As a native Texan and Libyan-American with extensive global experience, Nadia Mavrakis brings the perspective of these worldviews to her role as Co-Executive Director of Culturingua, a nonprofit that supports community and economic development in the Silk Road Cultural Heritage District of San Antonio, Texas. Culturingua supports small business owners to achieve their full potential; enables families to obtain affordable homeownership; and promotes the arts, culture, and culinary heritage of the Silk Road District to enable a sense of place.

Ms. Mavrakis graduated magna cum laude from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Strategy and Finance with a minor in French. She completed nonprofit fellowships through both Social Venture Partners San Antonio and HOLT Values-Based Nonprofit Leadership Program at the San Antonio Area Foundation. She has taken business leadership courses at INSEAD, Harvard Business School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and HEC Paris. She is a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences discussing best and equitable practices on economic empowerment and community engagement.

Nader Mehdawi is the Co-Executive Director of Culturingua, a nonprofit that supports community and economic development in the Silk Road Cultural Heritage District of San Antonio, Texas. Nader oversees and manages the successful implementation of Culturingua's small business programming, which includes an entrepreneurship training program and Nourish to Flourish Culinary Incubator. He also leads the strategic development of the Silk Road Community Land Trust, which will provide affordable and attainable homeownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income residents.

Prior to entering the nonprofit industry, Nader spent more than eight years in the Civil Engineering industry which included planning, supervising, and managing residential, commercial, retail, and federal projects. A signature engineering project he worked on was the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge Replacement Project, a $900 million-dollar project that includes development, design, and construction of longest cable-stay bridge in the United States and tallest structure in South Texas with a total of 6.44 miles of bridges and connecting roadways. 

Nader has a Master of Science degree (M.S.) in Geotechnical and Structural Engineering and a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Nader graduated with honors with his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Garyounis. He is a fellowship graduate with Social Venture Partners San Antonio. Nader is a frequent speaker at conferences about workforce development and entrepreneurship strategies to support economic empowerment for immigrants and refugees.