Jesse F. Garza was born and raised on the Southside of San Antonio and graduated from Burbank High School. He attended San Antonio College before transferring to Our Lady of the Lake University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education with an emphasis in creative writing, and later completed a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Jesse has spent more than 12 years in nonprofit and higher education leadership across San Antonio, directing federally funded grants with measurable results. These include La Familia, a bilingual parent college readiness program at TAMU-SA built with six school district partners that raised first year student persistence, a Title V STEM initiative at Our Lady of the Lake University that delivered a new campus makerspace, and an Adult Education & Literacy program serving five campuses and twenty five community sites with Alamo Colleges.

Jesse now serves as Project Manager of Fundraising and Development with The Center for Health Care Services Foundation, supporting mental health services and programs for Bexar County.

Jesse lives in San Antonio with his wife, Norma Garza, and their daughter, an NHI @ San Antonio participant.