Management Team

President & Chief Executive Officer - Janie Barrera

Founding President and CEO Janie Barrera brings over 20 years of management, fundraising, community-building and marketing experience to ACCION Texas. Ms. Barrera's responsibilities include loan portfolio management, fund raising, staff and program management for all lending sites. Ms Barrera has received national recognition and numerous awards for her accomplishments in the micro lending arena. Ms. Barrera earned an M.B.A. from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and a B.S. from Corpus Christi State University.

Chief Operations Officer - Gary Lindner

Chief Operating Officer, Gary Lindner, directly supervises the ACCION Texas staff, and is responsible fo the daily operations of all departments and personnel. He has over 30 years of highly successful leadership, management, and fundraising experience. Upon his arrival in 2004, he introduced business practices that have resulted in more than doubling the loan portfolio in three years, and concurrently reduced loan delinquencies, charge offs and restructures to all time lows. Before joining ACCION Texas, he was a senior vice president for Southwest Business Corporation. An Air Force Academy graduate and career Air Force officer, he is a command pilot and highly decorated combat veteran, with extensive command and staff experience. He retired with the rank of Colonel. Mr. Lindner earned a masters degree in political science from Auburn University and has served on numerous civic and non-profit boards.

Chief Financial Officer - Gustavo Lasala

Chief Financial Officer since 2004, Gustavo Lasala leads the Finance & Accounting, Underwriting, Collections, and Information Technology departments. He is responsible for Microloan Management Services (MMS) the first service-center for microlending in USA. Mr. Lasala joined ACCION Texas in 2003 as a Citigroup-sponsored intern. He conceived and developed the scoring engine at the core of ACCION Texas services and MMS. In 2008 Mr. Lasala played a key role in the financial design and implementation of the historic $30 Million asset purchase agreement between ACCION Texas and Citibank. Prior to ACCION Texas he worked 10 years for national and international organizations in Latin America. Mr. Lasala holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Vice-President Lending - Virginia Torres

Virginia Torres, Vice-President of Lending brings 31 years of banking experience to her position, including loan officer, personal banker, and assistant branch manager. Ms. Torres manages 11 ACCION Texas loan officers in 10 satellite offices and the San Antonio headquarters.

Vice-President Human Resources & Admin - Janie Hernandez

Janie Hernandez, Vice-President Human Resources serves as the central liaison among ACCION Texas' network of satellite offices. She is responsible for Human Resources activities statewide, coordination of the Individual Development Account (IDA) program and recruitment of AmeriCorps*VISTA members, volunteers and interns. Ms. Hernandez has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Business Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word. Before joining ACCION Texas, she worked in various administrative positions in human resources, professional development, finance, distribution and sales, marketing and new media at the San Antonio Express-News, a division of the Hearst Corporation.

Vice-President Special Programs - Aurora Perkins

Aurora Perkins, Vice-President of Special Programs serves as the central contact for ACCION Texas' operational projects and outreach programs within the entire state. Ms. Perkins joined ACCION Texas in May 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in various operational positions to include the areas of human resources, volunteer management and operational program management. She has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Masters of Public Administration from Troy State University.

Vice-President External Affairs -Ken Raymie

Ken Raymie, Vice-President of External Affairs, joined ACCION in November 2009 to oversee the Development and Public Relations/Communications efforts of the organization. Prior to joining ACCION, Mr. Raymie spent his entire career in the banking industry, initially as a bank examiner and progressing to community bank executive management as San Antonio Market Executive for Lone Star National Bank and EVP, Commercial Banking Manager for Broadway National Bank. Mr. Raymie earned an M.B.A. from Northeastern University in Boston, and a B.A. in Economics from Boston University.

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