{"id":282055,"date":"2025-11-18T14:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T20:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/?p=282055"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:27:48","slug":"svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"SVP Dallas Names Catherine Cuellar as Its Next CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catherine Cuellar doesn’t stay in one lane\u2014and that’s her strength. Over two decades, she’s moved between newsrooms and nonprofits, cultural institutions and city hall, corporate strategy and community impact. <\/p>\n

<\/strong>Now the sector-spanning leader is set to take the helm at Social Venture Partners Dallas, an organization built around connections\u2014where philanthropists roll up their sleeves to “do good better.”<\/p>\n

The SVP Dallas board announced the appointment in a letter to partners and supporters today, calling Cuellar “exceptionally well-suited to guide SVP Dallas into its next era.” She starts as CEO on January 1, 2026, as the organization prepares for strategic planning for its next 25 years.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1999, the Dallas-based nonprofit celebrated its 25th anniversary at its annual Philanthroparty gala in June. <\/p>\n

“I’ve been a friend and fan of the great work and wonderful programs of SVP Dallas for many years. I’m honored to serve the partners whose work continues to make Dallas better,” Cuellar said in the announcement. “Our work together will build on SVP’s strong record of impactful capacity building while exploring new strategies and alliances to meet this moment.”<\/p>\n

A comprehensive search\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The board called Cuellar a “gifted executive leader,” describing her as someone who has built a reputation for strengthening organizations, elevating community voices, and forging collaborations across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.<\/p>\n

“For those who have not yet met Catherine, prepare to be inspired by a leader whose entire career has been dedicated to building stronger, more connected communities,” said Donna Young and the board in the letter.<\/p>\n

Victory Search Group led a multi-month search, reaching out to more than 100 leaders and interviewing more than 30 candidates.<\/p>\n

The SVP Dallas Search Committee\u2014Ted Herrod, Donna Young, Mary Jalonick, Bob Wright, Christina Hangar, and John Dupree\u2014met regularly to review progress, conduct in-depth interviews, and evaluate finalists. The committee voted unanimously to recommend Cuellar to the full SVP Board of Directors, which approved her appointment on November 3.<\/p>\n

“We could not be more confident in this decision or more excited for the future of SVP Dallas,” Young and the board of directors said.<\/p>\n

A career crossing sectors<\/h3>\n

Cuellar began her career as a journalist at The Dallas Morning News and NPR stations KERA and KCRW. She later co-founded GuideLive.com, the News’ digital guide to arts and culture.<\/p>\n

More recently, as director of communications, outreach, and marketing for the City of Dallas, Cuellar expanded organizational capacity and created community-centered initiatives. She established protocols for community outreach and public affairs for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and a new convention center district. She also launched a paid tourism and hospitality internship program to build the local workforce and developed a Nighttime Initiatives (NIGHT) division to support entrepreneurship and safety.<\/p>\n

Before that, as CEO of the Dallas Arts District Foundation, she led the nation’s largest contiguous urban cultural district. She balanced the budget, doubled annual revenues, and secured new public and private funding. During her tenure, she co-founded the Global Cultural Districts Network, which is headquartered in Dallas, and hosted the 82nd U.S. Conference of Mayors and the New Cities Summit.<\/p>\n

Her strategic consulting work with Grant Thornton LLP and Communities Foundation of Texas reflects her ability to align business strategy with community impact, according to the board. At Communities Foundation of Texas, where she served as Director of Entrepreneurs for North Texas, she managed a portfolio of 100 member companies and helped them align business objectives with corporate citizenship, the board noted.<\/p>\n

Earlier in her career, Cuellar worked as communications manager at Oncor, where she managed communications and external affairs for the electric utility company, supporting government advocacy and leading digital strategies that earned industry recognition.<\/p>\n

Her commitment to Dallas runs deeper than her r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Cuellar comes from a family that’s been building community in Dallas for generations. Her grandfather’s family, including brothers Macario and Gilbert, opened El Charro<\/a> in Dallas in 1940, using recipes from her great-grandmother Adelaida Cuellar. That restaurant became the foundation for the iconic El Chico<\/a> chain.<\/p>\n

Cuellar also has a long history of civic engagement, serving on boards including Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the Greater Dallas Planning Council, and Texans for the Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

“These experiences position Catherine perfectly to guide SVP Dallas as we embark on strategic planning,” the board said in the letter, describing her as “a\u00a0leader built for this moment.”<\/p>\n

