Prosper West San Antonio introduced the appointment of Ryan Kuhl as its new president and CEO on Wednesday. Kuhl is moving into the function after having served because the group’s interim CEO for the previous six months.
Kuhl’s appointment comes at a important time for the nonprofit financial growth group devoted to fostering prosperity on the town’s Westside. He succeeds former CEO Ramiro Gonzales, whose resignation in Could left the group in a transitional interval, marked by each inner modifications and challenges associated to metropolis funding and redevelopment efforts.
Prosper West — previously Westside Improvement Company — acquired the final of its financial growth division {dollars} from the town in September, and is present process a shift in the place its income comes from.
In 2023, an inner audit discovered that the town had not been adequately monitoring its funding settlement with Prosper West, and the nonprofit had not correctly documented all its processes. That audit was the catalyst behind the town’s determination to carry off on funding Prosper West shifting ahead, in addition to to halt funding to the San Antonio for Progress on the Eastside (SAGE) and Southside First Financial Improvement Council.
Kuhl says he appears ahead to serving to the group transfer into its subsequent part.
His earlier roles embody managing associate at First American Business Property Group, actual property supervisor for Heart Metropolis Improvement and chief working officer for SA2020.
Kuhl mentioned his quick priorities embody bolstering help for Westside small companies, in addition to implementing long-term initiatives to strengthen the Westside’s financial basis.
“Our focus is on driving community-centered options that uplift our neighbors and create sustainable development for generations to return,” Kuhl mentioned. “By offering focused assets, constructing partnerships, and listening to the voices of our neighborhood, we are going to proceed to redefine what’s doable for San Antonio’s Westside.”
We sat down with Kuhl to ask him extra about his new function and to debate his imaginative and prescient for Prosper West shifting ahead.
The next interview has been evenly edited for readability and size.
Q: Inform us a bit about your background.
A: Properly, I’ve lived in San Antonio my total life. I’ve labored right here my total grownup life. I got here out of school and went straight into industrial actual property — and labored in industrial actual property for about 15 years. I even have labored on the Metropolis of San Antonio, operating actual property for the Heart Metropolis Improvement and Operations. Then I used to be additionally the chief working officer for SA2020 when it was on the inception of the group, so I’ve received sort of a novel background of public, non-public and nonprofit sector management. It’s been actually neat to see San Antonio from all these completely different sides. Whereas I used to be on the Metropolis of San Antonio, I met my predecessor, Ramiro Gonzalez. He was additionally working on the metropolis, and in order that’s that’s how we knew one another. Two years in the past, he reached out a couple of job right here at Prosper West. It was only a good match. It was an awesome match. So I got here in, did that for a 12 months, and when he stepped down, the board named me interim. The remaining is historical past.
Q: Inform us your objectives for Prosper West now that you just’re the official president and CEO.
A: There’s a lot — it’s a giant query. I feel considered one of my principal objectives is to guarantee that we’re community-centered first. I feel, at first, my aim is to guarantee that no matter we do is centered round neighborhood suggestions, it’s centered round having a dialog, a relentless, steady dialog, with the neighborhood. I’m centered on place-based financial growth, place-based initiatives. When you’re not coming from that that place-based mindset, then you definately’re ignoring the nuance and the individuality of the neighborhoods, of the folks that you just work for, that you just’re making an attempt to advocate for.
Q: Inform me about this transitional interval for Prosper West because it’s shifted away from metropolis funding.
A: Yeah, I imply we’re not the one ones on this boat. The very fact is, for a very long time, the town — and for us, the county as effectively — we’re funders of a majority of our work, and that’s not the case for lots of nonprofits in San Antonio. What I wish to do is, I nonetheless wish to have very productive, very robust, partnerships and collaborations with the town and the county. However now we have to diversify our funding, and so I’ve been talking with the board about ensuring that we’re assembly with foundations, that we’re assembly with companies, we’re assembly with banks, that we’re assembly with establishments, and organizations that perceive the work that we do and wish to help it.
Q: You’re not a local Westsider. Inform me slightly bit about the way you’ve familiarized your self with the realm and what that course of has been like thus far.
A: What’s been most useful to me is getting out and assembly completely different organizations, assembly completely different leaders, completely different neighborhood members — and simply listening. Taking them to lunch, or taking them on a tour of considered one of our properties, taking them to espresso and simply asking to listen to their tales and perceive what they’ve been doing. There’s a deep historical past right here, which is one thing I’m hyperaware of. I used to be studying a report earlier in the present day that was accomplished 20 years in the past — and it’s a whole lot of the identical challenges going through the neighborhood in the present day that they had been going through 20 years in the past. And possibly even 40 years in the past. So it may be it may be overwhelming, however there are a whole lot of actually good folks doing actually good issues right here. You simply must go and make it a degree to really go and discuss to them.
Q: This a part of San Antonio actually does carry our metropolis’s deep Mexican-American heritage and roots. How are you connecting with that a part of the West Aspect as you develop Prosper West?
A: I’m getting out in the neighborhood and I’m speaking to lots of people, and I’m proud that I’ve lived in San Antonio my entire life and been surrounded by the wealthy tradition — however I’ll add, principally my second in command, my lieutenant, Rebeca Canizales, she is a local Westsider, born and raised. After I go and provides a chat or I’m going to a gathering, I come out of it and I feel, ‘Oh, man, that was nice,’ and she or he’ll come as much as me and I’ll say, ‘What did you suppose?’ and she or he’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s good, but-‘ and I like that about our working relationship. The factor is, there’s extra than simply the tutorial understanding of the nuance of an space just like the West Aspect. When you don’t have anyone who can share with you the lived-experience perspective, then what are you doing? It’s important to have that lived-experience suggestions, and that’s why the place-based financial growth mannequin is the right mannequin for areas just like the West Aspect.
