 Lourdes Castro Ramírez-
Chief Executive Officer
Lourdes Castro Ramírez is responsible for leading the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), the largest public housing authority in the State of Texas, touching the lives of nearly 70,000 people in San Antonio. The agency owns and manages approximately 6,159 public housing units, 7,031 affordable housing units, and administers 13,023 rental assistance vouchers. She oversees a workforce of 600 employees and manages an annual operating budget of $182 million and $500 million in assets.
Under her administration, SAHA has improved its performance in several operational areas:
Designated a "High Performer" in 2010 and 2011, with a score of 100 percent, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program
Expanded the supply of affordable housing by building 1,007 new housing units in five new mixed-income communities across the city.
Competitively secured more than $6 million in private and public funding to provide resident development programs, including job training and self sufficiency programs and health and wellness initiatives
Received the highest amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in Texas , totaling nearly $20 million, and utilized the funds to make improvements to 37 public housing communities
Castro Ramírez, who has been active in community development for two decades, began her career as a safety and community affairs intern for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles, served as a research associate at the School of Public Policy and Social Research at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and as a community planner for the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation in Ventura County.
Prior to joining SAHA, Castro Ramírez was the director of the nation's second largest Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in Los Angeles. She managed a budget of $420 million that assisted more than 50,000 families and transformed the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles' Section 8 Department from a "troubled" status program to "high performer" status in less than three years.
She has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. She is a board member for the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA), San Antonio Centro Partnership, Texas Chapter of the National Association of Housing Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and Avenida Guadalupe.
 Lori Mendez, Director of Public Housing – Elderly/Disabled
Lori Mendez has held many positions at the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) over her nearly 30 year career with the agency. Currently, she is the director of Public Housing-Elderly/Disabled.
Mendez’s previous positions at SAHA include overseeing the community initiatives department, deputy vice president for supportive services, director for self-sufficiency initiatives, manager of special housing programs, public housing manager III, assistant housing manager, housing assistance programs contract coordinator, senior bookkeeper and management aide.
In addition to Mendez’s diverse housing authority experience, she is certified as a senior professional housing manager and public housing manager from the National Association of Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
Mendez’s community involvement is extensive. She is involved with many SAHA committees and is the vice-chair on the Commission for Families and Children representing City Council District 3. In addition, she is the vice-president of professional development for Texas NAHRO, chair of the Southwest NAHRO (SWNAHRO) scholarship committee, member of the SWNAHRO budget and administration committee, and a presidential appointee to the national NAHRO professional development committee.
She is also a graduate of Leadership San Antonio and has served on the boards for ADVANCE, the Southeast Business and Professional Women’s Organization and the Southside Credit Union. She is the former secretary for SWNAHRO and a former member of the professional development committee for Texas NAHRO.
Mendez attended Bellevue College in Washington and is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree.
 Bennie L. Bunkley III, Director of Public Housing – Family
Bennie has held this position since August 2011 after having served as Interim Director as of April 2011.
Prior to working for the SAHA, Bennie served 7 yrs in the U.S. Air Force as a supply clerk, administrative assistant and military housing manager at Kelly AFB. After leaving the U.S. Air Force Bennie relocated to Austin, TX where he worked for the TX Dept of Transportations Motor Vehicle Division in various positions, before moving to Beverly, MA to worked for Axcelis Technologies as the Real Estate Lease Administrator managing a portfolio of domestic and international leases for the Semiconductor Manufacturing Company while completing a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration at Endicott College. Bennie later worked as the Director of Property Management for the Commercial Real-Estate firm of Dominion Advisory Group(DAG).
During his years of service to the SAHA, Bennie has worked as a Homeownership Manager, Project Manager on Artisan at Creekside, and the redevelopment of the former Sutton Homes (now Sutton Oaks), and Assistant Director of Public Housing. Bennie is a NAHRO certified Public Housing Manager, and holds Public Housing Specialist Certification, and working towards Master of Science in Nonprofit Management. His responsibilities at SAHA include oversight of 3,985 units of public housing.
 Deborah Aleman, Director of Assisted Housing Programs
For 23 years, Deborah Aleman has dedicated her career to helping improve the lives of San Antonio and Bexar County residents through housing. Currently, she is the director of Assisted Housing Programs (Section 8), for the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA). Since joining SAHA, she has held numerous leadership positions at the agency including chief operating officer, senior vice president for operations, vice president for housing programs and real estate, and vice president for assisted housing programs, among others.
In her current position, Aleman develops, directs, administers and manages the activities for the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), and other affordable housing programs. Currently, SAHA administers just over 13,000 rental assistance vouchers with a budget authority of approximately 92 million.
