Staff

Margaret Garcia has more than thirty-eight years of experience in journalism, public relations, marketing and communications. She began her career in broadcasting at KMOL, now WOAI in 1985. She then moved to KRIV – FOX Television in Houston where she served as Public Service Director and host of Hola Houston, the station's community affairs talk show. While at KRIV she was instrumental in implementing a variety of on air community service events for Houston area organizations including food drives, blood drives and clothing drives. Margaret and her family moved back to San Antonio in 1999, where her career path shifted to media and public relations. She served as Public Affairs Program Manager for the Edwards Aquifer Authority for six years, where she oversaw a complete transition of their communications programs including the creation of two websites and the children’s educational programming module.

In 2005, Margaret joined Cutting Edge Communications, a boutique advertising agency, as Public Relations Director. In this role, she was proud to serve a variety of accounts including the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Catholic Relief Services, and the Department of Health and Human Services where she led the Spanish Language media campaign for the Medicare Part D national roll out. Margaret joined UIW in 2008 as associate director of Public Relations. In 2018, she was elevated to her current position of director of the Office of Communication and Brand Marketing (OCM) where she leads an office of eight communications professionals serving the university. Her areas of responsibility also include oversight of the Office of Graphic Design & Printing Services. She also chairs the university’s Visual Corporate Identity Committee (VCIC), which exists to ensure that approved standards are met on all University communications, including departmental and student publications and promotional items. Born and raised in San Antonio, Margaret is a graduate of Incarnate Word High School and the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism. She and her husband Tim are the proud parents of three adult children, Adriana, Nicholas and Clarissa, all proud UIW alums. They are also proud grandparents to Emma Sofia, a future IWHS Shamrock. Adriana is married to UIW alum Joshua Martinez and works with Realtor.com. Nicholas lives in Austin and is a university recruiter at AT&T and Clarissa is married to UIW alum Gregory Regino. She serves as a corporate recruiter for HubSpot. Clarissa and Greg have one daughter, Emma Sofia.

Ashley Davis has more than ten years’ experience in marketing and communications. Ashley began her career at UIW as an admissions counselor and visit coordinator in the Office of Admissions. Following the completion of her graduate program in administration and communications, Ashley pursued a career in marketing, applying her knowledge and skills to local businesses in the areas of real estate, non-profit work, and more. After several years working in business development and digital marketing, Ashley found herself back at UIW working in a department she had always admired, the Office of Communications and Brand Marketing. She has served in several roles within the department over the years, including serving as special events manager, brand marketing and advertising manager, and most recently as assistant director.

In her current role, Ashley is responsible for cultivating the University's brand to appeal to new generations of audiences and has been the lead for research, creation and execution of the University's latest branding and advertising campaigns. Her responsibilities include providing guidance, feedback, edits and final approval for marketing efforts within the OCM team and all other institutional departments and programs. She also oversees UIW’s licensing program with University partner, CLC, to ensure that all branding efforts are cohesive and contribute to the University’s positive public perception and brand recognition. Ashley and her team work closely with all University departments, with emphasis on the External Affairs Division to assist with campaign materials, photo and video production, communications plans and event support. Ashley is a two-time UIW alum, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University. Ashley and her husband Michael, also a two-time UIW alumnus, have been married for 9 years. They have two children, Kacen and Quinn and two rescue dogs. Everyone in the family outvotes Mike when it comes to opening their home to foster puppies and kittens whenever possible.

Zoey Cadena is the administrative assistant in the Office of Communications and Brand Marketing at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). In her role, she plans, organizes and coordinates administrative duties working closely with the director and staff. She serves as a liaison by assisting departments across UIW with inventory control, building services, equipment maintenance and repair, purchasing, safety and logistical support. Cadena assists with the coordination of various activities, meetings, conferences and workshops.

Cadena earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of the Incarnate Word.

Michael Valdés serves as the media and public relations manager for the University of the Incarnate Word. He has 30 years of experience in the field of journalism. For almost two decades, he served in various roles, including Weekday Anchor for FOX News at Nine at KABB-TV in San Antonio.

At UIW, Valdés is responsible for creating, managing and monitoring communications, media outreach, media relations and public relations efforts of the University, Incarnate Word High School and St. Anthony Catholic High School.

Valdés has a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from The University of Texas at San Antonio and an associate's degree in Radio-TV-Film from San Antonio College.

