Board of Directors

Edward Escudero is Vice Chairman of WestStar Bank Holding Company, Inc. and WestStar Bank, and currently serves as President and CEO of High Desert Capital, LLC, an El Paso-based small- business financing company. Until 2013, Mr. Escudero was the Executive Vice-President and CFO of C&R Distributing, a major distributor of fuel and lubricants and owner of various convenience stores in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. He also served as the Secretary and CFO of Petro Stopping Centers, LP. During his tenure at Petro, Mr. Escudero helped to double the company’s annual revenue to more than $2 billion and expand to have locations in over 34 states. While at Petro, he held the vital role of managing key departments within the company, including Accounting, Legal, Human Resources, Audit, Financial Planning, and Information Systems. In 2007, Mr. Escudero was instrumental in coordinating the sale of Petro to TravelCenters of America.

Mr. Escudero has long been a supporter of the El Paso region via his participation on both corporate and nonprofit boards. He currently serves on the board of El Paso Electric Company, Hunt Companies, Inc., Transtelco Holdings, Inc., Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, Hospitals of Providence Memorial/Sierra Campus, Paso del Norte Community Foundation, El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development (CREEED), UTEP Business Advisory Council, UTEP Development Board, Texas Business Leadership Council (TBLC), Texas2036 and the Trellis Company. He also served on the Texas State Securities Board from 2007 to 2011 and the El Paso Water Utility Public Service Board from 2010 to 2013.

Mr. Escudero has received several awards that recognize his achievements and philanthropic efforts, including the UTEP Distinguished Alumni in 2023, the Lucy G. Acosta Humanitarian Award in 2020, El Paso Community Spirit Award in 2015, the El Paso Business Hall of Fame in 2014, the Hispanos Triunfadores Award in 2013, and the UTEP Golden Nugget Award in 2012.

Mr. Escudero is a CPA and received his B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at El Paso. Mr. Escudero has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2014.

Paul L. Foster is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Mountain Energy, LLC, and Franklin Mountain Investments, LLC and its affiliated companies. Affiliates include investments in energy, private equity, real estate, construction, aviation, sports, restaurants, medical devices, and other businesses.

Mr. Foster serves as a director on the board of Franklin Mountain Energy as well as on the boards of Franklin Mountain Investments and its affiliated companies. Mr. Foster currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Baylor College of Medicine and is a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. Mr. Foster also serves on the Executive Committee of the Borderplex Regional Economic Alliance. He is a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council and the World Presidents’ Organization.

Previously, Mr. Foster served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents and served as Chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO). He is a past director of the El Paso branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, was a member of the University of Texas System University Lands Advisory Board and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. 

Mr. Foster and his wife, Alejandra de la Vega Foster, are philanthropists and major supporters of the Borderplex region. They are co-founders of MountainStar Sports Group, owners of the El Paso Chihuahuas Triple-A Baseball team, the FC Juarez Bravos Liga MX Soccer Club, and the El Paso Locomotive United Soccer League Championship Club.  

Since the early 2000’s, Mr. Foster has been the leading catalyst in the revitalization of El Paso’s Downtown, purchasing a number of major downtown buildings, many of them historic. His most recent completed project was the full restoration of the then 90-year-old Plaza Hotel, now operating as The Plaza Pioneer Park.  Currently, Mr. Foster is restoring and revitalizing the 87-year-old S.H. Kress Building in Downtown El Paso.

Mr. Foster has received the Baylor University Distinguished Alumni Award, was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame, and in 2007 and 2013 was presented with the City of El Paso’s highest honor, the Conquistador Award. He was named El Pasoan of the Year twice, inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame, and was previously named El Paso’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Foster has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2004.

Lane B. Gaddy is the CEO of W. Silver Recycling, a 100 year-old company servicing the unique by-product needs of manufacturers in the southwest United States and Mexico. Mr. Gaddy has overseen growth from two locations with 20 employees in 2015 to over 500 today with 11 operations in two countries. He has led W. Silver Recycling’s path with teams in Mexico and the U.S. and product purchases and sales from 20 countries.

