The Texas Lyceum is the Lone Star State’s premiere non-profit non-partisan leadership organization designed to identify emerging and ongoing economic and social state issues, identify and cultivate future leaders of Texas and promote civil discourse in and around our state’s most pressing public policy issues.
In 2026 the Lyceum will host five conferences in Texas and one outside of Texas.
As it relates to our conferences, we believe there are several in 2026 that also align with USAA’s mission:
April: Public Conference – Hospitality and Gastronomy
• Without key leaders drive the hospitality and tourism, gastronomy industry (Visit SA, greater: SATX, City of San Antonio, Bexar County)
• But as we say during COVID and economic downturns, local economy needs to embrace and support these businesses
• Disposable income supports not only the local economy, but supports the innovation of hospitality and gastronomy
• USAA’s economic impact in San Antonio was roughly $16B in 2024
• USAA employs roughly 17K of our 38K employees in the San Antonio area
If there is a connection to economic impact of large employers like USAA, Military and public entities, consider the following as potential speakers:
- Tom Troy, EVP, Chief Transformation Office and Greater SA Chamber Executive Committee representative
- Bob Johnson, EVP, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Greater: SATX Executive Committee representative
- Brett Seybold, EVP, Chief Financial Officer
- Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, VP Corporate Impact and Texas Lyceum Alum
June: Puerto Rico - Disaster Resiliency & Management
• Consider the financial burden on homeowners, affected community when rebuilding from a disaster.
o Auto and home insurance - disaster prone areas are California, Gulf Coast, Southeast US (NOAA & RAND Base Resilience Study, 2024)
o Food insecurity, cost of labor and materials, inflation
o Financial acumen and understanding of the tools available and necessary to respond to disasters
- Access to short-term, low-interest loans
- 3-6 month emergency savings
• Immediate response, 2-12 month recover, long-term recovery
• Key nonprofit/governmental agencies that support on-the-ground recovery: FEMA, American Red Cross, Team Rubicon
September: Workforce Education
• Texas is the leading state with veterans, followed by California and Florida
• Texas has the second-largest military footprint in the US, after California
• There are over 15 major military installations in Texas, including Fort Hood, Joint Base San Antonio, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and Fort Bliss in El Paso
• Defense and aerospace industries are major employers in Texas with over 200K people working in these sectors
• In 2019, the total economic impact of the military in Texas was estimated to be over $123 billion, accounting for approximately 8% of the states GDP.
• Referred to Military City USA, in 2019, the total economic impact of the military in San Antonio was estimated to be over $48 billion.
• The military supports over 310K jobs in the San Antonio area, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 jobs in the local economy.
• This year, Congress will again be looking at BRAC
• Approx. 200K US service members leave the military and enter civilian life.
• Veterans bring invaluable skills: leadership, experience, strong work ethic, adaptability, teamwork
• HR professionals broadly and consistently report that veterans perform as good or better than civilian employees (SHRM Foundation Report, 2024)
• Nearly a quarter (23%) of HR professionals expressed difficultly aligning military experience and skill sets with civilian job requirements (SHRM Foundation Report, 2024)
• 21% unemployment rate for military spouses—4x the civilian rate (Blue Star Families, 2024) as PSC moves are still the most significant barrier to gaining and maintaining employment for military spouses. (RAND, 2024)
• 85% of military spouses want or need to work, but only 52% are in the labor force (RAND, 2024)
• Out-of-pocket childcare expenses exceed $1,000/month for many junior families—more than a third of their income in some regions (Military Family Advisory Network, 2024)
• Less than 1 in 5 transitioning service members feel ready to secure civilian employment (DoD TAP Report, 2024)
• Having a mentor/coach was one of the most effective delivery strategies. For example, veterans using programs delivered by a mentor/coach that translated military skills to civilian work were more likely to find a job at 6–9-months (84%) and 12–15-months (91%) post military separation. (Perkins et al, 2021)
• USAA potential speakers:
• Maj Gen (Ret.) Johnny Richardson, SVP Military Affairs
• Maj Gen (Ret) Bob Whittle, SVP CEO Chief of Staff
• Christopher Flores, AVP Military Talent & Strategic Partnerships
• Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, VP Corporate Impact and Texas Lyceum Alum
It's for these reasons we believe USAA and The Texas Lyceum can continue to be effective partners and we would be honored to steward your investment to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship.
