CAMPUS TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Carlos Chavez

Chavez has been with UTRGV since July 2016 as the Assistant Director for Facilities Programs & Services and UTRGV Tree Care Coordinator. He earned his Bachelor in International Business Management in the fall of 1998 from the University of Texas PanAmerican. He served as the President for Forum for International Relations and Business Affairs (FIRBA) in spring 1998. He has over 27 years of management experience in the service sector.

Martin Cortez

Martin Cortez is the Associate Director for Campus Facilities Operations at the Brownsville campus. His responsibilities include the oversight of building and grounds maintenance, as well as custodial services. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from the University of Texas at Brownsville. Cortez has been with the UT system for over 30 years.

Marianella Franklin

Marianella Franklin has been with UT since 2003, managing projects for Facilities Planning and Construction. She earned her Bachelor in Architecture from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico. Marianella was the founder of the Office for Sustainability putting UTRGV among the first to begin a sustainability office in the UT system. Mrs. Franklin's passion for sustainability began from her desire to improve quality of design within architecture, which quickly spread to a concern of overall lifestyle for both campus and community.

Bill Green

Green has been with the Texas A&M Forest Service since April 2016 as the Regional Urban Forester for South Texas-RGV-Coastal Bend. He earned his B.S. degree in Forestry from State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, and his M.S. degree in Plant & Soil Science from Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Texas. Bill lived in Central and South America for more than 20 years while working with the U.S. Peace Corps implementing non-formal education learning programs.

Damien Davila is part of the UTRGV Campus Tree Advisory Committee. His role is to keep track of information that is shared in quarterly meetings by writing minutes, keep track of data that is provided by faculty and staff via excel spreadsheets, and assist with the completion of the Tree Campus report. Even though the role requires him to be behind a computer, the contribution ties back to Tree Campus by assisting my fellow co-workers in completing press releases, designations, and other materials to share amongst my campus and the community. By doing this, we hope to get more students, faculty, and staff to be involved in tree-related service-learning projects and the commitment to planting and maintaining trees.

Georgina Mota

Georgina Mota was awarded the position of City Forester for the City of Brownsville. The city now will receive updates from her. She reports on presentations, discussions, and acknowledgements on existing BBC project maintenance report.