EL PASO, TX – The City of El Paso, Texas announced that Roberto Tinajero has been appointed Director of the City’s International Bridge Department.
Tinajero had been serving as Interim Director of the department since November 2022, so his appointment as Director was effective immediately.
“Our international ports of entry serve to connect our community and families, and represent billions of dollars in international trade for our local, state and national economies,” said Interim City Manager Cary Westin.
As Director, Tinajero is responsible for the overall operations of the three city-owned international ports of entry and the city’s parking meters.
In addition, he will reportedly continue to lead the Binational Bridge Steering Committee, which plans and implements process and infrastructure improvements at the regional ports of entry, and will define strategies to improve coordination among federal, state and local agencies with private sector stakeholders in the U.S. and Mexico.
Tinajero joined the City Council in 2015 as an economist and had served as Deputy Director of the City’s International Bridge Department before being selected as Interim Director.
During his tenure with the City, he has assisted in the development of the five-year capital improvement program for International Bridges; the Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Master Plan; and coordinated the application for and securing of a US$12 million federal grant for pedestrian improvements at the Ysleta International Port of Entry. He has also served on cross-functional teams for Sun Metro; Data and Knowledge Management; the El Paso Police Department; Inclusion and Access; Economic Development; and Covid-19 Response.
Prior to joining the City of El Paso, Tinajero worked at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in various capacities, including Associate Director and Research Associate for the Institute for Policy and Economic Development (IPED); Transportation Economist for the Center for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems and the El Paso Metropolitan Organization; and Associate Economist for the Border Region Modeling Project. He has also taught graduate courses in Research Methods and Applied Statistics and undergraduate courses in Microeconomics. He has co-authored numerous technical and special reports, as well as articles in academic journals and book chapters.
Mr. Tinajero holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance, with a specialization in Commercial Banking, and a Master’s degree in Economics, both from UTEP. He is a member of the National Association for Business Economics and the Rio Grande Economics Association.
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