About Lorenzo Gomez III
Lorenzo Gomez III is a community builder, author, and public speaker who draws from his personal and professional experiences to inspire others. A former director at Rackspace Technology, Gomez is a key player in the development of San Antonio’s downtown entrepreneurial ecosystem. He has spent the last decade dedicated to building institutions and organizations that have supported the creation of a contemporary community of technology companies. Gomez is the co-founder of WeTree, a new mental health engagement application, and recently co-founded Confluence Capital Group to invest in community centered real estate.
During Gomez’s four years as CEO and four years as chairman of Geekdom, San Antonio’s premier collaborative startup community, Geekdom companies raised more than $422M in funding and its startups created 2,489 jobs.
A trusted advisor to Graham Weston, co-founder of Rackspace Technology, Gomez helped shape Weston’s 80|20 Foundation, which invests in San Antonio’s future by issuing grants to public charities that attract, grow, and retain San Antonio’s future workforce and job-creating entrepreneurs. After co-founding the 80|20 Foundation with Weston, he served as its executive director for six years, during which time the organization founded Students + Startups, San Antonio Startup Week, and helped establish the UTSA School of Data Science downtown. He and other local tech leaders also founded Tech Bloc, an advocacy group for San Antonio’s tech economy.
Gomez’s most recent venture, Confluence Capital Group, is dedicated to catalyzing and enhancing micro-districts near San Antonio’s urban core. The company envisions creating vibrant, walkable neighborhoods and communities that attract young professionals seeking an authentic urban experience, thereby helping San Antonio compete for global talent.
Gomez has authored three books: Cilantro Diaries, Tafolla Toro, and The Rack We Built. All three are Amazon best sellers and the latter two are winners of the 2021 International Latino Book Awards. Cilantro Diaries tells the story of Gomez’s rise from the stockroom of a grocery store to the boardrooms of two private companies, without a college degree. Tafolla Toro tells the story of his turbulent, traumatic, and often violent middle school years in one of San Antonio’s most crime-riddled neighborhoods. He reveals the fear, anxiety, and hopelessness he felt as a teenager and how those forces shaped his life until he began taking steps as an adult to improve his mental health. The Rack We Built examines Rackspace’s growth from a scrappy startup to a billion-dollar technology company and the evolution of its legendary corporate culture.
Lorenzo’s driving passion is his love for his hometown, San Antonio, Texas. His goal is to recreate for every San Antonian the opportunities the startup world has provided him in this city on the rise.
Directors' Note:
What an amazing opportunity this has been for the three of us. We have loved watching the process and collaboration of our students as they transformed this story from book to script to stage and beyond–their diligent work has shaped this important story that will continue to change youth lives for the better.
Our goal as directors is to help create a stage picture and bring the written work to life. To that end, we are so fortunate to work with this cast and crew, as their passion for the project made our jobs so simple. They explored the language and ensured that it sounded authentic. They created a physical space to evoke the feeling and culture of a singular time and place. They worked to embody the real humans at the heart of Lorenzo's story with empathy and specificity. And, they did all of this and more in a fraction of the time we typically dedicate to the rehearsal process.
This experience is one that we will never forget, and we are so honored to have been a part of the journey of this show–and of the tenacious students who brought it to life. -JoJanie, Amy, & Nico
