Hispanic Chamber names Gilda Ramirez Interim President

Dr. Gilda Ramirez has been named Interim President of the Corpus Christi Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, replacing Teresa Rodriquez Bartlett, who resigned for another position. Bartlett was hired by the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau to serve as chief public affairs and business development officer. 
Ramirez takes over in a time of upheaval at the Hispanic Chamber, which will be voting — along with members of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce — on whether or not the two entities should merge. The vote is set for Dec. 4-11. 
The former director of the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center, Ramirez is coming out of retirement to help guide the chamber through this transition period. She worked 25 years for Texas A&M University, which runs the Garcia Center, and has 32 years with the state. She is a graduate of Corpus Christi State University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She has a Masters in Public Administration and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. 
"We are delighted to have Dr. Ramirez as our Interim President and CEO," Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chairman Eddie L. Garcia said in a statement. "She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization."
The Corpus Christi Chamber is also going through its own time of transition. President and CEO Foster Edwards gave notice six months ago, setting Oct. 31 as his last day on the job. He has agreed to remain while the search for his replacement continues. 
The two chambers will hold an informational forum on the merger Dec. 1. No time as been set for the meeting, which will be held at the Texas A&M Small Business Development Center in Flour Bluff. Members in good standing with both chambers are invited to attend and ask questions, said Corpus Christi Chamber Chairman Gabe Guerra. 
“We still have a lot of things to decide,” Guerra told Corpus Christi Business News. “Our job is to listen first and answer questions that we can answer. We are still working out details.”
Guerra said no decisions have been made as to how votes will be taken or tallied or how the two staffs, buildings and boards would be merged.
In his opinion, both chambers would benefit from a merger.
“This is not about what’s good for one or the other,” he said. “It’s about what is good for both. This would create one organization that can focus on many things. Some things the Hispanic Chamber does better than we do and some we do better. We need to decide how to bring those things together to increase the value of small business in a big way.”