PechaKucha heads to the Venue Villita for its 34th edition on Tuesday, June 11 and will feature six speakers, including CPS Energy President and CEO Paula Gold-Williams.
Gold-Williams said she looks forward to following in the footsteps of previous PechaKucha speakers, such as former Mayor Ivy Taylor and SA2020 CEO Molly Cox.
“What an amazing opportunity it will be to have an engaging chat about how I was born here and how I am still ‘powered here,’” she said. “The additional bonus will be seeing what my fellow presenters also share. The entire evening will be another great opportunity to further connect with the community that I cherish.”
Also included in the program are writer Neil Fauerso, artist and author Anel I. Flores, archeologist and historian Kay Hinders, and audio-visual engineer John A. Martinez. All will have six minutes and 40 seconds to speak on the topic of their choice.
The PechaKucha format was invented by Japanese architects in 2003 to encourage speakers to present ideas quickly and creatively. The format gives speakers 20 seconds to speak on 20 PowerPoint slides. More than 900 cities in the world have a PechaKucha series, and San Antonio started its own version in 2011.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., where attendees can enjoy live music from Los Mescaleros and light bites from local chefs and restaurants. News 4 San Antonio anchor and regular PechaKucha emcee Randy Beamer returns to his post, joined by artist Ethel Shipton. The show starts at 7 p.m.
The event is free, but people are encouraged to donate $5 per person when attending. Tickets can be purchased here.
Here are PechaKucha Vol. 34’s presenters (biographies provided by PechaKucha):
Anel I. Flores, Author/Artist
Anel I. Flores produces literary fiction and visual art centered around Chicana/Latina literature, lesbianidad, gender, race, spirituality, and identity. With an MFA in Creative Writing, she is actively involved with numerous organizations, including the San Antonio Mayor’s LGBTQIA Task Force and the Macondo Writer’s Workshop. She is currently in the process of completing her forthcoming book, Cortinas de Lluvia, a series of children’s books, and a graphic memoir. She lives as an Ama to her two children and additionally owns real estate company, A&N Realty.
Anthony Dean-Harris, Editor
Anthony Dean-Harris wanders throughout life into whatever he finds interesting and tends to linger places until folks find him helpful. He is the editor and chief content writer for the modern jazz blog Nextbop.com, radio host of Jazz 91.7 FM KRTU’s The Line-Up (Fridays at 9pm), archivist & co-conspirator at FL!GHT Gallery, contributing writer for DownBeat Magazine, and haver of various other gigs that always keeps him generally around.
Neil Fauerso, Writer/Curator
Neil Fauerso is a regular contributor to Glasstire, Artnews, and Bandcamp. He founded the record label Unseen Worlds in 2005, with Tommy McCutchon, and has organized concerts and events all over the world.
John Martinez, CEO and Audio Visual Engineer
John Martinez is an Audio Visual Engineer, self proclaimed philosopher, a foodie and an entrepreneur. As a child he has always been curious to know how the universe operated. Since then he has concluded that reality is just an illusion. Now, he runs and operates his business Direct Motion Technologies; an audio visual & event technology company. He loves what he does and is about to tell you why.
Paula Gold-Williams, CEO and President of CPS Energy
Paula Gold-Williams is the President & CEO of CPS Energy. She earned a BBA in accounting from St Mary’s University, as well as an MBA from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. With over 30 years of leadership experience in San Antonio, she now leads more than 3,000 team members with her vision that she coined, “People First”. In addition to her role at CPS Energy, Paula currently serves as the 2019 Chair of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, along with participating on countless boards and committees.
Kay Hindes, Archeologist/Historian
Historian and archeologist, Kay Hindes worked as the City Archaeologist for the City of San Antonio from 2003-2019. She has a degree in Anthropology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and specializes in historical/archival research and Spanish Colonial archaeology. Kay has conducted cultural resources investigations for over 35 years working with universities, cultural resources management firms, and as an Independent Research Consultant. Over the course of her career, she has provided management and coordination for over 1000 projects to date totaling over 1.2 billion dollars.
