Adam Blanchard

Adam Blanchard is the Co-Founder and CEO of two logistics companies, Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics. He is also a co-founder of Llano Realty Partners and Buena Vista Solutions. 

Double Diamond Transport is a licensed, full-truckload motor carrier, and Tanager Logistics is a licensed freight brokerage company. Llano Realty Partners is a full-service commercial real estate firm providing brokerage, property management, development, and investment services. Buena Vista Solutions is an outsourcing consulting company in Costa Rica that offers various services, from back-office support to business process outsourcing

solutions.

Adam graduated magna cum laude from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2008, followed by a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2011 from Texas Tech University School of Law.

Adam is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Oklahoma. He practiced law for five years, specializing in litigation, before starting Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics. He continues to use his experience in practicing law in the day-to-day administration of all his operating companies.

Adam serves on the Board of Directors for the Truckload Carriers Association, Texas Trucking Association, and San Antonio Mobility Coalition. In 2022, Adam was named a San Antonio 40, Under 40 honoree by the San Antonio Business Journal and is actively involved in the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, San Antonio Business Coalition, Young Presidents’ Organization, and American Trucking

Associations.

Adam and his wife, Arielle, have been married for nine years and are raising four boys.

Alberto Garcia-Jurado is a TEDx and DisruptHR speaker and pioneer on Intercultural and Collaborative Intelligence. He has developed breakthrough models in the field of Team Building and Intercultural Understanding that have helped hundreds of global teams effectively and permanently achieve the highest levels of integration, performance, and engagement while significantly reducing stress and bias. 

He is the author of the books “Culture and Globalization”, “Cultural Intelligence for the 21st Century” and his most recent E-Book “True Collaboration: Beyond Culture”.

Alberto is CEO of InZync™ the world's first Collaboration System management firm, Lead Organizer for DisruptHR Houston, and served for six years as President of the Gulf Chapter of the United States - Mexico Chamber of Commerce. He has served as advisor and coach on enhancing their teambuilding and collaborative effectiveness for multiple corporations, non-profit organizations, associations, and chambers.

Alberto is a sought-after speaker that delivers innovative insights and solutions to 21st century human system challenges, AI and Technology deployment, leadership, global workforce, and accelerated intercultural understanding.

 Founder & CEO, VERTICALwisdom Group
Session: AI – Driving Revenue and Scaling Operations

Bud’s session is for CEOs, Business Development Teams, and CFOs focused on what matters most: revenue and results.

VERTICALwisdom Group, a Texas-based, veteran-owned company helps organizations harness AI — from voice automation to conversational agents — to convert leads faster, close more deals, and scale with confidence.

With over 30 years of experience advising CEOs, growing companies, and leading exits, Bud shares practical, case study working examples of how AI is already transforming business development and driving sales growth today. 

He’ll also showcase real business use cases that demonstrate how AI solutions are delivering measurable outcomes.

Don’t miss out — this session will give you the tools and strategies you need to stay ahead of the curve, unlock new revenue streams, and drive business growth with AI.

Daniel Olvera joined the Texas South-West SBDC Network in 2021 through the COVID Business Recovery Accelerator and began working with the UTSA SBDC in 2023. 

He brings valuable experience in supply chain management, operations, and entrepreneurship, having launched and managed several businesses of his own.

Daniel has organized and participated in events where entrepreneurs share lessons learned from failure—creating spaces for authentic storytelling and growth. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and a Master’s in Management from Colorado State University.

Passionate about supporting entrepreneurs in both their business and personal journeys, Daniel is also a certified life coach. In his free time, he hosts The Fortius Life Podcast, a Spanish-language platform focused on personal development topics such as resilience, growth mindset, and emotional intelligence.

In 2023, Daniel published his book Un Camino Holístico to help more people step into their greatness and live more empowered, purposeful lives.

Deirdre Pattillo, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is Senior Project Manager for Employer Services for the Texas Southwest SBDC Network's Center for Government Contracting at the UTSA Valdez Institute for Economic Development. She has served the SBDC community since 1998, spending the majority of this time specifically focused on Human Resources training and advising.  

As a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources, Deirdre provides direct assistance to small business employers in the areas of employment practices, emergency preparedness, regulatory compliance, jobsite safety, drug-free workplace and effective HR management.

By completing certification as a facilitator for Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits for Managers and Everything DiSC, among other leadership courses, Deirdre has committed to lifelong learning and increasing a knowledge base of human capital resources to be shared with small business owners and managers.

Working in collaboration with the field centers of the Texas South-West SBDC Network, she provides training and no-cost, one-on-one, confidential advising to small businesses throughout a 79 county region. Her goal is to be a key resource for the people side of small business.

Emma Faye went profoundly deaf at the age of three and has spent her life turning a disability into an ability. Emma Faye is an internationally-known role model and public speaker for the (D)deaf and hard-of-hearing (HOH) community and founder of Aid the Silent.

She was crowned Miss San Antonio 2015 & 2017 and placed Top 4 in Miss Texas 2017. She was named 2018 San Antonio’s Woman of the Year by the San Antonio Business Journal (SABJ) and appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas Governor’s Committee on people with Disabilities for two terms. Aid the Silent and Emma Faye were honored by the SABJ and The Najim Family Foundation Corporate Philanthropy & Nonprofit Awards for Nonprofit CEO & Senior Manager two years in row as well as Nonprofit of the Year for small to midsize. Aid the Silent’s Good Vibrations Music & Arts Festival, a completely deaf accessible festival, won Best of Fest for Charity Music Festival in Santa Barbara, CA presented by Jeff Bridges, Kenny Loggins, T-Bone Burnett and the Coen Brothers. Morgan’s Wonderland placed Emma Faye on their Wall of Fame as an individual who has gone above and beyond to do great things for people with

special needs.

