Speakers 2026

Funding the Future:

How Regional Alignment Drives Investment, Innovation, and Growth

Daniel J. Jones, an NMSU Graduate, has over 20 years of experience as an early and growth-stage software entrepreneur and operator across several VC backed technology ventures, leading to multiple exits. Daniel is currently leading multiple ventures including Deadbolt Cyber, a cybersecurity software company focused on the world's most complex large-scale malware challenges, CEO for Patient Signs, a healthcare data platform for hospitals, and as Chief Business Officer for Colossal, the world's most advanced fundraising platform. Daniel’s work also includes serving as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Arrowhead Center, a strategic consultant for several healthcare technology initiatives at Arizona State University and is an advisor to Audaz Capital in El Paso.
Previously, Daniel served as CEO of Aural Analytics and led innovation and venture efforts at Carneros Bay Capital, a San Francisco based VC, incubator/accelerator and technology development group.

Bill Allen is the Assistant Director of Economic & International Development for the City of El Paso, Texas. He leads a group that is responsible for business attraction, retention and expansion.
Mr. Allen has over 25 years of experience in business. During his career he has held various upper management positions including Controller for both Mercer Consulting and Xerox Corporation. He then moved into the non-profit sector and led Chambers of Commerce for 16 years before taking his current position with the City of El Paso.
Mr. Allen has both a BBA and an MBA from Northwood University in Midland, MI.

El Paso has been Dee Margo’s home since 1977. He moved to El Paso, Texas from Nashville, Tennessee, where he attended Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship, to join his father-in-law at John D. Williams Company (JDW Insurance). Dee met his wife, Adair, a 3rd generation El Pasoan at Vanderbilt. In February of 1981, 6 days after his 29th birthday, his father-in-law suffered a fatal heart attack. He purchased JDW from the estate, and expanded the company from 6 employees to 70, in the span of 30 years. JDW was purchased by HUB International in 2012, the 4th largest broker in the world.
During these years, Dee served as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, participated in the founding of the Regional Economic Development Corporation (REDCO) – now the Borderplex Alliance, became the Chairman of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, and gave his time to several non-profits, most notably as president of Operation Noel, providing 20,000 coats to children at Christmas. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2010, in 2013 he was appointed President of the EPISD Board of Managers, in 2015 appointed by the Governor to serve on the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Oversight Committee (CPRIT), and most recently, he served as the 51st Mayor of El Paso, Texas, from 2017-2021.
His tenure as Mayor was full of major events El Paso did not expect. Starting with the immigration crisis, followed by the August 3, 2019, Walmart tragedy, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dee Margo is proud of his 5 grandchildren, 3 of whom are 5th generation El Pasoans. He continues to leverage the city’s economic development and promote a stronger El Paso with his wife, Adair Margo.

Emma is the Managing Director of Ecotone Investment Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund in El Paso, Texas to provide capital to promising start-ups from around the globe while providing them with value from El Paso. Emma is also the founder and CEO of Salto de Fe (SDF) Dona Ana, LLC, a farm, ranch, fitness and retreat center in Anthony, New Mexico. In addition, she co-owns and operates several vacation properties in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Prior to these new ventures, Emma founded and served as the President of the Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Foundation, a non-profit operating in El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, from 2006 to 2022. The MCA developed the first biomedical incubator in the region – the Cardwell Collaborative (60,000 sf) – and the first free-standing mental health clinic for veterans (33,000 sf).
Emma’s community involvement is extensive. She is a director on the board of WestStar Bank where she chairs the Audit Committee. She is a founding director of Progress321, a young professional’s organization, and on the boards of Workforce Solutions Borderplex and the Centro Cultural Mexicano Paso del Norte. She is also the co-chair of El Paso’s chapter of Stanford OVAL. Formerly, she served on the board of and former chair of the PDN Center of Hope anti-human trafficking organization, the selection committee for the TTUHSC El Paso Founding President, the Borderplex Alliance, the El Paso Chamber, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Emerging Leaders Council, and the board of La Fe Preparatory School.
In 2016, Emma was inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame, and she was named 2017’s El Pasoan of the Year. In October 2019, the office of Governor Greg Abbott appointed Emma to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) for a term set to expire on August 31, 2025. She serves as past chair of the Agency Operations Committee and the current chair of the Committee on Academic and Workforce Success for the THECB.