Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen, announced her candidacy for the District 4 seat on the South Texas College Board of Trustees on Friday.
A native of McAllen, Alcantar has over 10 years of teaching experience, most recently at Robert Vela High School in Edinburg. She graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Communication Design before earning her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas Pan-American.
Soon after, she began her work in educational policy as an intern with state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, in his Austin office.
“Her innovative approaches to affecting family communication in schools has led Gonzalez-Alcantar to receive numerous awards and recognitions including the McAllen Chamber of Commerce Innovation Grant, The United States Small Business Administration’s Innovation Through Technology Business of the Year for the Rio Grande Valley, Parenting Magazine’s Mom Congress Texas Delegate, The Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Women of Distinction in 2016, among other honors,” her campaign announcement stated.
Alcantar has spoken on numerous panels, including one at Georgetown University’s OWN IT Summit, where she joined Latina Leaders in the country, as well as at Texas State University’s Leadership Institute on the topic, “Leadership and Justice in the 21st Century”.
On an international stage, Alcantar spoke at Austin’s SXSW conference and festival where she shared her experiences and research on the topic, “Minority Report: Engaging Kids of Color in Tech.”
Alcantar was appointed to the Boys & Girls Club of America’s (BGCA) National Intergovernmental Affairs committee in 2019, as well as Texas State University’s Development Council.
She was also appointed to the BGCA’s President’s Advisory Council, a national council aimed at fulfilling BGCA’s mission to equip and empower the youth.
More recently, Alcantar was named the National Southwest Executive of the Year in 2020, representing seven states for her nationwide leadership in the youth development space during the pandemic.
The mother of Elijah and Madalin and wife to fellow educator Marco Alcantar, Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar also recently launched Alablanca Apparel, an e-commerce clothing line inspired by humanity on the South Texas border. Her technology startup, eJucomm, was acquired by San Francisco-based CampusOrb, a victory for women and Hispanics.
“Her main focus is on her family and community and attributes her success to her supportive children and husband while giving God the glory in all she does,” the campaign announcement further stated. “Together the Alcantar’s serve their community through Baptist Temple in McAllen, TX where Alcantar serves on the finance committee.”
