Felix Noel Padròn Jr. most recently served as the Executive Director of the City of San Antonio Department for Culture and Creative Development. From 2001 to 2016, Mr. Padròn worked with non-profit arts and cultural organizations, artists, government officials, neighborhood groups and the business community to anchor the arts as an economic industry in San Antonio. As head of DCCD, he managed a $20 million annual portfolio that supported five creative areas including arts funding, public art, film, cultural facilities, and strategic initiatives. Mr. Padròn success is noted by the many transformative strategies he worked on in partnership with multiple public and private agencies. Before becoming director, Mr. Padròn was responsible for developing the City of San Antonio's first public art program and served six years implementing city-wide capital art projects. His responsibilities required a deep understanding of the need to foster a continued collaboration and coordination between artists, design professionals, arts organizations, city officials, and community representatives. His success and expertise in the public art arena earned him city-wide respect. During his term, Padròn was recognized by the San Antonio Express News as one of the top twenty most influential people in San Antonio. Mr. Padròn is also commended for his arts and cultural advocacy efforts by appearing as a guest writer and commentator in print and media and speaking at regional, local and national arts and business sector meetings and conferences. He currently serves on the Board of Americans for the Arts, and is immediate past President of Texans for the Arts Board of Directors, and past member of Untied States Urban Arts Federation Executive Committee Member. He also holds the distinguished Taiwan Ambassador Award presented by the Taiwan Council for Cultural Affairs, in Taipei. He is a native of Cuba and is an accomplished artist and curator in his own right. His artworks have been exhibited widely and published in the New York Times, the New Yorker and Noticias del Mundo. Mr. Padròn holds a B.F.A from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and attended the Public Arts Studies Masters Program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.