The people on both sides of the bridge.
Lone Star Bridge is governed by an independent Board of Directors and led by an executive team that has crossed the bridge themselves — operators, founders, educators, and immigrants.
Independent governance.
Our Board sets strategy, oversees finances, and protects the mission. Members serve without compensation.
Maria Silva
Former VP, Latin America at a Fortune 500 tech company. Brazilian, MBA from UT Austin.
James O'Connor
Partner at an Austin-based venture fund. Two decades backing immigrant founders.
Dr. Carla Mendes
CFO of a Texas-based nonprofit network. CPA. PhD in Public Administration.
Roberto Alvarez
General counsel, education policy. Mexican-American, first-generation college graduate.
Patricia Hill
Former superintendent, Texas school district. National voice on K-12 access.
Thiago Costa
Founder, fintech serving Latin America. Active angel and alumni mentor.
The team running the bridge.
Operators with deep ties on both sides — Latin America and Texas.
Lucas Ferreira
Built and scaled three nonprofits. Brazilian-American. Crossed the bridge at 17.
Ana Reyes
Twelve years designing youth education programs across Latin America and the U.S.
David Park
Corporate partnerships and institutional fundraising. Former Big Tech BD.
Sofia Ramirez
Soft landing and student services. Built city onboarding systems for two Texas cities.
Advisors who open doors.
Leaders who advise informally — opening networks across admissions, capital, policy, and industry.
Prof. Helena Duarte
Former dean of admissions, Texas flagship university.
Marco Antonelli
Repeat founder; LATAM-to-US scaling expertise.
Janice Walker
Former state-level workforce policy advisor.
Dr. Felipe Nunes
Education economist; rigorous measurement of outcomes.
Governance you can verify
Lone Star Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in Texas. We publish annual reports, audited financials, and board minutes summaries. No board member receives compensation. Conflicts of interest are disclosed and managed under our Board policy.
Talk to the Board & Leadership.
Use this channel for governance matters, Board nominations, or conversations with our executive team.
Open seats. Open doors.
We rotate board seats and refresh the advisory council each year. If you bring deep experience in education, capital, policy, or workforce — and a commitment to Latin American talent — we'd like to talk.
Talk to our team