Team

Mr. Garcia is a native of El Paso, Texas, and third-generation El Pasoan. He attended local public schools and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with Computer Option, in May of 1983. Mr. Garcia graduated in December of 2006 from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) with a Master of Science in Program Management.

He was the top Army civilian student in his NPS graduating class, receiving the Army Achievement Award for Academic Excellence. He is retired from the United States Civil Service at White Sands Missile Range having built a rewarding career there over 34 years, most recently serving as Director of Range Operations in charge of Range instrumentation, Range Control Center Operations and Post-Test data processing functions. Mr. Garcia was recognized as Outstanding "Ex" (honored alumni) from Eastwood High School in 2005, is a recipient of the Department of Army Civilian Achievement Medal and Commander's Civilian Service Medal, was selected as one of Federal Computer Week’s Federal 100 in 1999 and made national television appearances on "Good Morning America" and CNN representing White Sands and the US Army on their Y2K efforts.

He is now Clinical Professor of Corporate Enterprise at the UTEP College of Business Administration where he teaches Total Quality Management, Organizational Behavior, Franchising, Service Operations and Operations Management. His research interests include the commercial use of autonomous vehicles and aircraft, the role and effect of innovation and entrepreneurship within existing business enterprises and legacy computing challenges faced by business and educational institutions. Mr. Garcia has published articles and research in the Proceedings of the International Telemetering Conference, Army RD&A Magazine, and the Joint Applied Projects Collection of the Dudley Knox Library at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Fernanda holds a certificate from the Harvard Business School in Entrepreneurship Essentials and FinTech, a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from UTEP and currently she’s pursuing a Master of Science in Information Technology from the College of Engineering.

In February 2020, she received the UTEP President’s Meritorious Staff Award for her efforts and advocacy to build multi-disciplinary learning experiences and entrepreneurial development and outreach.

Fernanda is a co-founder of an entertainment company in Mexico and a student organization at UTEP Campus. She provides consulting services for local community initiatives such as TEDx in Ciudad Juarez. Previous to join the UTEP family workforce, she worked for the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs at the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, Texas where she developed and executed proposals in the areas of education, finance, and health.

She has served as a consultant, panelist, and instructor for the Mexican Petroleum Institute and the Binational Innovation Node in Mexico City and Monterrey.

As an alumnus, graduate student, and participant in several entrepreneurship competitions she fully understands and supports research in innovation, commerce, and entrepreneurship. Her education from the College of Business and College of Engineering along with her professional career makes her an adequate appointee to direct the Loya Center operations.

Karla is the Program Manager for the Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce. Karla holds a BBA in Supply Chain Management and an MBA in Management, both from UTEP. Karla is proud to mention that she has been part of the UTEP family all her professional life. Before joining the MLCIC team, Karla worked as the Coordinator of the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development for several years. Her favorite part of working at UTEP is the networking component to build strong collaborations inside and outside the University to impact the community we serve.

Fun Fact:

Karla loves oil painting. This activity encourages an optimistic attitude and brings overall wellness while expanding her creative growth.

Jon Avila completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Houston with a double-major in entrepreneurship & marketing. Currently Jon is a graduate research fellow at the Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce (MLCIC) pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration. Prior to joining the MLCIC team, Jon’s career focused on implementing augmented & mixed reality applications across multiple enterprise verticals in the Texas ecosystem. Mr. Avila’s professional mission is to encourage XR adoption by isolating / measuring key performance indicators with a concentration on user feedback.

Fun Fact:

Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Jon Avila’s 10 year goal is to continue living in the borderland and establish formal use cases with immersive technologies. On the weekends, Jon hangs out with his golden retriever named Indi. 

Sou is currently a graduate student pursuing her Master's in Computer Science at UTEP. She considers herself an accomplished coder and programmer, and she enjoys using her skills to contribute to the exciting technological advances that happen every day. She graduated from one of the pioneer colleges in India with a bachelor's degree in Information Technology. Starting from school, she was zealous and thought of contributing her technical knowledge in various fields. Likewise, she has 2+ years of experience in a Fortune 500 company and served as a full-stack developer. To obtain a challenging position in a vibrant entrepreneurial environment that continuously evolves with meaningful innovative technologies and allows her an opportunity to utilize 2+ years of her global distributed technology development, web, mobile software design, database development experience, and consistently enables her to achieve and exceed the goals as a team player or as an individual contributor.

Fun Fact:

Sou likes to learn Spanish and play badminton in her free time.

Jose Reza will be graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the end of the Fall 2021 semester, and will start his Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering on Spring 2022. During his undergraduate career, Jose enjoyed working at UTEP, particularly meeting and working with UTEP students, at the Recreational Sports Department he worked in team building challenge initiatives that helped students experience the importance of communication and trust within a team, while guarantying their safety at heights of over 20 feet. At the University Honors Program he encouraged students to take the initiative to expand their professional and educational skills while promoting their engagement in UTEP EDGE activities, he also worked in the development of a College Based Honors Program that will help students pursue an Honors Degree while directly collaborating with their specific college by getting involved in research, internships, community engagement and more. He is now excited to join the Mike Loya Center to learn more about entrepreneurship.

Fun Fact:

He likes to play challenging videogames, practice different sports and learn Latin dances.  

Karla is currently pursuing her MBA degree at UTEP, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from NMSU. Karla has eight years of experience working as a wellness manager for a New Mexico Food CO-OP where she supported emerging and already established local businesses from the Las Cruces and El Paso area. Karla had the opportunity to integrate wellness and business which inspired her to continue her education in business. As a graduate fellow Karla is excited to encourage and support entrepreneurs in their new ventures.

Fun Fact:

Karla loves her dog Paulo, listening to podcasts, enjoys workout classes and learning about skincare.

