{"id":4053,"date":"2025-10-20T17:18:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/?p=4053"},"modified":"2025-10-20T20:01:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T20:01:27","slug":"perfil-del-personal-de-bcic-astrid-rosales-responsable-de-desarrollo-empresarial-y-emprendimiento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/bcic-staff-spotlight-astrid-rosales-business-development-entrepreneurship-officer\/","title":{"rendered":"Perfil del personal de BCIC: Astrid Rosales, responsable de desarrollo empresarial y emprendimiento."},"content":{"rendered":"

BCIC\u2019s Business Development and Entrepreneurship Officer<\/strong>, Astrid Rosales<\/strong>, brings a bright, community-minded approach to her work. She\u2019s focused on helping Brownsville\u2019s entrepreneurs and small businesses grow in a way that lifts everyone: owners, employees, and families alike. Marketing Specialist Rudy Hinojosa sat down with her to learn how she\u2019s approaching the job and what she\u2019s most excited to take on:<\/p>\n

You worked at the Chamber. What\u2019s the biggest difference between Chamber work and what you\u2019ll do here?<\/h4>\n

At the Chamber, I learned how important relationships and collaboration are to helping businesses grow. That experience really shaped how I see economic development. Here at BCIC, the focus is similar but a little closer to the ground. It\u2019s about listening to what local businesses need, connecting them to resources, and being part of their day-to-day growth in the community.<\/p>\n

When you think about entrepreneurship in Brownsville, what gets you excited? And what keeps you up at night?<\/h4>\n

What gets me excited is the growth and all the resources coming in. From my experience, a lot of people who start a business feel alone. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because they come from other places, but that\u2019s their experience.<\/p>\n

Here in Brownsville, though, we\u2019re in such a unique position. There\u2019s so much support. Once you start reaching out, you realize there\u2019s a whole network ready to help you. Especially here at eBridge, you see it every day.<\/p>\n

Like the conversation we had with Mr. Solis, it literally changed the trajectory of his life, not just his business, because of the people he met here. That\u2019s what\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\n

What keeps me up at night? Honestly, access to funding. I had a nightmare about it yesterday. [laughs] There are so many good ideas here, but a lot of people need financial support to start. There\u2019s still fear about applying for loans or sharing information. I think it\u2019s cultural.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why having local investors, like the Alamo Angels chapter, was a big deal. Growing that is always on my mind.<\/p>\n

Rudy: <\/strong>Yeah, I\u2019m a big zealot about Brownsville owning its own economic sovereignty and taking charge of its growth. When a city this size starts to grow fast, new players and outside partners naturally come in to be part of it, which can be a good thing. But it also means we have to be intentional about making sure that growth keeps primarily benefiting the people who already live and work here.<\/p>\n

Astrid:<\/strong> Exactly. People see the growth and think, \u201cWell, what about us?\u201d It\u2019s across everything: entrepreneurship, housing, education. So yes, support our own people. Growth is good, but we have to make sure it benefits our community.<\/p>\n

A little birdie told me you crochet. Are we talking blankets or little animals?<\/h4>\n

[laughs] Definitely not blankets; they take forever! I\u2019ve made little animals and flowers, though. Flowers are fun. I haven\u2019t done it in a while, but it\u2019s really relaxing. I usually listen to audiobooks while I do it.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a book you\u2019ve recommended more than once, not because it\u2019s trendy, but because it\u2019s genuinely good?<\/h4>\n

The Throne of Glass<\/em> series by Sarah J. Maas. It\u2019s fantasy, nine books long, and the last three are massive, but it\u2019s worth it. It\u2019s emotional and exciting, definitely one of my favorites.<\/p>\n

BCIC\u2019s worked on everything from downtown buildings to entrepreneurship programs and park improvements. Where do you see this role fitting in?<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s definitely more on the entrepreneurship side, but with the Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program, it also connects to quality of life.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re learning from businesses what their needs are: funding, employee retention, things like that. Businesses carry lives with them. Their employees, their families, their kids, it all ties back to quality of life.<\/p>\n

If we can help improve conditions for employees and their families, businesses stay longer. It\u2019s a cycle. My role bridges that gap and helps both sides grow together.<\/p>\n

Rudy:<\/strong> Yeah, we always say economic development and quality of life go hand in hand.
\nAstrid:<\/strong> Exactly. Even if I\u2019m not working directly on parks or infrastructure, those conversations overlap. If a business says, \u201cMy employees are leaving because there\u2019s nothing for families here,\u201d that affects our work. It\u2019s all connected.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s one thing Brownsville\u2019s entrepreneurial ecosystem is missing right now?<\/h4>\n

Honestly, more communication between entities. There\u2019s still some overlap, and people don\u2019t always know where to go. Partnering more is a part of our new Strategic Plan so that will only improve in the future.<\/p>\n

Working more closely with groups like the Chamber and other nonprofits would help. eBridge has already made a difference; it\u2019s a centralized spot where people can go and find resources. That\u2019s been huge. It feels like it\u2019s for the community.<\/p>\n

What kind of entrepreneurs or businesses get you most excited?<\/h4>\n

When I\u2019m confused, in a good way. If I\u2019m like, \u201cWait, what? How does that work?\u201d then I\u2019m excited. That means they\u2019re doing something new.<\/p>\n

The space projects are really cool, but it could be anything. If I have a lot of questions, that\u2019s how I know it\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s something you learned at the Chamber that you\u2019ll bring here?<\/h4>\n

Relationships, for sure. The network I built there is something I\u2019ll always value.<\/p>\n

Also, structure and organization. The Chamber has everything planned to the smallest detail. That\u2019s stuck with me. It helps keep things clear and easy to understand, no confusion.<\/p>\n

Event planning, documentation, being ready for anything, that\u2019s part of it too. And then people skills. Learning to pivot depending on who you\u2019re talking to, reading people, knowing when to say what. It\u2019s a skill you only get through experience.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s something new about this role that you\u2019re excited to figure out?<\/h4>\n

The grant side. It\u2019s completely new to me, but really interesting.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m used to being strict about guidelines and structure, but grants have more flexibility. It\u2019s a different kind of challenge, and I\u2019m excited to learn how it all works.<\/p>\n

Last question: what does a perfect Saturday look like?<\/h4>\n
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Sleeping in. Then golf in the morning, lunch at Chili\u2019s, coffee after. Later, I\u2019ll dim the lights, read a bit, then just relax. That\u2019s perfect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BCIC\u2019s Business Development and Entrepreneurship Officer, Astrid Rosales, brings a bright, community-minded approach to her work. She\u2019s focused on helping Brownsville\u2019s entrepreneurs and small businesses grow in a way that lifts everyone: owners, employees, and families alike. Marketing Specialist Rudy Hinojosa sat down with her to learn how she\u2019s approaching the job and what she\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_angie_page":false,"content-type":"","page_builder":"","feature_success_story":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90,47,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurship","category-ebridge-center","category-economic-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillecic.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}