Stephanie Finleon Cortez was named Chief Development and
Communications Officer (CDCO) for Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas on
January 18, 2013, after serving as Chief Communications Officer for
the council since 2010. Finleon Cortez was among the nation’s first
Daisies to join the organization in 1984 and earned the Gold Award in 1997.
She began her career in 2002 as a Membership Manager with Girl
Scouts of San Jacinto Council in Houston. Two years later, Finleon
Cortez returned to her hometown of San Antonio and began her work in
communications. As CDCO, she leads the council’s fund development,
communications, and business operations departments, including
oversight of major giving, corporate and foundation contributions,
government grants, special events, public and media relations,
marketing, social media, crisis communications, information
technology, data analytics, and property management.
Finleon Cortez uses her personal experience as a “grown-up” Girl
Scout and Girl Scout Gold Award recipient to communicate the relevance
of the organization and advocate for the welfare of girls. This
passion inspired her to found Day of the Girl San Antonio in
conjunction with the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl
each October.
A recognized community leader, Finleon Cortez received the
Professional of the Year Award from the San Antonio Chapter of the
Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in 2017 and volunteered as
president-elect, president, and immediate past president from
2013-2015. She also received the Spirit of Giving Award from the San
Antonio Business Journal and was a graduate of Leadership San Antonio
Class 43 in 2018.
She is a proud Red Raider and Roadrunner and holds a bachelor’s
degree from the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech
University and a Master in Business Administration from the University
of Texas at San Antonio. She and her husband, Daniel, reside in La
Vernia with their son, Joey, and daughter, Lake.