About Elisa Chan

In 1992, Elisa Chan and her husband, Clifford Hew, P.E. started Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc. (UNINTECH); a structural and civil engineering design and consulting firm. The firm started with one full-time person to the current size of over 50 personnel. As President and Co-Owner, she is in charge of business development and strategic planning initiatives, and overseeing financial management, marketing and public relations, human resources and information technology for firm-wide operations. UNINTECH has consistently been ranked among the "Top 25 Largest Engineering" and "Women-Owned" firms in San Antonio by the San Antonio Business Journal.

Ms. Chan has been actively involved in numerous professional, civic, public, and cultural organizations. She was a member of the City of San Antonio's Planning Commission. Interested in advancing engineering practices, she is a Board Member and immediate-past President of the San Antonio Council of Engineering Companies. Also a strong activist toward improving San Antonio transportation, she is an Executive Board Member of the San Antonio Mobility Coalition and was involved in the 2004 Advanced Transportation District (ATD) campaign.

Ms. Chan is an advocator for major San Antonio initiatives. She participated in the 2008 Bexar County Visitor Tax Extension, where she was appointed Presentation and Planning sub-committee chair for the Cultural Facilities Committee. She also took an active role in helping promote the 2007-2012 City of San Antonio Municipal Bond Program. She served on the Drainage Committee for the Bond Program, where she worked with many city council members and was involved in numerous public presentations and outreach programs, including the "Foundation for the Future" campaign to promote the City's $550 million bond election. She most recently was selected as member of the Study Oversight Committee for The San Antonio Regional Disparity Availability Study Consortium.

Particularly passionate about San Antonio's economic development, Ms. Chan was appointed by Mayor Phil Hardberger as Committee Chair of the China Steering Committee in 2006, in order to promote bilateral trade and foreign investment between San Antonio and China. As immediate-past President and member of the Board of Directors, she is the driving force behind the Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce and its resurgence in San Antonio. She is also a Vice-Chair for the Texas Federation of Asian American Chamber of Commerce, which currently consist of four chambers: Austin Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce - Houston, and the Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce. She has also been a member of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, North San Antonio Chamber and San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

A supporter of educational advancement, she was involved in the Citizens for the Advancement of Community College Education Political Action Committee, to help promote the 2005 Alamo Community College District $450 million Bond.

Ms. Chan is equally committed to various organizations throughout San Antonio. She serves on the Board of Governors and as co-Chair of Government Relations for the Cancer Therapy and Research Center. She has supported the advancement of the arts through serving on the Board of Trustees for the Southwest School of Art & Crafts. She also served as Vice-President of SA 100, and has been a member with the Texas Women Forum and the Sonterra Women's Association. In District 9, she is a Board Member of the Friends of Stone Oak Park and a former Committee Member of the Stone Oak Property Owners Association Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Stone Oak Business Association and District 9 Neighborhood Alliance. In addition, she continues to serve as General Counsel to the Chinese Society of San Antonio of which she is a past president.

Ms. Chan was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1988. She became a U.S. citizen in 1999 and has resided in San Antonio for 20 years. She received her B.S. in Computer Software Engineering at Beijing University of Technology in 1987. She received her Master's degree in computer science at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1993. For 13 years, she worked successfully in the computer software development field.

Elisa recently received the North Chamber, Small Business Leaders Award in Career Achievement. In 2003, she was recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of the "40 Under Forty Rising Stars" in San Antonio. Elisa, husband Clifford and eight-year-old daughter Nikola reside in North Central San Antonio.