Manuel “Manny” Pacillas III currently serves as Chairman of the El Paso Community Foundation. A Metallurgical Engineer, Manny retired following a career in industry and higher education. Manny began his career as a Project Engineer with the Inland Steel in Chicago. He returned to El Paso to work with The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) where he retired as Assistant Dean of Engineering in 2015. During his tenure at UTEP he directed two University research centers - Institute for Manufacturing and Materials Management and the Texas Centers for Economic and Enterprise Development. He’s been active at state and local levels on boards and commissions. Some of those activities include founding director of the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, both state wide programs promote technical improvement in industry and manufacturing. He was appointed by Mayor Larry Francis as a Commissioner of the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) and served as Chairman. Manny was appointed by the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency to the State Executive Committee of the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL), the governing body of educational extracurricular activities for the state of Texas. Manny is father of four children and grandfather of three grandkids. When not chasing grandchildren, traveling, mountain biking or hiking, he lives in El Paso, Texas.