Rio Grande City EDC names new executive director

The board of directors of the Rio Grande City Economic Development Corporation named Melinda Gomez as its executive director last week after her predecessor resigned this summer.

On June 2, Rosbell “Ross” G. Barrera left his post as executive director after just months on the job, saying he wanted to exit for the benefit of the organization “before an unpleasant environment continues to escalate.”

The Rio Grande City EDC board named Gomez as Barrera’s interim replacement in July, complimenting her on her work with the organization. According to her LinkedIn profile, Gomez had been serving as the EDC’s communications officer for nearly a decade.

“Thank you for the opportunity, and I will continue to do the best that I can until, at one point, you find somebody better,” she said at the time.

Last week, the board decided Gomez was in fact that better candidate.

“We know that you’re gonna do great,” Ediel Barrera, one of the EDC’s board members, said. “You have everything it needs to be a great leader, to be a great member of an already established group. You’re gonna be a team player, and you’re gonna be experienced — the knowledge, the patience. And you have pretty much what is needed.”

Gomez said she hopes to continue working to foster growth in her adoptive home and said being in the spotlight will take some getting used to. 

“I’m still finding my verbal jaws here…I’m not usually one to be in front of an audience or to be speaking. I was always behind the scenes,” she said. “So now that I find myself in the front, sometimes I’ll be short on words. But I know once I get more practice, I’ll get better at it.”

Neither Gomez nor Board President Dalinda Guillen responded to requests for comment.

The board’s motion to appoint Gomez notes that it is pending legal review.