Paso.
Saturday - January 29, 2022
Excursions
Franklin Mountain Hike: Enjoy a beautiful hike in the Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso, Texas. Located at an elevation of 5,426 feet with the highest peak reaching 7,192 feet. It is one of the largest urban parks in the nation lying completely within city limits, covering 24,247.56 acres. Franklin Mountains State Park is open year-round for recreational hiking, mountain biking, picnicking and scenic driving and vistas.Mesilla, New Mexico: From El Paso, enjoy a 45-minute drive along beautiful NM Highway 28* to visit the epitome of small-time charm, Mesilla, NM**. Enjoy lunch at a restaurant and then wander around the historic Plaza experiencing unique shops and galleries. You can even learn about of one of the Southwest’s most notorious outlaws Billy the Kid. On the southeast corner of the Mesilla Plaza is the courthouse and jail where Billy the Kid was tried and sentenced.
White Sands: Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.
Saturday evening will conclude with dinner at the home of Emma Schwartz, President of the Medical Center of the America’s and Governor Abbott appointee to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Designed by Texas-based architecture firm Lake Flato, attendees will enjoy this beautiful home situated in El Paso’s Upper Valley with the beautiful Franklin Mountains as the backdrop.