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Francisco Sanchez, Jr.
"Rebuilding resilient communities."
At the age of fifteen, I was volunteering in local political campaigns and various civic events.
In college I was recruited to work as legislative director for a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Though I spent some time in the private sector, the events of 9/11 reignited in me a call to public service. It was helping lead Houston’s humanitarian response to Hurricane Katrina that inspired me to stay on the path of public service. My career in emergency management began unexpectedly by helping open the Astrodome to Hurricane Katrina evacuees and welcoming more than 200,000 storm survivors to the Houston region. Since that time, I have been honored and humbled to serve on command staff for four of our nation’s ten most devastating natural disasters. Responding to storm after storm, my passion for this work has evolved from response and recovery to crafting investments that help build resilient communities where small businesses can grow, local economics can thrive, and people can prosper.
In January of 2022, I was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration to lead the Office of Disaster Assistance. As the first presidential appointee and non-banker to this post, the shift elevates the importance of economic recovery and marks a move toward bold new initiatives on climate, resilience, equity, and re-inventing recovery efforts by leading from the ground up and across the whole federal family. I am honored to have the opportunity to lead during times of crisis like historic hurricanes, unprecedented ice storms, major industrial incidents, special security events, and now a global pandemic. The responsibility that comes with being at the helm alongside dedicated public officials during decisions that affect countless lives and livelihoods is a humbling one. Daily, I continue to remain inspired by the increasing complexity of the problems public servants must tackle and the sacred responsibility that comes with keeping the public trust.
My career has been uniquely shaped by a series of leaders who deliberately gave me wide latitude in high risk environments to self-initiate innovative projects, build diverse teams across organizations, and to operate outside of conventional wisdom – and just as importantly to do so with the space to both falter and succeed in trying new things. I am grateful that this trust has shaped my experience in disaster response, recovery, and now resilience. The opportunity to bring this perspective to our nation’s strategy tackling the climate crisis will certainly be a highlight of my public service.