SVP Dallas’ throughline: ‘Do Good Better’<\/h3>\n

SVP Dallas’ official tagline, “Do Good Better” reflects its approach to philanthropy. Partners contribute funding, but they also roll up their sleeves. Using their skills and experience, they help organizations improve operations, from HR and finance to strategy and board governance.<\/p>\n

Using a venture capital model, SVP also invests in early-stage social-impact ideas, both nonprofit and for-profit, that need support to reach sustainability. And it convenes the community through events, luncheons, and bigBANG!, bringing together people who want to learn, challenge assumptions, and build smarter solutions for North Texas.<\/p>\n

SVP Dallas is one of six original founding chapters of Social Venture Partners International, part of a network of over 40 affiliate organizations in cities and countries worldwide. As a local affiliate, it operates independently with its own governing board and focuses on local community issues.<\/p>\n

Momentum during transition<\/h3>\n

While the board conducted its search, SVP Dallas staff and partners kept the organization’s work moving forward, including hosting bigBANG! in November at Paul Quinn College (Nov. 6) and SMU (Nov. 7).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tony Fleo has served as SVP Dallas CEO since 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

bigBANG! is North Texas’s longest-running and largest social innovation conference. The multi-day event brings together social innovators, business professionals, and community leaders for dialogue, education, and action on social issues. This year’s theme was “Hope in Action: Igniting Change, Empowering Communities,” exploring how collective action can transform shared aspirations into measurable impact.<\/p>\n

Fleo, the SVP Dallas staff, and our Partners continued to advance the group’s “mission with excellence\u2014including delivering another outstanding bigBANG!” the board said in the letter. “We are deeply grateful for their leadership and dedication during this transition.”
\n
\nEarlier in the year, the nonprofit announced the planned transition, announcing that Fleo would step down at the end of 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fleo stepped into the chief executive role in 2013<\/a> and played “a central role in shaping the direction of SVP Dallas,” according to a news release in June. Among other initiatives, he led the launch of the Dana Juett Residency, which is now a cornerstone of SVP\u2019s mission to support and develop emerging leaders in North Texas. <\/p>\n

“Under his leadership, SVP Dallas has expanded its network, grown its partnerships, and deepened its connection to the community,” SVP Dallas said.<\/p>\n

