U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert L. Santos will return to his hometown of San Antonio to give the keynote address at the San Antonio Report’s 2023 CityFest luncheon on Nov. 7.
CityFest 2023 will be held Nov. 6-9, with multiple events per day centered on the theme “Meet the Moment,” exploring what San Antonio should be doing to capitalize on significant regional growth.
“Our theme, ‘Meet the Meet the Moment,’ grew out of a sit-down interview with Mayor Ron Nirenberg this summer during which he suggested that our city is having a moment in 2023, from our demographic growth to the excitement over the Spurs’ No. 1 draft pick, Victor Wembanyama,” San Antonio Report Publisher and CEO Angie Mock said. “We wanted to dig deeper on what it would take for San Antonio to rise to the occasion in a number of areas — from local governance to transportation, education and equity.
“This year’s CityFest 2023 luncheon featuring Census Director Santos will be one of the highlights of our year as an organization, and we couldn’t be more excited about the week’s lineup.”
The week-long event of programming will kick off with a sit-down interview with City Manager Erik Walsh on Monday, Nov. 6, moderated by San Antonio Report Editor in Chief Leigh Munsil.
During the “Conversation with the City Manager,” which will be hosted at KLRN’s downtown studio and streamed live, Walsh will explain how San Antonio is preparing for record growth. Later Monday, the nonprofit news organization will host a happy hour celebrating small business on the South Side.
Tuesday’s programming will feature the annual CityFest luncheon, with Santos’ keynote address. As a San Antonio native now leading the agency tasked with tracking our nation’s changes through data, Santos’ speech is perfectly timed with recent demographic growth and trends in San Antonio and Bexar County.
Tickets and sponsorships are now available for the CityFest keynote luncheon.
Texas is the only state with more than three cities on the Census Bureau list of fastest-growing cities by numeric change and percent change in 2022, and San Antonio had the third-largest numeric population gain. In his keynote speech, Santos will help attendees understand the importance and relevance of Census Bureau data to communities.
Santos, whose career spans over 40 years in survey research, statistical design and analysis and executive-level management, became the 26th director of the U.S. Census Bureau in January 2022.
Tuesday’s luncheon is a ticketed event, and Santos’ remarks will be recorded and made available following the luncheon.
At noon Wednesday, the San Antonio Report will host a livestreamed panel on the future of transportation in Bexar County, moderated by Government and Politics Reporter Andrea Drusch. A panel of experts — including VIA Metropolitan Transit President and CEO Jeff Arndt and the City of San Antonio’s Director of Airports Jesus Saenz — will discuss how Bexar County is preparing to adjust for sprawl and a growth in highway travel, plus the expansion of the footprint and routes available from the San Antonio airport.
At 4 p.m. Wednesday, Managing Editor Wendy Lane Cook will moderate a panel titled, “A Pivotal Moment in San Antonio Sports,” featuring Bobby Perez of the Spurs, UTSA Athletics Director Lisa Campos, Bob Cohen, who is part of the local ownership of the San Antonio Missions baseball club; and Jenny Carnes, president and CEO of San Antonio Sports.
The panel will have a limited in-person audience and also be livestreamed. RSVP to receive the livestream link in advance.
Thursday morning will feature a virtual panel hosted by Senior Reporter Iris Dimmick exploring the topic, “How Does San Antonio ‘Meet the Moment’ Inclusively?” The panel will dig in on how an influx of new and often higher-earning residents in Bexar County has increased the strain on available affordable housing stock, schools, property tax rates and city services, and what individuals can do to make sure San Antonio’s gaps don’t continue to widen as the city grows.
The panel features SA2020 CEO Kiran Kaur Bains, Prosper West Executive Director Ramiro Gonzales, Family Service Director of Social and Community Engagement Fabiola Avila, SAMMinistries CEO Nikisha Baker and Every Texan Director of Equity and Learning Jonathan Malagon. Register online to receive the livestream link in advance.
At noon Thursday, Education Reporter Isaac Windes will host the final panel of CityFest 2023, “Rise and Fall: Mapping San Antonio’s Shifting Educational Landscape,” helping residents better understand how demographic fluctuations, growth and contraction affect local schools.
The panel will take place virtually and be livestreamed.
To see the full schedule of events and RSVP for livestreamed or in-person conversations, or to sponsor a table for the luncheon, visit the CityFest website.