Mr. Gaddy is actively involved in the manufacturing, real estate, hospitality, restaurant, liquor, healthcare and finance industries. He currently serves on numerous boards including the University of Arizona Eller Business School National Advisory Board, the University of Arizona McGuire Entrepreneurship National Advisory Board, Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus Governance Board and others. Previously, he served on the boards of the El Paso Downtown Management District, the Paso del Norte chapter for the Young President’s Organization, the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau, TIRZ No 5 for the City of El Paso, Insight’s Children Museum, and Texas Trost Society amongst many others. He additionally is a founder and past board member of Progress 321. He has been involved in the Young President’s Organization since 2005.

Mr. Gaddy was nominated as El Pasoan of the Year in 2015 and was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Hub of Human Innovation Downtown Award. His downtown development projects have won various awards including two Texas state preservation awards in 2018 and 2019. W. Silver Recycling has been nominated for multiple awards including the American Metal Market Scrap Company of the Year in 2018 and 2019.

Mr. Gaddy attended the University of Arizona and graduated with degrees in Finance and Entrepreneurship in 2005. He later earned an MBA from the University of Texas in 2012. He currently is pursuing a Masters in Real Estate Finance at Georgetown University. Additionally, he completed the Stagen Integrated Leadership Program in 2014. Mr. Gaddy has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2020.

John L. Hummer is co-founder, executive board director and president of Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM), Las Cruces, NM. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Kansas State University under a United States Army scholarship and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Kansas. He has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in the private, investor owned, hospital industry as well as academic teaching hospitals and medical schools. Mr. Hummer has developed, expanded, and led major hospitals in Las Vegas, NV, Washington, DC, New Orleans, LA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL., and Las Cruces, NM. He is a past board member of The Federation of American Hospitals. In addition, BCOM, Hummer was the co-founder of the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Mr. Hummer was recruited to Las Cruces in July of 2000 to develop and lead Las Cruces’ second hospital, MountainView Regional Medical Center. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Borderplex Alliance and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. He is a past chairman of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) and past chairman of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership. He is also a past president of The Rio Grande Rotary Club. His past service to the State of New Mexico includes 6 years as Transportation Commissioner, District One, under the Richardson Administration and a member of the Military Base Realignment Commission.

Deciding to make Las Cruces their permanent home, John and his wife, Amy, acquired the largest full service real estate company in Las Cruces, NM -Steinborn Inc. Real Estate, offering residential, commercial, property management, development, and consulting services of which Amy is the Owner and President. Mr. Hummer has served as a director of WestStar Bank since 2023.

Joshua W. Hunt is Executive Vice President of Hunt Companies, Inc., headquartered in El Paso, Texas. He is a member of Hunt Companies’ Board of Directors where he serves on the Investment and Executive Committees, as well as several affiliate board and executive capacities. In addition, Mr. Hunt is President of the Hunt Family Foundation and chairs the Hunt Family Council.

Founded in 1947, Hunt Companies, Inc. (Hunt) is a diversified and international family-owned holding company that invests in real estate assets, infrastructure and real-asset focused operating businesses. Today, the platforms employ over 4,000 people.

Mr. Hunt has long been a supporter of his city and the Borderplex region, and has served on numerous civic, non-profit, and professional boards and committees. In addition to his duties at Hunt Companies, Mr. Hunt serves as Founding Chairman of the Board for the El Paso Children’s Museum and Science Center (La Nube) a $75 million Public/Private partnership opening in 2024, and is on the board (former Chairman) of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Borderplex Alliance, and, is on the board of the education-focused Trellis Foundation based in Austin, TX and serves on the Investment Advisory Committee. Mr. Hunt is also on the board for the Paso del Norte Foundation, and the Texas State History Museum. He is also a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) El Paso/Juarez Chapter.

Mr. Hunt is Chairman of MountainStar Sports Group (MSSG), an entity formed by Mr. Hunt and his father, Woody Hunt, and another El Paso family to promote regional economic development through sports and entertainment.

