LAREDO, Texas – The Eagle Ford Consortium recently recognized Blas Castañeda for his many years of service.
Laredo native Castañeda is a founding member of the consortium. He helped the group establish partnerships with seven colleges in order for the oil and gas industry to develop a skilled workforce.
Among those to offer praise for Castañeda’s leadership was Leodoro Martinez, chair of the Eagle Ford Consortium.
“Blas Castañeda, as a leader in the Eagle Ford Consortium, was instrumental in heading up our efforts to provide a trained, prepared and skilled workforce for the Eagle Ford Shale area. Through his leadership skills he headed up and assisted other Workforce experts in bringing together the training institutions to identify the occupational demands that we were faced with and to jointly apply for resources to the Texas Workforce Commission and other funding agencies,” Martinez said.
“It was through these efforts that the training institutions were able to have a clear line of agreements that jointly addressed the occupational demands of the Energy industry. Blas has been a consistent contributor to the positive growth of South Texas through the last three decades, in the many roles that he has undertaken. On Behalf of the Eagle Ford Consortium we truly thank him for so many years of dedication and hard work.”
Another offering praise was Wanda Garza, a longtime administrator at South Texas College.
“I have been a lifelong friend of Blas. We served as co-chairs of the Texas Border Coaltion’s Workforce Training Education Committee. I have always admired his passion and commitment to skills training and higher eduction access to not only families along the border and the State of Texas. He has dedicated his life to making the dream of a better future a reality for all Texas,” Garza said.
A migrant worker in his youth, Castañeda holds a bachelor’s and masters’s in business administration with a minor in international trade.
He served in various capacities at Laredo Community College for 30 years, including chief development and economic officer.
Castañeda was a member of Laredo City Council from 1988 to 1996, including two years as mayor pro tem.
For over two decades Castañeda chaired the Texas Border Coalition’s workforce training and education committee.
He owns CTA Global Solutions, a consultancy firm that helps energy, manufacturing, transpiration and logistics companies with their workforce training needs.
After the announcement of his award by the Eagle Ford Consortium, dozens of friends from along the Texas-Mexico border region emailed Castañeda their congratulations.
“I am extremely grateful to the Eagle Ford Shale Consortium for this great recognition for our work as a founding member for our critical industries and the effect they have on our communities and the super job creation they bring to our people,” Castañeda said. “A big thanks of gratitude to Leodoro Martinez, Chair, and the leaders of the consortium for their support and recognition.”
