Jordana Barton-Garcia, CEO
Jordana Barton-García is Director of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Texas Broadband Coalition which she founded with Connect Humanity. The Coalition brings together local governments, healthcare organizations, non-profits, educational institutions, philanthropy, financial institutions, broadband engineering firms, and internet service providers to create the RGV broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion plan. The plan is designed to attract funding to the region and a sustainable digital inclusion ecosystem that is the foundation for an inclusive and vibrant economy.
Broadly, Jordana's work helps organizations and communities in low-income and rural areas achieve full participation in the digital economy and promotes economic development, health equity, telehealth, digital workforce development, educational equity, access to financial services, and entrepreneurship. Her numerous publications have contributed to the fields of community development and digital inclusion.
Jordana previously served as Vice President for Community Investments at Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM), introducing a new area of grantmaking for digital inclusion and health equity. In their first two years (introductory and full implementation), MHM has contributed approximately $27 million to organizations in South Texas to close the digital divide. Prior to MHM, she served as Senior Advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, where she supported the Federal Reserve System’s economic growth objectives and worked to incorporate digital inclusion into the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), one of a series of civil rights laws passed the early 1970s to address redlining. As a community development officer, her work included economic research, community development finance and philanthropy, as well as training for banks, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and federal banking regulators.
In addition to her work across traditional community development investments, such as affordable housing, small business development, and financial literacy, Jordana worked with local governments and community organizations in low-income regions to overcome the digital divide. Her career at the Federal Reserve was preceded by distinguished service in community development banking and finance at Capital One Bank, and as a nonprofit leader in the expansion of microfinance in the U.S. with Accion Texas, now LIFT Fund.
Jordana serves on the Statewide Working Group of the Texas Broadband Development Office. In 2024 she became a Media Democracy Fund Unicorn Fellow for her intrepid advocacy in broadband policy and community broadband. In 2018, she received the “Federal Broadband Policy Champion Award” from the Coalition for Local Internet Choice and the “Community Broadband Hero Award” from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. In 2020, she was named, “Salud Hero” (health hero) by Salud America, a program of UT Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame.
Jordana grew up in the rural South Texas community of Benavides. She holds an MPA from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.