MountainStar Sports Group owns the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A Baseball affiliate of the San Diego Padres and El Paso Locomotive FC, a franchise team of the United Soccer League (USL), the second division of the United States Soccer Federation. MSSG is majority owner of FC Juarez Bravos, that represents the Borderplex as a first-division soccer club of LIGA MX, where he serves on the board. Mr. Hunt serves as the control person for the El Paso Chihuahua’s, and El Paso Locomotive FC, he is also on the Board of Governors of the United Soccer League (USL).

Mr. Hunt has received numerous awards and honors, including being named El Pasoan of the Year by El Paso Inc. in 2014, a shared honor with MSSG for bringing Triple-A Baseball to El Paso; and to the El Paso Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement in 2019.

Mr. Hunt graduated from The Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University with a bachelor’s degree in Real Estate/Finance. He also earned an MS degree with honors in Real Estate and Construction Management from the Daniels School of Business at the University of Denver.  Mr. Hunt has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2021.

Meyer Marcus is Chairman of the Board of MIMCO, LLC, a company he founded in 1973. It is a fully integrated real estate investment, development, management, leasing, and maintenance company. MIMCO has operations in several cities including El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas; Las Cruces, NM; Phoenix, AZ; and is expanding into other southwest markets. With his brother, Clement Marcus, he co-founded LaLa Imports, importers of goods from China, the Philippines, and Mexico.

Mr. Marcus serves on Board of Directors of the Medical Center of Americas Foundation, Inc., and is a founding director of the Board of the Borderplex Community Trust. He previously served on the Jewish Community Foundation of El Paso Board of Directors, was on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center-Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, and was the former Chairman of the Medical Center of Americas Tech Park Inc. Meyer, and his wife, Mindy, were Board Members and Founders of the El Paso Chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Mr. Marcus has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2005.

Jonathan W. Rogers, Jr. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Regis Airport Properties, a real estate and investment company in El Paso. He is also involved as an owner or partner in various other financial and real estate investments. He is active in numerous civic, educational, and charitable causes. Mr. Rogers earned a Bachelor’s of Art in Economics from Yale University. Mr. Rogers has been a director of WestStar Bank since 1997.

Robert Scott “Bobby” Skov, a fourth generation El Pasoan, is the owner of SK-2 Farms LLC, Skov Equipment Company, and is a partner in Bar-S Produce and Rio Seco Ag and Supply. In 2016, Mr. Skov along with other partners established T4S Limited Partnership, a real estate development group focused on development of residential properties in the Lower Valley. 

Mr. Skov is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and also from the National Cotton Council of Americas Leadership Program. He serves as the Rio Grande Compact Commissioner, and on the board of directors of the Hudspeth County Conservation and Reclamation District.  Mr. Skov is a former director of the El Paso County Water Improvement District #1, the past president of the El Paso Valley Cotton Association and the past president of the Valley Gin Company. Mr. Skov has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2019.

Kelly Tomblin is President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of El Paso Electric Company. Ms. Tomblin brings more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry and has worked throughout the world including the U.S., the Caribbean, United Kingdom, and Latin America. While most of her work involves operational improvement and public image enhancement, Ms. Tomblin has been integral in positioning utilities and related industries as leaders in the energy sector by developing new visions and strategic directions crucial to their success. She was previously recognized as an S&P Platt Global CEO of the Year.

During her tenure with El Paso Electric, Ms. Tomblin has launched multiple key initiatives for the Company including the development of a newly envisioned strategic plan, smart metering and automated system technology, transportation electrification and electric vehicle infrastructure deployment, as well as tripling the utility’s renewable energy portfolio. Under Ms. Tomblin’s leadership, EPE has created a bold plan that is committed to 80% carbon-free energy by 2035 and the pursuit of 100% decarbonization by 2045.

Prior to EPE, Ms. Tomblin served as President, CEO, and Board Member of both INTREN (MASTEC) and Jamaica Public Service, the utility that serves Jamaica West Indies. While in Jamaica, she also served on the Caribbean Utilities Board. As Regional VP of International Power/Engie, she led business development activities that resulted in significant growth and market expansion. Prior to ENGIE, she served as President of Pennsylvania Electric Company, a subsidiary of First Energy Corporation. Ms. Tomblin started her energy career as an attorney at K&L Gates.