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A familiar figure in Dallas arts, civic innovation, and public service, Cuellar will succeed longtime CEO Tony Fleo following a months-long search as Social Venture Partners Dallas plans its next 25 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":282056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13,14,15],"tags":[200507,862,208034,300,110,3511,6342,208032,208036,7366,208038,208035,208037,4765,208033,2954,2579,208040,124,208031,208039,8403,208030],"class_list":["post-282055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enterprise","category-creative","category-social","category-startup","tag-bob-wright","tag-catherine-cuellar","tag-christina-hangar","tag-city-of-dallas","tag-communities-foundation-of-texas","tag-dallas-area-rapid-transit","tag-dallas-arts-district-foundation","tag-donna-young","tag-grant-thornton-llp","tag-greater-dallas-planning-council","tag-guidelive-com","tag-john-dupree","tag-kcrw","tag-kera","tag-mary-jalonick","tag-oncor","tag-social-venture-partners-dallas","tag-social-venture-partners-international","tag-svp-dallas","tag-ted-herrod","tag-texans-for-the-arts","tag-the-dallas-morning-news","tag-victory-search-group"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSVP Dallas Names Catherine Cuellar as Its Next CEO » Dallas Innovates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Catherine Cuellar will lead Social Venture Partners Dallas as CEO starting January 2026. 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We're a catalyst for connections, here and beyond.\\\" Covering the Dallas-Fort Worth Innovation Economy \\\"Dallas-Fort Worth has all of the core assets that drive an innovation economy,\\\" Preston told D CEO about the launch. \\\"We felt Dallas Innovates could be the center of innovation in business in DFW, from startup to enterprise, and include all the great impact work happening here.\\\" One of our superpowers is our diverse economy: \\\"A lot of places want one thing to hang their hat on, but DFW has many centers of innovation,\\\" she noted. \\\"And the fact that small businesses can work with very large companies here as a Fortune 50 market is a huge advantage.\\\" Preston founded media company Dallas Next in 2021 and publishes Dallas Innovates in a collaboration with the Dallas Regional Chamber. DRC innovation and research chief Duane Dankesreiter and Dallas Innovates co-founder says it's \\\"the drumbeat\\\" for the innovation economy in the region. 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The cross-sector leader brings 20-pluse years connecting business, nonprofits, and government.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Catherine-Cuellar.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Catherine-Cuellar.jpeg","width":970,"height":464,"caption":"Catherine Cuellar [Composte image: DI Studio; Sources: Catherine Cuellar\/LinkedIn, Chuhail\/ Koshenyamka\/istockphoto]"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/svp-dallas-selects-catherine-cuellar-as-its-next-ceo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SVP Dallas Names Catherine Cuellar as Its Next CEO"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/","name":"Dallas Innovates","description":"What's new + next in Dallas - Fort Worth","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#organization","name":"Dallas Innovates | Published by Dallas Next","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Dallas-Innovates-logo-purple.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Dallas-Innovates-logo-purple.jpg","width":1782,"height":410,"caption":"Dallas Innovates | Published by Dallas Next"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dallasinnovates\/","https:\/\/x.com\/dallasinnovates","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dallasinnovates\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dallas-innovates"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31d96a1ad48d703a6b72c03a291cd710","name":"Quincy Preston","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7b6237fd07da03813670ac36e1677b49e7d53f115936e2c32e5eb4a63a263e3?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a7b6237fd07da03813670ac36e1677b49e7d53f115936e2c32e5eb4a63a263e3?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Quincy Preston"},"description":"Quincy Preston is fueled by an entrepreneurial spark and driven by mission. Preston launched the Dallas Innovates' media platform to tell the story of innovation in Dallas-Fort Worth. It was official in 2016 when the Dallas skyline turned purple for innovation. Since then, Dallas Innovates has become a must-read among business leaders and forward thinkers in North Texas. \"Our partners call us 'the tip of the spear for innovation news in North Texas,'\" she says. \"Now it's our tagline.\" The media-with-a-mission brand covers what's new and next in North Texas business. \"Our lens is lift,\" Preston says. \"We want to inspire ideas and opportunity. We're a catalyst for connections, here and beyond.\" Covering the Dallas-Fort Worth Innovation Economy \"Dallas-Fort Worth has all of the core assets that drive an innovation economy,\" Preston told D CEO about the launch. \"We felt Dallas Innovates could be the center of innovation in business in DFW, from startup to enterprise, and include all the great impact work happening here.\" One of our superpowers is our diverse economy: \"A lot of places want one thing to hang their hat on, but DFW has many centers of innovation,\" she noted. \"And the fact that small businesses can work with very large companies here as a Fortune 50 market is a huge advantage.\" Preston founded media company Dallas Next in 2021 and publishes Dallas Innovates in a collaboration with the Dallas Regional Chamber. DRC innovation and research chief Duane Dankesreiter and Dallas Innovates co-founder says it's \"the drumbeat\" for the innovation economy in the region. Dallas Next also publishes the DALLAS\u00ae publications in partnership with the DRC. Dallas Innovates' sister publications include the DALLAS\u00ae Regional Economic Development Guide, the DALLAS\u00ae Relocation + Newcomers Guide, and the\u00a0DALLAS\u00ae Commercial Real Estate, which is a partnership with the DRC and The Real Estate Council. \"It's hard to say no to Quincy Preston when she believes in something,\" wrote D CEO Editor Christine Perez in the magazine. \"She won't stop until she makes it happen.\" In a previous role at D Magazine Partners, Preston incubated Dallas Innovates and published the DRC's brand publications. There, she also led the launch of D Healthcare Daily at D CEO and the launch of D TV. Preston developed data solutions to provide insights and measurement for growth across D Magazine Partners brands. Preston has worn many hats in her media career, including stints as a writer, photographer, and award-winning designer. During her long tenure at the Dallas Business Journal, Preston managed budgets, project schedules, resources, and talent; she also developed several cost-saving and income-producing initiatives that were adopted across the ACBJ chain of more than 40 newspapers. Preston's first editorial job was working for a fashion magazine at the Dallas Apparel Mart with an office a few doors down from Lucy Billingsley, daughter of legendary real estate developer Trammell Crow. At the time, Billingsley was running the market center where she led three expansions and a ~7 million-square-foot development. It was good company to be in. Later, when Preston launched an agency that she ran through the early nineties, Billingsley helped her with tough-but-kind advice\u2014and some pivotal connections. Today, Preston helms Dallas Innovates and the DALLAS\u00ae publications group, published by Dallas Next for the Dallas Regional Chamber. The growing DALLAS\u00ae platform includes sister publication Dallas Innovates. Together they focus on Dallas-Fort Worth business, including real estate, relocation, economic development, and innovation. Connect on social media: LinkedIn, Twitter\u00a0 Send news and tips here.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.dallasinnovates.com","https:\/\/x.com\/quincypreston"],"url":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/author\/quincy-preston\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallasinnovates.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}