Daniel Silva, RGV Partnership

By Dr. Kimberly Selber Photography by Bronson delRio

RGV Partnership President and CEO DANIEL SILVA

For Daniel Silva, the new President and CEO of the RGV Partnership, the job started before he did. “The Friday before my first official day,” Silva recalled, “I got a call from a board member about an amazing opportunity with Workforce Commission. These things can’t wait. So before I even walked into the office on my first day, we were already off and running.”

Education, healthcare, workforce development, transportation, and energy are the pillars of the Partnership’s focus. “A lot of those elements I’ve focused on over my past 20 years, but only for a specific city,” Silva stated. “I want to do something on a more regional scale, have a bigger impact on the valley.” And that’s just what the Partnership is all about.

The RGV Partnership is the bridge between all counties—Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy. Using energy as an example of how this works, Silva explained, “LNG is talking to Brownsville, and then wind farms are talking to Harlingen– two different chambers and different EDCs. They’re going to claim them as important to their communities. My job is to take both of those and put them together as energy to benefit the region.” Silva further states, “We have a population and workforce that can attract these businesses, but we all need to be on the same page.”

The goal is for the RGV Partnership to be the regional entity for any economic resource. This provides a single source for site selectors and any entity in the Valley that is searching for information. “Instead of gathering information from a lot of different avenues, the Partnership can promote the entire region successfully,” stated Silva.

Over the past six or seven years, Silva observed, cities are finding their niche. “For example, Rio Grande City is full of history. Edinburg is the County Seat, University town and health care delivery. McAllen is top of mind for the maquiladoras, industrial parks and retail. Mission is the go-to for start-up businesses and produce. Harlingen is wind farms and a lot of industrial space. Brownsville is liquid energy and SpaceX.” With so much to offer, Silva’s goal is for the Valley to be on every site selector’s radar. “They’re looking at the Chicago metro area, the LA metro area, and the Dallas metro area. We also want the Rio Grande Valley to be top of mind.”