Ms. Tomblin is a board member of El Paso Electric, the Borderplex Alliance; the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, and the Edison Electric Institute. She is also a member of the Advisory Council for Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness; the Texas Tech President’s Development Council; Children at Risk Advisory Board, Make-A-Wish Foundation Advisory Board, and the Diversity Committee for Executive Forum.

Ms. Tomblin has an MBA from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business and a Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a public relations concentration from West Virginia University. Ms. Tomblin has served as a director of WestStar Bank since 2023.

Linda C. Troncoso is the President of TRE & Associates, LLC, a minority-owned, woman-owned civil engineering firm with offices in El Paso and Austin, Texas. TRE & Associates provides project management services including design and construction management for numerous municipal and land development projects throughout Texas and New Mexico specializing in land development and water and wastewater utilities. Ms. Troncoso and her firm currently serve as the District Engineer for seventeen Municipal Utility Districts in the El Paso Region. In addition, she serves on the Zoning Board of Adjustments for the City of El Paso.

As part of her community involvement, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, is member of Executive Forum, and El Paso Association of Builders, and is a past board member and Chairman of both the Governing Board of Directors for the Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus, and the Medical Center of the Americas.  Ms. Troncoso is a licensed Professional Engineer with a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso and has been practicing engineering in Texas since 1999. Ms. Troncoso has served as a director of WestStar Bank since 2020.

Emma Wollschlager is the Managing Director of Ecotone Investment Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund in El Paso, Texas to provide capital to promising start-ups from around the globe while providing them with value from El Paso.  She also serves as a co-founder and Chief Growth Officer for Samaritan Trade Technologies, a tech marketplace making the manufacturing buyer and seller market along the US-Mexico border and throughout Mexico more efficient.  In addition, she co-owns and operates several vacation properties in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Prior to these new ventures, Emma founded and served as the President of the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation, a non-profit operating in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, from 2006 to 2022.  The MCA developed the first biomedical incubator in the region – the Cardwell Collaborative (60,000 sf) – and the first free-standing mental health clinic for veterans (33,000 sf).  The MCA also works to harness a robust Life Sciences industry for the region through its Innovation Center, supporting technology start-up companies; BIO El Paso-Juarez, a bi-national biomedical cluster group representing the medical device manufacturing industry; the MCA Clinical Trials Consortium; the MCA Health Care Think Tank; and STEM camps. Emma was highly involved in the El Paso and Juarez COVID-19 response through the MCA and as a member of the City / County United COVID-19 Task Force.

Before the MCA, Emma worked in healthcare management, revenue cycle improvement, strategic planning and regulatory compliance for a variety of healthcare companies, including Tenet Healthcare in El Paso, Texas and Sinaiko Healthcare Consulting in Los Angeles, California.  During this time, she gained extensive experience in the areas of acute care hospitals, physician practices, clinical laboratories, imaging facilities, dialysis centers and organ transplant.

Emma’s community involvement is extensive. She is a founding director of Progress321, a young professional’s organization, and is on the boards of Borderplex Alliance, Workforce Solutions Borderplex and the Centro Cultural Mexicano Paso del Norte.  She is also the co-chair of El Paso’s chapter of Stanford OVAL.  Formerly, she served on the board of and former chair of the PDN Center of Hope anti-human trafficking organization, the selection committee for the TTUHSC El Paso Founding President, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Emerging Leaders Council, the board of La Fe Preparatory School.  She is also a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Chamber, Texas Healthcare and Biosciences Institute, InBIA and Women Corporate Directors. 

In 2016, Emma was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame, and she was named 2017’s El Pasoan of the Year.  In October 2019, the office of Governor Greg Abbott appointed Emma to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) for a term set to expire on August 31, 2025.

Emma is a proud El Pasoan, who attended Loretto Academy.  She received her BA in Human Biology concentrating in Comparative Health Policy from Stanford University and her MPH in Health Services Management from UCLA, where she was a Foley & Lardner Fellow. Ms. Wollschlager has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2011.

President of Brownco Capital, LLC | Director since 2004