Staff

Maria Alejandro

Maria Alejandro, originally from Eagle Pass, TX, began her studies at San Antonio College and has earned a Bachelors of Arts in Native American Studies and Political Science at the University of the Incarnate Word.  More recently, she was awarded the Hispanic Leadership Program in Agriculture and Natural Resources fellowship at the UTSA and completed her coursework for a Masters of Arts in Political Science with concentrations in International Relations, American Politics and Institutions.  She is currently working on her thesis in the area of culture and participative policy design.  Her interests include issues of social justice, cultural studies, civic engagement, inclusive democracy and identity politics. Her work experience includes working in academia, municipal government and currently serves as the Program Director for CLI. Maria is trained in ToP Group Facilitation Methods. She is the proud mother of Ramón Darío.

Carol Rodriguez

Carol Rodríguez has twenty-two years experience providing training and technical assistance for community development corporations, nonprofit organizations, public entities, private foundations and community groups. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Community Leadership Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to providing community leadership development, training and mentorship. Her professional work experience includes program development, grants management and contract compliance for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, as well as administration of a lending program at The Enterprise Foundation San Antonio Office.  An independent consultant from 2001-2007, Ms. Rodriguez focused on board training and leadership development, consensus building, project planning and nonprofit management consulting. She is a trained ToP facilitator.