Gina Ortiz Jones is the mayor of San Antonio, which has the 7th largest population in the United
States and is one of the nation’s fastest growing cities. She was elected as mayor on June 7,
2025.

Gina, a first-generation American raised by a single mother in San Antonio, was taught early on
about the importance of service by her family. She graduated from John Jay High School, and
earned an Air Force ROTC scholarship that took her to Boston University.

She served as an intelligence officer in the Air Force and deployed to Iraq. Upon separating from
the Air Force, she advised on military operations in Latin America and joined the Defense
Intelligence Agency as an inaugural member of U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Gina went on to serve in the Executive Office of the President, leading portfolios at the
intersection of economic and national security. In 2021, President Biden nominated Jones, and
the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed her to serve as the 27th Under Secretary of the Air
Force, the first woman of color and first out lesbian to serve as the Under Secretary of any military
department.

For her service, she earned the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service,
the department’s highest civilian award. Jones serves on the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of
America Board of Directors, the Asian American Foundation Advisory Council and is a Life
Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She has advanced degrees from Boston University, the University of Kansas, and the U.S. Army
School of Advanced Military Studies