Aleman is a licensed Texas realtor. She is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University. In addition, she is certified as a senior professional housing manager, certified apartment manager, public housing manager and Section 8 manager. Aleman is a member of the National Association of Professional Women and is very involved in housing organizations, including the Texas Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, the San Antonio Board of Realtors, the San Antonio Apartment Association and the National Association of Redevelopment Officials. She also serves as the Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Committee for the San Antonio Board of Realtors.
 Kathryn McCormick - Development Services and Neighborhood Revitalization Officer
Kathryn McCormick has more than 20 years of housing development and community engagement experience. Her most recent position was with the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she served as the Director of Housing and Community Development. She also served as the Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Boulder, CO. McCormick has a broad range of experience in the planning, financing and development of affordable housing with non-profit, local government and private sector developers. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Arizona University and completed executive training in Housing and Community Development at Harvard University.
McCormick oversees 35 employees in the departments of Construction Services/Risk Management and Development Services/Neighborhood Revitalization. She is responsible for SAHA’s efforts in the areas of new construction, modernization and preservation of existing housing stock, sustainable and green initiatives, and risk management.
 Ed Hinojosa, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Ed Hinojosa has an extensive international and local finance and consulting background, making him well-qualified to direct SAHA’s financial and administrative operations.
Prior to joining the agency, Hinojosa held several positions of increasing responsibility during his 11-year tenure at Cargill, an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, financial and industrial products.
In addition, for 10 years, Hinojosa had a series of diverse progressively responsible positions at various companies, including plant controller, treasury, cost accounting and financial roles at A.E. Stanley, a processing subsidiary of Tate & Lyle; and Wornick Company, a privately held government contracting and consumer products company.
Hinojosa is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Texas, Pan American, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in accounting and completed additional graduate work in business administration. He also completed a one-year accelerated leadership development program, and is a member of the Financial Executives International and the Institute of Management Accountants.
 Melanie Villalobos, Policy planning and public affairs officer
Melanie Villalobos has more than 25 years of experience in personnel management, employee relations, crisis communications, issues management, media relations and community relationship-building, including 20 years over seeing operations and advising clients while vice president and co-owner of Curnutt/Hovis, Inc., a San Antonio-based full-service marketing, advertising and public relations firm.
In her current role, Villalobos oversees the Corporate Relations, Human Resources and Customer Care departments. She began her San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) career in January 2003 as a public information officer and a member of the SAHA senior management team. She progressed to vice president of corporate relations, where, under her leadership, the department won multiple honors for its website, newsletters, designs and brochures.
Villalobos is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Trinity University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in both business administration and print journalism. She is also certified as a senior professional housing manager, public housing manager and Section 8 housing manager.
Villalobos has been honored, with numerous awards, by several organizations, including the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), the Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the International Association of Business Communicators and the Association of Women in Communications.
 Paulette Owens-Holmes - Director of Human Resources
With more than 20 years of human resources experience with public agencies Paulette Owens-Holmes most recently served as Assistant City Manager and Human Resources Director at the City of Cedar Hill, Texas. Owens-Holmes has extensive experience in public administration, organizational management analysis, policy development, team building and employee services, and she has served as a sought-after consultant and public speaker on training and internal communications.
Owens-Holmes holds a bachelor’s of science degree in education and a master’s of education degree in counseling and psychology. She has also participated in the Executive Leadership Institute for Public Policy at Harvard University, and earned certifications in Human Resources, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change.
 Alejandra Villarreal, Legal and Compliance Officer
Alejandra Villarrea manages the San Antonio Housing Authority’s (SAHA) new Compliance and Process Improvement Department which works toward improving institutional compliance in all SAHA operations through the systemic audit of processes, the improvement and streamlining of procedures and specialized training for operations.
Villarreal initially joined SAHA in its Legal Department in June 2006 where she provided counsel in legal matters such as labor and employment, procurement, real estate, contracting, housing, open meetings, public information, and litigation.
Prior to joining SAHA, Villarreal was in private practice representing primarily corporate, governmental and quasi-governmental entities. She began her legal career by working in private practice with her father, also an attorney, before serving as counsel for entities including the San Antonio district attorney’s office, the Commissioners Court and other Bexar County entities. In private practice, she represented the City of San Antonio, the Alamo Community College District, the Alamo Workforce and SAWS among other organizations.
A native of San Antonio, Villarreal graduated with both her bachelor’s and juris prudence degrees from St. Mary’s University. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and serves on the organization’s labor and employment and corporate and government law sections. She is also on the board of directors for Centro Alameda Inc. and the advisory board for Hispanas Unidas Inc.
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