Former Brownsville economic development official Gilberto Salinas has been named among 2021’s Top 50 Economic Developers in North America by the Michigan-based firm Consultant Connect, largely on the basis of his work here.
Salinas is former executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council and former interim executive director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation. With BEDC, Salinas took part in initial talks with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk about establishing a spaceport at Boca Chica.
Salinas, who’s now executive director of Kerr Economic Development Corporation in Kerrville — he still lives in Brownsville — and operates his own consulting firm, EcoDevo Concepts, noted that the Top 50 recognition falls on the 10-year anniversary of his initial visit with Musk, who floated a proposal for a rocket manufacturing and launch site at the eastern terminus of S.H. 4.
Consultant Connect, which links economic developers with business site consultants, said the Top 50 honorees were nominated by their colleagues in the economic development and site selection industries based on “excellent practices, innovation and success in building the communities they serve.”
Salinas said the judges evaluated the nominees on body of work in the profession and especially their economic development efforts in the midst of the pandemic. He spent 13 years in economic development in Brownsville, most of it with BEDC, and since then in his new role has created an economic resiliency plan and landed a “major aerospace firm” for Kerrville, Salinas said.
“The 400-person operation is a tier-one supplier to the likes of Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and the (Department of Defense), and soon enough they also will be jumping into the space sector, which of course I happen to know a little something about,” he said.
In addition, Salinas was recognized for his work in 2020 crafting a plan for development of an Innovation Campus for Additive and Advanced Manufacturing in Pittsburgh, Penn., and providing counsel to Austin for that city’s Tesla Gigafactory project. He’s also leading a team of experts to assist with economic efforts involved in rebuilding Puerto Rico, still reeling from two hurricanes, a tsunami, a series of earthquakes and the pandemic.
“This work is ongoing and we’re working with the International Economic Development Council to develop their first ever federal Economic Development District, which will be a huge economic win for Puerto Rico,” Salinas said. “I’ve been pretty busy in landing deals, creating economic resiliency where needed and offering counsel for different cities and projects, and it all started with that phone call 10 years ago, from that little company called SpaceX.”
Salinas and his fellow Top 50 winners will receive their awards at Consultant Connect’s Economix event in Phoenix, Ariz., in December.
“This year’s group faced hurdles unlike any other Top 50 group has seen over the past year, and we are honored to provide a platform for them to be recognized for the incredibly hard work that they do every day for their communities,” said Consultant Connect Managing Director Carla Sones.
