“I will tell you; she was one of those stars that I saw immediately,” McAllen City Manager Roy Rodriguez told a packed room at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 12 about Liz Suarez, the chamber’s new president and CEO.
Rodriguez and Suarez worked together in city administration for just over 19 years. Suarez served as the director of the city’s transit department before transferring to McAllen International Airport, where she served as deputy director for one year and aviation director for nine years. She left that position, and the City of McAllen, on Oct. 2 to take on her new role at the chamber. Suarez sees it more as an extension of the city than a separate entity.
“I only know what’s in my heart,” Suarez said, “and McAllen is in my heart. If McAllen needs me, however it needs me, I’m going to do it. I love McAllen because McAllen has loved me so much.”
Pursuing a Dream
Suarez’s parents, Eduardo and Josefina Suarez, lived in San Juan in the off season and in Bay City, Mich., during the migrant season. It was during one such season in Bay City that Suarez entered the world, and her birth inspired Eduardo and Josefina to end their journeys north to work in the fields.
“Just months after I was born, they came back and never returned,” Suarez shared of their permanent move to Texas.
Eduardo worked as a dispatcher for the San Juan Police Department before becoming a police officer and rising to a lieutenant. Josefina served as the administrator at San Juan Nursing Home and as a chaplain for the Diocese of Brownsville.
“But McAllen was the dream,” Suarez said, “and we’ve been brainwashed about McAllen since.”
Suarez’ parents wanted her in McAllen schools, so they moved in 1979 and bought a home a year later. Eduardo landed his dream job at McAllen PD while Josefina continued working in San Juan.
When Suarez started school at Rayburn Elementary, she spoke no English. But she learned the language quickly, moving on to Morris Middle School and graduating from McAllen High School. She earned a bachelor’s and a master’s at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.
Embracing a New Role
Since becoming the chamber’s president and CEO, Suarez has been adjusting to working without constant commotion.
“It’s a different challenge from the get-go,” she said. “MFE is such a dynamic space in the sense of the amount of effort exerted daily. Planning, finance, negotiating, conflict resolution, safeguarding life. You’re on 24:7.”
The chamber, she said, is a different kind of hustle.
“The chamber is all about relationships. There is also strategic thought, about how we connect people in ways that are beneficial to them.”
Jokingly, Suarez added another welcome change. “I’m sleeping now,” she said.
Developing Strategy
Suarez has already identified her team’s priorities.
“MEMBERSHIP,” she said, raising her voice. “Reconnecting with our members and understanding what they need.” Next, she said, is working with the chamber board to build committees that have meaning to them, with the goal of producing a meaningful work plan and prioritizing small business.
“We recognize small business represents over 60 percent of our local economy,” Suarez said. “It’s important that we give them all of the resources they need to be in a competitive market. We also need to look at advocating for them in D.C. and in Austin.”
Suarez determined step one in her first-six-months strategy involved the chamber’s physical facilities.
“From the moment you park and even as you’re walking in, you’ll know we are open to serve you,” she said. “We start with what is visible.”
Step two involves team development.
“Administration starts our day at 7:30 a.m. so all of our meetings are out of the way before our doors open,” Suarez said. “We are completely focused on the community we’re serving.”
Team development also includes personal development, from outward appearance to the way phone calls are answered and her team members’ follow-through. For Suarez, it also means being present at ribbon cuttings and other events with McAllen’s business community.
“The big thing is networking and identifying resources to help businesses bring in new customers,” she said.
Patience Pays Off
At Suarez’ Welcome Reception, Rodriguez told the crowd, “In this profession, you have to be patient, or you have to move.” He said Suarez had been patient, staying at Metro McAllen for 10 years and at MFE for 10 more.
“And then she moved,” Rodriguez said. “And that’s what happens to people with talent.”
Her father’s dream of living in McAllen led Suarez to where she is today.
“For me, the chamber embodies the best of what McAllen is, a spirit of unity, a passion for building a stronger tomorrow and a fierce dedication to one another in the community,” she said. “The chamber connects people to make what seems impossible, possible.”
