As the president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, A. J. Rodriguez loves his job as much as he loves the Alamo City, his hometown that he has “never left for more than three weeks at a time.” Luckily for Rodriguez, the two come as a package-deal.

“Mostly what I love about working at the Hispanic Chamber is that I am giving back to the community while I work,” said Rodriguez. “My passion is San Antonio. I want our city to grow and to prosper, to maintain its identity and to increase its quality of life. I think we have a responsibility to be a model. I enjoy being involved in helping San Antonio become a national model of success. We can do a lot of things on the local level that can inspire the state and national levels to follow our example. That’s how it should be.”

Although Rodriguez has a hectic daily schedule, he makes time to support efforts he feels are particularly important. One effort he proudly supports is the San Antonio River Commission because “to me, the San Antonio River is an essential aspect of San Antonio, and I am really glad to be part of the Commission’s effort to preserve and improve the river. I think it is a very important part of our city and where it takes us in the future.”

Rodriguez also strongly advocates for the education of the youth of San Antonio. Although he works with various organizations, such as JOVEN, the Young Leaders Entrepreneurial Program and the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Child Abuse, Rodriguez also has the opportunity to address youth-related issues at the Hispanic Chamber.

“[The Hispanic Chamber] invests a lot of time in our youth,” Rodriguez said. “We really try to set up our future by working with our youth and helping them succeed. I think a lot of what we do here is investing in people. We work with educational institutions and a number of other organizations that focus on education.”

In many ways, advocating for the drop in child abuse and dropout rates is another passion of Rodriguez’s because he has “always wanted to help our youth in their future. I think that organizations like [the Hispanic Chamber] have a responsibility to establish a positive workforce for tomorrow. There are still so many kids in our city that are dropping out of school; Hispanics are highest in that regard. We need to focus on our city’s economy by investing in human resources and in the workforce in order to sustain the economy for the long term. We need to address this issue in a meaningful manner and ask ourselves, ‘How are we bringing true value to our community?’ There’s still a lot of work to be done, and I feel blessed that I am able to take part in working toward a brighter future.”

Rodriguez enjoys working for a greater San Antonio. He loves making his parents, Arthur and Norma Rodriguez, and his wife, Estelle, proud of the increasing community success he and his team members achieve at the Hispanic Chamber, which has made considerable progress throughout the years, including a $1.4 million budget and a fast-growing number of 950 members. As Rodriguez puts it, “we’ve come a long way.”

Rodriguez has also come a long way in his profession. He entered the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce as an intern and was encouraged by the Chamber’s president, Joe Krier, to pursue an advanced degree. He received his MBA from UTSA in 2000. After advancing through various departments at the Chamber, leaving briefly for a job at Zachry Construction Corporation and returning to the Chamber, he eventually entered the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as president and CEO. Now, Rodriguez feels pleased to “be part of an extraordinary team. I enjoy being part of that positive, enthusiastic workforce. I love coming to work and doing this day in and day out because every day brings a new experience.”

In addition to his success at work, Rodriguez has his share of personal success. He not only has “a really good partner in my wife,” but also three children named Alexandra Jasmin, 10, Arthur John, 6, and Isabella Carolina, 2.

“They’re beautiful children,” said Rodriguez, “but I’m biased!”

At times, balancing a demanding job, a wife and three children gets difficult, but Rodriguez makes it a point to spend quality time with his family as often as possible. He believes that “striving to maintain a balance is key to being successful in life. When I get off of work, I’m not the type to just plop myself down on the couch and start watching TV. I always do something with the kids. We’ll have dinner together and then go out and do something like go bowling or play basketball. I really just try to stay involved in their lives. Although I don’t have a lot of quantity time to spend with them, I always try to spend quality time with them. It’s always very rewarding and very worthwhile.”

Rodriguez says he learned his balancing techniques from his parents. Although his parents were both involved with the government for a number of years, “they were always interested in my life in addition to what they were doing with their lives. I had a good instructor in my both of my parents, but especially my mom. She was city clerk for San Antonio for 26 or 27 years. Every time she’d come home from a late City Council meeting, she’d always have a smile on her face, and she was always ready to know what my brother and I did during school. She just wanted to be engaged in our lives. I think she set a great example for me.”

Although Rodriguez credits his parents with establishing a “strong work ethic” in him, he says multiple people served as his mentors along his path to success. Some particularly influential people in his life include Joe Krier, Lionel Sosa, Alex Briseno, Henry Cisneros, Elaine Mendoza and Fernando Reyes. A couple of officials from UTSA, Dr. Ricardo Romo and Dr. Rudy Sandoval, also encouraged him to reach for the stars.

“There’s a large group of people that have inspired me,” said Rodriguez. “A lot of good people have been supporting me every step of the way. They each played an integral role in my life and my career, and they have all helped me in a lot of ways. I try to seek a lot of advice. I feel like I could use a little bit of everybody’s different input.”

While Rodriguez feels that these mentors “helped me in every aspect of my career,” he also believes that a bit of luck helped him through several obstacles he faced on his way up the ladder of leadership.

“I had some obstacles before I [began my career],” Rodriguez said. “For example, I studied really hard to get into the Fire Department. I worked really hard, and I was really looking forward to becoming a firefighter. I took the test, and I did pretty well, but there were a lot of people who scored higher than me that year, so I didn’t get into the Fire Department. It was a heartbreak, but when I applied and was successful at getting an internship at the Greater Chamber, it was really a blessing.”

Everyone encounters the occasional speed bump along the road of life. Rodriguez advises all who are going through difficult times not to lose hope because “sometimes your biggest setbacks can be pathways to the best opportunities and the best successes.”

Rodriguez says the leaders of tomorrow should always remember to look forward. He advises them “not to be afraid to invest in their futures. Today’s leaders should invest in our youth and in the future. They should never forget that sometimes, obstacles can turn into successes. I always keep that in the back of my mind so that whenever I come across a bump in the road, I know that there’s something much better just around the corner.”