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Gilbert Gonzalez

Director - Rural Business Program

Gilbert (Gil) Gonzalez served as Deputy Undersecretary and Acting Undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development mission area in Washington, D.C. He managed Rural Housing Services, Rural Utilities Service and Rural Business-Cooperative Service managing efforts related to minority home ownership, broadband, renewable energy, small business and faith-based programs. While at USDA Mr. Gonzalez also served as an advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman during the Katrina and Rita hurricane recovery efforts in the State of Louisiana.In 2006, Mr. Gonzalez joined the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding team, as deputy director where he facilitated the long-term rebuilding efforts in Louisiana and in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Region.Prior to his appointment to USDA, Mr. Gonzalez served as president of the Community Development Loan Fund (CDLF), Inc. overseeing the company�s investment and loan portfolio. The CDLF was a collaborative between the City of San Antonio, U.S. Department of Treasury�s Community Development Financial Institution program and 21 bank investors which serve the credit and capital needs of small businesses and non-profit organizations.On Sept. 1, 2009, Mr. Gonzalez joined the University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development to serve as Director of the Rural Business Program (RBP). He manages the RBP which focuses upon rural development, capacity-building and business development within the South-West Texas Border Small Business Development Center Network.Since 2010 Mr. Gonzalez participated and worked on several Eagle Ford Shale joint studies pertaining to economic impact, workforce and housing with the Center for Community and Business Research, Center for Urban and Regional Planning and College of Public Policy. As Director of the RBP he works with small and rural communities in the Eagle Ford and Cline Shale oil and gas impacted regions educating community leaders and municipalities on seizing the opportunities created by the shale energy boom to diversify their local economy, create jobs and develop sustainable communities.He currently serves as a co-chair on the economic development and community investment committees of the Eagle Ford Consortium (EFC). The EFC is a community-based organization that represents the twenty-four county Eagle Ford Shale region. The membership of the EFC is comprised of municipal, workforce, education, energy and production companies, landowners, economic development organizations, healthcare and housing representatives.Mr. Gonzalez also serves as co-chair of the D. C. based Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) Shale Energy Special Interest Group; a national effort connecting small business clients with supply-chain opportunities being created by the energy sector.