Victoria Reyna brings nearly ten years of experience in the communications and marketing field to UIW. Following internships with Christian Senior Services and Sammis Ochoa: A Public Relations Agency, Victoria joined the Sammis Ochoa team as a full-time account coordinator before eventually being promoted to account manager. In these roles, she managed and contributed to the public relations efforts for client accounts in various industries including San Antonio’s Hard Rock Café, Big Red Dog Engineering, the 13th Floor Haunted House, the City of San Antonio’s Downtown Tuesday initiative and more. Following her time at the agency, Victoria joined UIW’s communications and marketing team as the social media and communications specialist, a role which she occupied for nearly five years. Today, she remains a member of the team as a Content Strategy Manager.

In her current role, Victoria is responsible for ensuring content on UIW’s main social media accounts supports the University’s brand messaging and identity. She also oversees the University’s community newsletter, a digital communication piece distributed to more than 40,000 alumni and friends every week. In addition to these duties, Victoria’s responsibilities include providing training and guidance for University departments utilizing social media in a professional capacity, creating featured content for the team’s digital and print communications pieces, overseeing video production projects, providing editing and approvals on feature stories and more. She is also responsible for working closely with the team’s assistant director on brand marketing and advertising campaigns.

In her spare time, Victoria devotes her skills to supporting initiatives that promote music education in public schools – she has been invited to lead clinics to teach music educators to bolster support for their programs by utilizing simplified marketing tactics at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention and the UTSA Department of Music. She and her husband Colin, a local high school choral educator, have been published in Southwestern Musician, the official publication of TMEA.

Victoria graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations. She earned her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing in 2021 from the University of the Incarnate Word, from which she graduated with distinction. She and Colin enjoy obsessing over their adorable and perfect-in-every-way dog, Riley Reyna Varville.

Devin Castillo serves as the University’s communications officer in the Office of Communications and Brand Marketing. Her responsibilities include the production of internal and external communications, assisting in social media content creation, aid in marketing and branding strategies, and supporting public relations.

Castillo graduated from Texas Lutheran University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and a minor in English Studies.

Stephanie Denning has more than 23 years of experience in advancement, marketing and communications. Stephanie began her career as the Director of Development for ACCEL, a special education program based in Phoenix, AZ. In this role, she was the first marketing professional for the organization and was responsible for all public-facing initiatives including fundraising, events, promotional materials, web design, branding development and social media. After almost 10 years in this role, she consulted with ACCEL for an additional 3 years before relocating to Texas. Next, Stephanie assumed the same position with Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School (OLH) in Kerrville, TX. During her year at OLH she was responsible for generating over $715,000 in donations as well as designing and producing all marketing/PR collateral, logos, website and newsletters. Additionally, she started the first social media channels for the institution and composed and published all press releases, ad campaigns, and other external communications. Stephanie joined the UIW family in 2012 as the Director of Development for Incarnate Word High School. She worked with the advancement team on all fundraising, events, and marketing initiatives until making the move to UIW’s Broadway campus in 2021 as the Communications and Content Manager for the Office of Communications and Brand Marketing (OCM).

In her current role, Stephanie’s primary responsibility is the strategic development and production of campus publications including The Word Magazine (a publication for UIW alumni) in both print and digital formats. In addition, she is responsible for content creation and editing across various platforms to reach specific groups within the UIW community. This includes storytelling, scripts, correspondence, messages, campaign materials, presentations and reports. As a member of the OCM team, Stephanie focuses on fostering successful internal communications and supporting the communications efforts and events produced by fellow staff members and the larger Division of External Affairs.

Meghan Kuentz serves the University of the Incarnate Word community as the Special Events Manager. In this role, Meghan acts as the main point of contact for the planning, logistics and execution of University events ranging from smaller intimate meetings to the premier annual event on campus, Light the Way.

Kuentz holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, International Relations from St. Edward’s University, and a master's degree in Reconciliation Studies, Conflict Resolution from the Catholic Theological Union.

Michelle Vasquez is the digital experience strategy manager in the Office of Communications and Brand Marketing at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). She is responsible for creating and implementing strategies designed to improve the digital customer experience, satisfaction and conversion. She has over 15 years of experience working as a digital communications professional in the higher education industry with proven expertise in strategic planning, content management, web development, graphic design and social media.

Vasquez earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Graphic Arts and a master’s degree in Administration concentrating in communications from the University of the Incarnate Word. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Adult Education, Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship.