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SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS HLAA HUB
HLAA’s South-Central Texas hub fosters professional and community advancement for alumni by facilitating local networking events, cross-cultural engagement, balanced cross-sector programming and institutional representation. The South-Central Texas hub strengthens relationships between alumni, Clubs, SIGs and prospective students to increase recruitment, mentorship and fellowship. Initiatives include: workshops, service projects and collaboration with local organizations to ensure Latino visibility and participation by celebrating and educating on Latino culture, history and contributions.
MEET THE MEMBERS
Dr. Linda Vargas-Lew has worked in education for over 35 years in numerous leadership roles including being a teacher, counselor, 4A and 5A high school principal, and District Director of College Counseling. She pursued a Master of Education in Teaching, Curriculum and Learning Environment from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a Doctor of Education in K-16 Educational Leadership from Baylor University. Dr. Vargas-Lew looks forward to working with local and national communities to make an innovative contribution to the advancement of students to competitively prepare them for the 21st century.
LINDA VARGAS-LEW
Harvard Graduate School of Education EdM ‘86
Currently James serves as Vice President with Kanban Business Process Improvement (KBPI) where he leads a team of Management Consultants versed in the transformational leadership methodology. He attended graduate school at Harvard University earning a master’s degree in management. James has served as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Control Tower Operator (CTO) Air Traffic Controller.
JAMES L. WATKINS JR.
GSAS ALM ‘18
Ariel Gamiño is a Solution Engineer for Cloud & AI Apps at Microsoft, where he partners with commercial customers to design and deploy secure, scalable AI applications and agentic solutions. Ariel holds a B.S. in Computer Science from UT Austin, a Master’s in Software Engineering from Harvard University, and an M.S. in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. He also serves as President of the Harvard Extension Alumni Association, leading a global community of more than 40,000 members across 150 countries.
ARIEL GAMIÑO
Harvard Extension School ALM ‘03
Dr. Judith A. Canales is a skilled executive experienced in leading federal and local government agencies and nonprofit economic development organizations. She served under three U.S. Presidents—Clinton, Obama, and Biden—helping direct billions in federal investment to strengthen rural and urban communities. Dr. Canales was national president of MANA, A National Latina Organization, a graduate of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, and the co-author of the National Council of La Raza report, “The Hispanic Housing Crisis.” She is a board member of BCL of Texas, active member of the Eagle Pass Rotary Club, and has been recognized for her leadership by national, statewide and local organizations.
JUDITH A. CANALES PhD
Harvard Kennedy School of Government MC/MPA ‘96
Specializing in youth policy, advocacy and research, Irene Gómez has led social and emotional learning initiatives for and with systemically impacted communities across the country for the past decade. Through her work at institutions such as The University of Texas, the Intercultural Development Research Association, and the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, Irene has conducted mixed method analyses and evaluations on civil rights at the local, state and federal levels. Irene keeps her life full raising 3 cats, 1 dog, and 1 silly son with her partner in San Antonio.
IRENE GOMEZ
Harvard Graduate School of Education EdM ‘21
Charles Massiatte joined Martin Capital Advisors after working as a Financial Advisor and Assistant Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in San Antonio, Texas. He earned his Bachelor of Liberal Arts, cum laude, from Harvard University, concentrating in economics and psychology and continues to pursue graduate coursework at Harvard in the history of ideas and religion. Charles serves as a member of the Humane Letters Faculty at Great Hearts Academy (Monte Vista), where he currently teaches Great Books in the American Tradition and Economic Theory.
CHARLES ANTHONY MASSIATTE
Harvard University Extension School ALB ‘18
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