Meet Our Speakers
Prior to joining UTSA, Karl was a Vice President with the international fundraising consulting firm Bentz Whaley Flessner, after spending 10 years at the University of Texas at Austin. Karl also served his alma mater, Western Kentucky University, and Lindsey Wilson College. He is celebrating his 33rd year in higher education.
Karl is a native of Puerto Rico. His wife of 32 years, Jennifer, is Program Director for Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Services (CAPS) at Austin State Hospital, and they have two children, Tristan Chase (26), a high school teacher, and Karson McClain (21), a senior liberal arts major at The University of Texas at Austin.
Keynote Speaker
Karl Miller Lugo
Dr. Mike Flores assumed the role of chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District on Oct. 1, 2018, after unanimous vote by the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees. With more than 20 years of service to the Alamo Colleges District, Dr. Flores possesses the distinction of being the ninth appointed chancellor and the first Hispanic chancellor in the district’s history.
Flores’ moonshot vision for the Alamo Colleges District – eliminating poverty through education – is based on his personal experience as a child of migrant farmworkers who pursued education to gain economic and social mobility. As a leader, Flores supports empowering students for success through
Closing Keynote Speaker
Dr. Mike Flores
high-impact teaching and learning practices, including academic advising, early access to college through high school programs and experiential learning opportunities through apprenticeships, internships, and volunteer experiences. Aligned with the vision for eliminating poverty, Flores has championed the launch of Student Advocacy Centers at each of the district’s five colleges for students’ basic needs support.
Through his leadership, the Alamo Colleges District has launched AlamoPROMISE, a tuition-free college program for graduating high school students in Bexar County and one of the most significant initiatives implemented in the region. The program has served over 16,000 students since its inception, has increased Alamo Colleges’ enrollment to record numbers, and has increased the overall college-going rate in Bexar County. Flores spearheaded the launch of AlamoBOOKS+ in 2022, a groundbreaking initiative ensuring access to all required textbooks and instructional materials by the first day of class. In 2024, Flores led the district to launch AlamoU, a strategic response to offer bachelor degree programs to support the burgeoning demands of targeted industries, including nursing, operations management, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
During his first year as chancellor in 2018, Flores led the Alamo Colleges District in its recognition as the first and only community college system in the nation to be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership. In 2024, Flores led the Alamo Colleges District to make history and became the only recipient in higher education to receive the Baldrige award twice since the award’s inception.
Flores was selected to deliver the 2022 Dallas Herring Lecture, sponsored by North Carolina State University’s College of Education and the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, under the title of “Community Colleges in Action: Advancing Equity and Enhancing Mobility Using Local Collective Impact Strategies.” He was also a selected as one of 2024’s Texas 100, an annual list of most influential Texans.
Other achievements during Flores’ leadership as chancellor include: Palo Alto College named Rising Star by the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (2019); Ellucian Impact Award for using technology to enhance student experience (2020); San Antonio College named winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence (2021); the American Association of Community Colleges Award of Excellence for Student Success (2022); and the Alamo Colleges District’s Certification™ as a Great Place To Work® (2024).
Flores is nationally known as a former coach for Achieving the Dream and as a fellow for the American Council on Education, Aspen Pahara Institute, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. He conducted postgraduate studies at the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management and is in demand as a speaker at national higher education conferences. Flores was also awarded the Ohtli Award, one of the most prestigious awards given by the Mexican government, acknowledging his work to educate and empower Mexican and Mexican-American students. In 2023, he received the Baldrige Foundation Award for Leadership Excellence in Education.
Flores serves as a board member and chair of the Governing Board of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and he is a board member of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Achieving the Dream, Strada Education Foundation, greater: SATX, UP Partnership, and United Way San Antonio.
Flores was born in Del Rio, Texas, and is a graduate of Holmes High School in San Antonio’s Northside Independent School District. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in political science from Illinois State University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He lives in central San Antonio with his wife Martha, a talented creative director and entrepreneur, and their daughters, Mara and Mia.