Margery Loeb	Janis Scott	Viola Saenz	John Shutt	Beatriz Espinoza	Richard Weber

With expertise in law, accounting, families and higher education, the five newest members of the University of Houston-Victoria President’s Regional Advisory Board bring years of professional experience to the group.

The new voting members for the 2012-2013 advisory board are Margery Loeb, Janis Scott and Viola Saenz, all of Victoria; and John Shutt of Edna. In addition, Beatriz Espinoza of Beeville will serve as a nonvoting, ex-officio member. Willie Rollins of Van Vleck was appointed to fill a vacancy in December and will continue to serve.

“I am delighted to welcome our new members to the advisory board and look forward to working with them,” UHV President Phil Castille said. “They bring a wealth of knowledge and some unique perspectives to the PRAB. Their feedback and suggestions will be important as we make decisions to shape the future of our growing university.”

PRAB is UHV’s external advisory board. Its mission is to strengthen and advance UHV and its programs, and to provide counsel on strategic direction. There are 16 voting members on the 2012-2013 advisory board, which meets four times a year.

Richard Weber, a PRAB member since 2009, will serve as chair for 2012-2013. Weber represents DeWitt County. He is the business manager at Weber Motor Co. in Cuero. He said UHV has seen a lot of positive changes in the past three years, including the addition of underclassmen and the creation of student residence halls.

“The growth and changes have been exciting,” he said. “It’s important for people to know that the University of Houston System is dedicated to Victoria and to the success of downward expansion. They are standing behind Dr. Castille and his faculty and staff, and doing what needs to be done to meet the demands of a growing student population. I want to make sure PRAB members get this information out to Victoria and the surrounding counties.”

Weber said he is looking forward to the year ahead. The new PRAB members come from different backgrounds and bring different areas of expertise based on their professional and collegiate lives.

“I know they will bring a wealth of new information and discussion to the board,” he said. “It’s always fun to have new members because they have lots of good questions, which always leads to good discussions.”

Loeb will serve as vice chair. She has worked for 35 years with family businesses. As president of Loeb & Associates, she consults nationally with families in business on transition, change, communication and planning. Loeb also researches issues related to retirement and CEOs in family businesses.

She serves on the Victoria Education Foundation board and is a past board member of Mid-Coast Family Services and the Victoria Public Library Advisory Board. Loeb was a founding member of Friends of Education and is on the board of The Women Donors Network.

Scott is an attorney and partner for Anderson, Smith, Null & Stofer in Victoria. She specializes in the practice of real estate and commercial transactions, as well as banking law.

For 15 years, Scott was a member of the City of Victoria Planning Commission, serving as secretary from 1990 to 1992 and chairwoman from 1992 to 2005. She is secretary for the Victoria Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors and also is active with several other civic, cultural and real estate boards.

Saenz has held local and national offices for the Pan American Golf Association. She is a champion golfer who has won many honors and awards, including induction into the PAGA Women’s Committee Hall of Fame.

Saenz has been involved in many community organizations. Among the groups she has served on are the City of Victoria Planning Commission, Cultural Council board, Boys & Girls Club board and Victoria Parks Commission. Both of her children are UHV graduates.

Shutt is the controller for Ganado Telephone Co. Inc. and YK Communications in Ganado. He has worked as a public accountant in Jackson County since 1979. He developed and marketed a system for total accounting in the credit union industry. Shutt also co-operates CherryBerry, a Victoria frozen yogurt business.

He serves as the vice president for the Velma L. and John H. Robinson Foundation and is the secretary and treasurer for the Bruce & Gladys Wright Charitable Trust. He previously served a six-year term on the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority.

Espinoza took over earlier this year as president of Coastal Bend College. She has been an educator and college administrator for 25 years. Prior to arriving at Coastal Bend, Espinoza was vice chancellor for educational planning and services at Yuba Community College District in Marysville, Calif.

The other 2012-2013 PRAB voting members are Susan Armstrong Cain, Charmelle Garrett, Jean Herman, Jan Jacob, Dakshesh “Kumar” Parikh, Omar Rachid, Paul Salazar and Keith Williams, all of Victoria; Ron Hyde of Kenedy; and Janet Leatherwood of Sugar Land.