Meet the 2026–2027 SDA National Secretary: Loretta M. Rodriguez

Nineteen years in A/E/C operations. Ten years in SDA. One leader thinking about where the next chapter begins.

We’re continuing our series introducing SDA’s 2026–2027 National Executive Committee with someone whose professional life is built around the exact discipline her new role demands: Loretta M. Rodriguez, CDFO, Administrative Associate at Kimley-Horn in San Antonio, and SDA’s incoming Secretary.

Loretta joined SDA a decade ago through the San Antonio chapter and has held nearly every seat at the table since. President-Elect in 2019. President in 2020. Past President in 2021. Treasurer from 2023 through 2026. Along the way, she’s served on her chapter’s Bylaws, Certification, Finance, and Nominating committees, and attended every SDA National Convention from the 2021 virtual gathering through Lexington in 2025. That kind of continuous service builds something specific: an instinct for how chapter-level decisions connect to national priorities, and how good documentation makes both work better.

Her day job sharpens the same instinct. At Kimley-Horn, Loretta has spent nineteen years coordinating complex programs for clients like the City of San Antonio and TxDOT, currently serving as project coordinator on TxDOT’s Digital Delivery Program. She schedules executive meetings, drafts minutes, maintains document control across internal and external SharePoint sites, and translates working-group discussions into clear records and action items. The Secretary role at SDA is, in many ways, the work she already does — at scale, for state agencies and major infrastructure programs.

What sets her vision apart is where she’s pointing her attention. While the Secretary role is traditionally inward-facing — records, minutes, governance — Loretta is thinking outward. She wants to see SDA plant the foundation for new chapters in markets the organization hasn’t reached yet. Her priorities for the term: leadership development, certification, and stronger alignment between national initiatives and chapter-level execution. She wants measurable growth in leadership engagement and clearer communication channels between chapters.

“I want to serve SDA at the national level at this time because I can contribute my experience, organizational strengths, and long-term commitment to help guide the organization into its next chapter of growth and impact.”

— Loretta M. Rodriguez, CDFO

That phrase — next chapter — does double work in Loretta’s case. She’s talking about SDA’s next phase as an organization, but she’s also someone who genuinely thinks about where the next physical chapter of SDA might take root. That’s an unusual lens for a Secretary, and a useful one.

Expect Loretta to bring structured documentation, clean meeting records, and a collaborative decision-making style to the Executive Committee — and expect her to keep asking how the work being done at the national level is reaching, and growing, the chapters.

Please join us in welcoming Loretta to her role as Secretary. Connect with her in the SDA Discussion Hub, consider joining a national committee, or simply reach out to say hello. There’s a lot of good work ahead, and it’s the kind of year that’s going to reward showing up.