Today, Emma Faye travels all around the country speaking at business conventions, ministries, churches and deaf conferences sharing her story and letting others know about the programs Aid the Silent offers to the deaf/hard-of-hearing community. It is because of her ability to communicate via sign language and orally that she is able to unify the Deaf community with the hearing world. Emma Faye is the primary fundraiser and spokesperson for Aid the Silent as well as Executive Director. She also serves as Mission Staff for Deaf Young Life. 

Emma Faye graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio Honors College with Highest Honors (1 of 5) and Cum Laude with a BA in Communications and a minor in Non-profit Management.

Luke Goetting is a leading Future of Work expert and global keynote speaker who has captivated audiences at TEDx, DisruptHR, the AI & Agile Summit, and hundreds of events worldwide. 

As Principal of LTG Strategy, he specializes in emerging workforce dynamics and employee engagement, providing organizations with actionable strategies to navigate the rapidly evolving workplace landscape.

Luke is host of the "Gen Z @ Work" podcast and a sought-after management consultant whose expertise has benefited industry giants like Dell, IBM, Lenovo, and AMD. His unique blend of data-driven insights and interactive presentation style has made him a go-to resource for organizations looking to future-proof their workforce and foster a culture of innovation.

Prepare for a session that not only informs but also entertains -- Luke Goetting is here to transform how you approach the future of work!

Richard (Rick) Rayne is a Senior International Business Advisor at the UTSA SBDC International Trade Center.

Rick has been working in the international business field for more than 30 years.  

Since August of 2020, he has been employed at the University of Texas at San Antonio or UTSA SBDC International Trade Center which is part of the Valdez Institute for Economic Development.  

Rick’s focus is to provide one-on-one international trade advising services, research, and customized international business plans for small and medium size client companies located throughout Texas.

Prior to UTSA, Rick was a member of the international sales team at Fed-Ex where he helped advise and provide solutions to exporters and importers in a wide variety of industries.  These topics included intricacies of global logistics; international marketing and sales channels; e-Commerce; U.S. and foreign government regulations; and overseas business partner outreach. 

He also worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s MBDA Export Center promoting international business development among minority-owned businesses. Rick has also spoken at a variety of international trade seminars and conferences throughout Texas.

Rick obtained a Master of International Management degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management. He also holds the Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) credential which is widely recognized as the standard of excellence, expertise, and professionalism within the international trade community.  

Rick is also a long-time member of the Texas Camino Real District Export Council, which is a non-profit advisory group whose mission is to grow Texas’ economy by boosting U.S. exports.

Michael Baillargeon has spent his entire career in the contact center. He was IT Director for a

large BPO contact center and did everything from pulling cable to designing mission critical IVR & amp; call routing scripts for brands like Nestle, USPS, Philip Morris, etc. 

He spent 11 years at ShoreTel where he led sales training and partner development efforts as ShoreTel transitioned from an on-prem leader to an innovator with their Unified Communications as a Service cloud-based platform. 

Since his time there, he has used this experience and passion for driving a better customer experience through introducing cloud technologies that offer an AI-first, redundant and easy to adopt solutions to customers of all sizes. 

He has served various Partner Management roles at Five9 and Dialpad. Currently, he is a CX Solution Architect, and is part of a team motivated by partner and customer success.

Samanta Guerra is a certified public accountant with more than 18 years’ experience and is a shareholder with the firm Sol Schwartz & Associates.

Samanta has worked at local and regional top-tier firms providing tax services to businesses in manufacturing, retail, oil, gas, construction, real estate, hospitality, U.S. international tax, nonprofit, estate and gift tax. 

Prior to moving to San Antonio, she worked for nine years in the banking industry in Mexico. In addition to her work as a CPA, Samantha has served as the treasurer of disABILITYsa, a non-profit whose mission is to provide programs, resources, and volunteer opportunities to improve the lives of people with disabilities. 

She speaks on tax issues at major events including the San Antonio Bar Association, International Law Section, the San Antonio Board of Realtors, the San Antonio Restaurant Association, San Antonio Startup Week, The How to do Business in Texas Bootcamps, The Association of Mexican Entrepreneurs, and the San Diego School of Law-Chamberlain International Tax Institute.

Samanta graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.

Born and raised in the small town of Alice, Texas, Eliot Garza relocated to San Antonio 32 years ago and has since invested over 26 years in a successful media sales career. At 31, Eliot took a leap of faith to launch a medical and business publication focused on community and charity, organizing networking events and annual galas for 12 years to unite people in support of meaningful causes.

As the digital landscape evolved, Eliot transitioned to running a full-time digital marketing and advertising agency, helping businesses thrive in today’s fast-paced environment. Eliot’s expertise also includes AI consultation and operating a PEO brokerage firm, assisting business and medical clients in scaling their operations efficiently.

In addition, Eliot is the founder of Athletes Unlimited Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through sports, promoting health, teamwork, and leadership development. Through these ventures, Eliot has built lasting relationships within the entrepreneurial and medical communities, fostering a network of like-minded individuals dedicated to making a difference.