BPUB Board of Directors
Board of Directors
The leadership of BPUB is delegated to its Board of Directors, which consists of seven members. The City Commission appoints six members, and the Brownsville Mayor serves as the seventh member ex-officio.
Gerardo Martinez
Chair
Gerardo Martinez | Member
Martinez brings over two decades of experience in engineering and operation management, having worked with companies on both sides of the Brownsville-Matamoros border. Martinez works in the sustainability sector, focusing on energy resilience, waste reduction, and water/wastewater management. Martinez holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), earned in 1999. He served on the City of Brownsville’s charter review committee, was appointed to the BPUB Board on July 11, 2023, and currently contributes to BPUB’s Compensation, Facilities/Program, and Regulatory/Policy Committees.
Alonzo “Al” Villarreal
Vice Chair
Alonzo “Al” Villarreal | Member
With 30 years of experience in the banking industry, Al Villarreal continues to grow his career with IBC Bank by taking the reigns as CEO of IBC Bank-Brownsville in September 2016. Villarreal began his career with IBC Bank in 1993 as a commercial bank officer. As CEO, Villarreal oversees the entire IBC Bank-Brownsville market in Cameron County, which includes branches located in Harlingen, Port Isabel, South Padre Island and Brownsville. Prior to joining IBC, Villarreal worked for several financial institutions, including MBank Dallas and Bank One San Antonio. He was also an adjunct instructor of finance at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. In keeping with the IBC philosophy of "We Do More," Villarreal is actively involved in several organizations throughout Brownsville. He currently serves on the Board of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority. Previously, Villarreal served in a leadership capacity as the Board Chair for the United Way of Southern Cameron County, Walk Chair for the March of Dimes, Vice Chair for the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, and board member for the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation. Villarreal received his Bachelors of Business Administration with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University.
Daisy Zamora, Ph.D.
Secretary/Treasurer
Daisy Zamora, Ph.D | Secretary/Treasurer
Zamora is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Her research on the correlation between nutrition and health has been published in medical journals and featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and National Public Radio. Before joining BPUB, Zamora served on the City of Brownsville’s charter review committee and most recently served as the board chair for the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville. Zamora was appointed to the BPUB board on July 2, 2023, and currently sits on BPUB’s Regulatory/Policy Committee.
Alejandro Najera
Member
Alejandro Najera | Member
Najera graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, specializing in energy procurement. He founded a company in 2008 dedicated to acquiring energy contracts for clients across Texas. After 17 years, he sold the business and ventured into real estate and construction. Recently, he became part of an eightlocation restaurant holding company. Born and raised in Brownsville, his family has held several companies that have provided employment opportunities for the city’s residents for 90 years. Najera was appointed to the BPUB Board on July 2, 2023, and serves on BPUB’s Audit and Compensation Committees.
Joseph L. Hollmann, Ph.D.
Member
Joseph Hollmann, Ph.D | Vice Chair
Hollmann is employed at Draper Laboratories in Cambridge, Mass. Before this, he was an adjunct professor and postdoctoral fellow at Northeastern University in Boston, where he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering. In 2014, Hollmann was awarded a Nest Fellowship to develop techniques for the optical monitoring of cerebral blood flow. By 2017, he began working at Draper Labs, where he later established the Edge Sensors research group. This group focuses on developing innovative sensors by integrating advanced physics, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. On August 4, 2022, Hollmann was appointed to the BPUB board and currently serves as President of the SRWA, as a member of BPUB’s Finance and Compensation Committees, and is a participant in the City of Brownsville/BPUB Joint Subcommittee.
Martin Sarkis
Member
John F. Cowen, Jr.
Ex-Officio Member, Elected
John F. Cowen, Jr. | Mayor, Ex-Officio Member
Mayor Cowen is the president of Cowen Group, LTD, overseeing its operations and growth initiatives since 2007. He holds a bachelor’s in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and is a licensed U.S. Customs broker. Cowen serves as the City of Brownsville mayor, focusing on economic development and fiscal stewardship. He is the former Chair of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp., current Chair of the City of Brownsville Audit & Oversight Committee, a participant of the City of Brownsville/BPUB Joint Subcommittee, and a member of an exofficio Brownsville Public Utilities Board member since May 16, 2023.