Gustavo completed his bachelors in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. Currently he is a graduate research fellow at the Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce (MLCIC) pursuing a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering with a certificate in 3D Engineering and Additive Manufacturing. Prior to joining the MLCIC team, he had some engineering experience  both volunteering and working for a lab at the Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) in which its research is related to Unmanned Aerial Systems and 3D manufacturing. Additionally, he had a internship of 6 months with Cummins in one of the filtration plants working as product design engineer. Also, he has some experience working at the university as Math tutor and peer mentor for two programs, College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) and Student Support Services Program (SSSP). After graduation, Gustavo hopes to get a engineering full time position at a U.S.

Fun Fact:

Gustavo likes to learn new things such as engineering softwares, cooking as well as play video games, exercise, run and watch or play sports in his spare time. 

Mario is currently pursuing his Master’s of Science in Manufacturing Engineering at UTEP, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechatronics Engineering from UACJ.

Mario has more than three years of experience working as a Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in corporative companies such as BRP Can Am and Johnson & Johnson in Ciudad Juárez. His experience includes working on product design projects created in 2D and 3D as well as using the 3D printer to make prototypes. He has also worked on production lines, validating quality products, and optimizing times to speed up the production process. Mario is also an entrepreneur. He owns his own business in Cd. Juarez, where he customizes products like mugs, puzzles, and t-shirts.

Fun Fact:

Mario has been playing piano since he was 6 years old. He never misses the chance to watch a Formula 1 race or football marathon.

Marisol is a second-year student in the Master of Business Administration at UTEP, expected to graduate in May 2023. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism with a minor in Legal Reasoning from UTEP. Marisol is a published journalist and photojournalist who has worked with multiple news outlets in the past, including The Dallas Morning News and Al Día Dallas. She put her journalism career on hold to return to school and get an MBA to diversify her future and career options. As a graduate fellow, Marisol hopes to learn more about innovation and entrepreneurship while helping accelerate student startups and finding new ways to turn ideas into successful businesses.

Fun Fact:

Marisol's favorite hobbies are running and going to concerts.

Omar is currently pursuing his Master's of Science in Manufacturing Engineering at UTEP, and he holds a Bachelor's in Mechatronics Engineering from UTCJ. Omar has more than 7 years in the manufacturing area, since his beginnings in high school taking Advances Plastic Injection Molding courses at the Ciudad Juarez High Technology Training Center, he was part of the first generation of dual education in Ciudad Juarez at the JuP1 technical dual education center, obtaining the title of Specialist in mechatronics in the German dual professional training program endorsed by the Mexican-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Omar worked for 5 years at the Robert Bosch company in the area of mechanical design, obtaining different certifications. Omar also has experience in the technical area of manufacturing such as the use of different tools and machinery such as knowledge in CNC, CAD software.

Fun Fact:

Omar likes to play sports in his free time, he likes to play some instruments and he is fond of cinematography and painting.

Ismael ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium.

Fun Fact:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor.

Denisse is pursuing her Master's in Business Administration at UTEP as a second-year student. In addition, she has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science Concentration. Through her preparation, she had experience in a cell signaling research lab focusing on understanding intracellular signaling pathways responsible for mediating lymphocyte activation, specifically T-cell. During that time, Denisse had two scientific publications; she designed new experiments and data analysis, disseminated scientific findings, and analyzed patient samples. As a graduate fellow, Denisse expects to get involved in the innovation and entrepreneurship field and learn from her peers and students.

Fun Fact:

Denisse enjoys playing board games, watching movies, and learning about pop culture.

Mia is currently an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor's in international business with a minor in Marketing. Throughout her school years, Mia has been recognized as someone with determination and commitment in every task that she needs to accomplish. She has experience in business, such as attending the School of Economics & Management, Tongji University in Shanghai during the summer of 2018. Mia is currently the principal consultant at Studio G UTEP, our student business accelerator mentioned in Forbes in 2020. She has had the incredible opportunity to meet future and current entrepreneurs, gain professional experience, develop effective communication skills, strong leadership, the ability to identify opportunities, solve problems efficiently, work, and meet with people from around the world. 

Fun Fact:

Mia loves horses and her bulldog Max. She has been an equestrian since she was very young and has participated in equestrian jumping events. 

Carlos is a senior undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor's degree in marketing with a minor in international business. Carlos is currently Mr. UTEP 2022, a title he takes great pride in. Carlos is a podcast host for the "Mine Your Business Entrepreneurship Podcast" at the Mike Loya Center for Innovation and Commerce, where students entrepreneurs can share their success stories and be recognized for achieving peak performance. A consultant and marketing specialist for Studio G (UTEP's business accelerator program). Hunt Startup Sponsorship Advisor and Co-Instructor with The Hunt Center for Innovation (NMSU). Former Student Government Association Senator at Large and Legislative Liaison for Special Events and Marketing, former Academic Advising Center peer academic advisor. Carlos is proud to be a UTEP miner, and he enjoys serving his community by getting involved and helping others in raising their voices and growing professionally and academically

Fun Fact:

Carlos was a magic maker, during the Spring 2022 semester, he interned for the Walt Disney Company at Walt Disney World. And his favorite pixar movie is Cars.

My name is Noelle, and I am an artist born and raised in El Paso, Texas. I am currently working on my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The University of Texas at El Paso. My concentrations are in Graphic Design and Metals. I have worked with different departments on campus such as the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development and Creative Studios. My experience has included a range of different projects, including brand identities, campaigns, and media content. I am also involved with the fine arts department where my work has been selected for a variety of art exhibitions and festivals.

Fun Fact:

When I am not creating, you can find me with my kitty committee. I don’t adopt cats… they adopt me! I have four adorable cats, Stitches, Simon, Stinky and Ghost.