George Peck almost missed the phone call that started his entire San Antonio career, an old cassette-tape answering machine message he didn't hear for a week. Nearly four decades later, he's a former RECSA president, one of the longest-serving members of the San Antonio Planning Commission, and a 2019 Philip Barshop Founder's Award recipient.

In this episode, George traces his path from a small engineering school in upstate New York to becoming one of San Antonio's most trusted voices in development, thanks to two demanding mentors who shaped how he leads today. He shares the wild story behind the most intense Planning Commission meeting of his career, involving the Alamo, hours of testimony, and a full police escort out of the building. He also opens up about turning to marathon and ultra-distance running in his late 30s, and shares his honest read on where San Antonio's growth and affordability challenges are headed next.

Episode Chapters

• (00:00) Cold Open
• (00:24) Welcome and Introduction
• (02:10) From Upstate New York to San Antonio
• (09:06) Finding Mentors: Paul Denham and Steve Hannan
• (15:23) How a Missed Voicemail Led to 14 Years on the Planning Commission
• (18:02) Transforming the City's Relationship with Development Services
• (34:15) The Alamo Plan Meeting That Needed a Police Escort
• (38:22) Winning the Philip Barshop Award
• (53:52) San Antonio's Growth, Affordability, and What Comes Next
• (59:46) Rapid Fire Questions

• KCI Technologies: https://www.kci.com
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com

Podcast Production Services by https://EveryWord.Media

Leo Gomez has spent his career building things San Antonio said couldn't be built, twice, from a downtown arena the Spurs weren't supposed to be able to afford, to a former Air Force base most people still think is off-limits to civilians.

In this episode, Leo traces his path from a childhood in McAllen to leading the redevelopment of Brooks, one of the fastest-growing three-mile markets in San Antonio. He explains why he modeled Brooks after The Woodlands, Mueller, and Lowry, why tax increment reinvestment zones matter more than most people realize, and why he believes San Antonio consistently thinks too small. He also opens up about a walking pilgrimage across Portugal and Spain that changed how he sees the years ahead.

• (00:44) Welcome and Introduction
• (01:29) From the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio
• (13:07) Chambers, Networking, and Landing at the Spurs
• (18:03) Building a Basketball Arena and the Original Spurs Deal
• (25:52) Toyota, Then Back to the Spurs
• (33:17) The Brooks Story: Vision, Models, and Rebuilding Infrastructure
• (43:41) Inside Brooks Today: Growth, Trees, and Misconceptions
• (53:52) Mentorship, Big Ideas, and Thinking Bigger for San Antonio
• (01:00:48) Life Outside Work and Rapid Fire Questions

• Brooks: https://livebrooks.com/
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com/

Podcast Production Services by https://EveryWord.Media

Debra Guerrero has spent almost thirty years in the rooms where San Antonio's biggest decisions get made, first as the only woman on City Council in 1997, then on the SAISD Board during one of the district's most difficult stretches, and now as a senior leader at The NRP Group, where she's helped build tens of thousands of housing units across Texas.

In this episode, Debra traces her path from a childhood on the southeast side, where her father worked at Kelly Air Force Base and her mother ran a neighborhood beauty salon, through an early start in campaign politics at age 14, a Planning Commission appointment that introduced her to the developers shaping the city, and into a career built around one core idea: that housing is as essential as water and electricity. She talks candidly about her four years on City Council, her decision to help turn around a struggling school district, and why she believes San Antonio still hasn't fully learned to celebrate its own wins.

• (00:30) Welcome and Introduction
• (03:01) Growing Up on the Southeast Side: Family, Faith, and a Neighborhood Salon
• (07:12) Getting Political at 14: Campaigns, the Hatch Act, and Finding Her Path
• (14:59) The Planning Commission Appointment That Changed Everything
• (24:02) From City Council to the SAISD Board: Nearly a Decade Shaping Schools
• (32:33) Four Years at City Hall: Being the Only Woman in the Room
• (44:30) Joining The NRP Group and the Legacy of Dan Markson
• (55:51) The State of Affordable Housing in San Antonio and Texas
• (01:03:04) Advice for Young Women in Leadership, Plus Rapid Fire Questions

• The NRP Group: https://nrpgroup.com
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio: https://recsanantonio.com
• SAISD: https://www.saisd.net

Podcast Production Services by EveryWord Media - https://everyword.media