SAN ANTONIO – City Manager Sheryl Sculley on Monday announced the appointment of Edward Benavides as chief executive officer and Asia Ciaravino as chief operating officer of the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission. The commission is a local government corporation approved by the City Council and charged with the planning, preparation and implementation of the 300th anniversary of San Antonio.
“The tricentennial is a once-in-a-lifetime moment for San Antonio, and we have to get it right,” Sculley said. “Edward and Asia are proven community leaders who bring high levels of energy, enthusiasm and expertise to their jobs. I’m really excited that they’ve agreed to take on this challenge.”
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The staff appointments followed a selection process that included interviews with Dr. Katie Luber and Lionel Sosa, two of the 19 Tricentennial Commission board members appointed by the city and county, Jill De Young, Mayor Ivy Taylor’s chief of staff, and Sculley.
“These two leaders will be working with many individuals, organizations, corporations and government entities across the San Antonio community,” Taylor said. “I’m confident in both of their abilities to bring people together to appropriately honor and celebrate San Antonio’s rich history.”
Benavides will direct and manage the overall activities for the year-long tricentennial celebration in 2018. He is a native San Antonian and has worked for the city for nearly 14 years, most in the Office of the City Manager and recently as Sculley’s chief of staff for the past five years.
Benavides led or contributed to a wide variety of organizational and community initiatives, including the City Core Values program, the United Way charitable campaign, SA BCycle, the City Volunteer Program, SA2020, the International/City County Management Association (ICMA) and National League of Cities (NLC) conferences. In 2011 he was named one of the San Antonio Business Journal’s “40 under 40” rising stars.
Ciaravino comes to the Tricentennial Commission with more than 17 years of nonprofit experience, including serving as the chief executive of The Playhouse San Antonio since 2012. Ciaravino is a member of the Leadership San Antonio Class 36 and served as a steering committee member for LSA 37.
She received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of the Incarnate Word and a master of science degree in nonprofit management from Our Lady of the Lake University. As COO, Asia will contribute her experience in the arts and culture community coupled with her work in event production and marketing.
San Antonio will celebrate its 300th anniversary on May 5, 2018, a milestone that can be matched by few cities in the United States. It will be the anniversary of the founding of the San Antonio de Béxar Presidio and the Villa de Béxar civil settlement that became the City of San Antonio.