Manny Vela is a native of the Rio Grande Valley. He serves as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen. Previously, Manny was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Valley Baptist Health, overseeing both Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen and Valley Baptist-Brownsville. He serves in many local, civic, state, and national organizations. His knowledge of higher education and the private sector strengthens RGV LEAD’s career-readiness initiatives.