Lane Gaddy was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and resides in El Paso, Texas. He attended the University of Arizona and graduated with degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He later earned an MBA from the University of Texas in 2012 and recently completed a Master in Professional Studies in Real Estate Finance from Georgetown. Additionally, he completed the Stagen Integrated Leadership Program in 2014 and possesses a Bank Director Training Certificate. He currently maintains a Texas Real Estate Broker’s License. He moved to El Paso in 2005 and joined W Silver Recycling. He now serves as the CEO and Chairman of W Silver where he has overseen growth from 2 locations with 20 employees to over 350 today with 11 operations in two countries. Lane has overseen W Silver's path with teams in Mexico and the US and product purchases and sales from over 20 countries. He is actively involved in the manufacturing, real estate in the US and UK, hospitality, restaurant, liquor, technology, healthcare and finance industries. He currently serves on numerous boards including the University of Arizona Eller Business School National Advisory Board, the University of Arizona McGuire Entrepreneurship National Advisory Board, WestStar Bank, Medical Center of the Americas, El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board, Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus Governance Board and others. He previously served on the boards of the El Paso Downtown Management District, the Paso del Norte chapter for the Young President’s Organization, the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau, TIRZ No 5 for the City of El Paso, Insight’s Children Museum, and the Texas Trost Society amongst others. He additionally is a founder and past board member of Progress 321. He has been involved in the Young President’s Organization since 2005 and additionally serves on The Borderplex Alliance’s Board of Directors. He was nominated as El Pasoan of the Year in 2015. He was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame in 2016. He was also the recipient of the 2017 Hub of Human Innovation Downtown Award. His downtown development projects have won various awards including two Texas state preservation awards in 2018 and 2019. W Silver Recycling has been nominated for multiple awards including the American Metal Market Scrap Company of the Year in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. He is married to Allison Glass and they have a son, Anson; and daughter, Valentina.

Joseph Riccillo is Vice President and Regional Manager for Sundt Construction, an employee-owned firm and the 46th largest contractor in the nation. Since establishing Sundt’s regional presence in 2013, Joseph has led its vertical market growth from $0 to over $1 billion in total revenue, including more than $220 million in residential development across the region. With a background in electrical engineering and a graduate degree in business administration from the University of Texas at El Paso, Joseph combines technical expertise with business and community leadership. His professional accreditations include LEED AP, PMP, and DBIA.

Born and raised in El Paso, Karina is a graduate of Columbia University and received her Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Institute of Technology. She started her career with the City in Planning and Inspections and is an AICP Certified Planner. She has carried that planning experience into her work on key redevelopment initiatives and programs. Karina joined Economic and International Development in 2021 and was selected as the department Director in January 2025 after a national search. She looks forward to helping grow a strong, sustainable economy for the region.

William is the Chief Operating Officer for Franklin Mountain Investments, LLC. Previously, William served in various executive leadership roles at Hunt Companies, Inc., Security Capital Group, and Bohannon Development Corporation. He currently serves as a board member of Jordan Foster Construction. William commenced his career as an audit and tax staff member with the international accounting firm KPMG. William is a native El Pasoan, he received a BBA from Texas Tech University and held a Certified Public Accountant license for approximately 35 years.

Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Gudenrath graduated from Creighton University with a degree in Political Science with an emphasis on Public Policy. Following school, he worked in federal and municipal government, eventually becoming the Omaha Mayor’s Chief of Staff, which involved management of all aspects of city government including its downtown revitalization, and construction of a downtown baseball stadium. In 2009, Gudenrath was named Executive Director of the Omaha Downtown Improvement District where he oversaw the organization’s development, growth and success. Prior to leaving, he successfully obtained the organization’s indefinite reauthorization. On June 2, 2014, Gudenrath became the Executive Director of the El Paso Downtown Management District. He sees Downtown El Paso as the ‘living room’ for all El Pasoans to enjoy and is committed to creating an environment where people want to live, work, play, shop, visit, and invest. Today, the DMD plays a critical role in maintaining a clean and welcoming environment; supports private investment through five different grant program, hosts events year round that support businesses, activate spaces and introduce the community to downtown; promotes downtown businesses, events and people; advocates for policies and programs that support downtown’s ongoing growth; and engages with the El Paso community in order to help create an environment where opportunity abounds for all. He is driven not simply by the progress being made within Downtown El Paso, but by the continually growing number of people visiting and enjoying our great downtown. Gudenrath holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Nebraska, is a Certified Leader in Place management, is a member of the International Downtown Association Board of Directors, is Vice Chair of the El Paso Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation, is current President of the Rotary Club of El Paso and is a proud father of three children.

Originally from central Missouri, Kurt had an interest in building design and construction from a young age. He attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS to pursue this passion and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 2003. After graduation, he worked for architectural firms across the Midwest in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Minneapolis. In 2015, he relocated to El Paso and fell in love with our City. He quickly began to put down roots with his growing family and took a new position as an architect with Dekker in which he officed in Las Cruces initially. Kurt always saw the bigger opportunity for Dekker in establishing and growing a strong presence for Dekker in El Paso. From which we could grow an incredibly talented group of professionals and bring our client service focused approach to producing meaningful work that elevates our community. Today, just a little more than two years after opening our El Paso office, Dekker employs more than 20 employee-owner professionals in our downtown office who are actively engaged in promoting opportunities for local emerging professionals and supporting economic growth and development in our City. In addition to a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Kansas, Kurt holds a Master of Science in Real Estate, from Roosevelt University in Chicago, is a member of the American Institute of Architects, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and holds multiple certifications from the Construction Specifications Institute. Kurt is also married and a father of four amazing kids.