Frank Guerra • Trish DeBerry • Tess Coody

Frank Guerra
Partner and CEO

After a successful career in television news at San Antonio’s CBS
affiliate, Frank set out to become a pioneer of political-style
marketing and research. Armed with an inherent understanding
of the general and Hispanic markets and a knack for knowing how
to get people to listen, Frank quickly demonstrated his ability to
deliver the right message to the right people at the right places.

Frank is responsible for spearheading the Rick Perry for
Governor Campaign in Texas and the Jeb Bush for Governor
Campaign in Florida. Following his success on these high-profile
campaigns, Frank was picked as on of only 10 members of the
overall Bush Presidential Campaign ’04 media campaign.
But who ever said business and politics don’t mix? Under Frank’s
leadership, GDC has led the charge in developing advertising,
promotions and research for its business partners and corporate
clients including Citibank, Procter & Gamble, Time Warner
Cable and H-E-B Grocery Company. And through it all, Frank
continues to apply his “high-touch, personal-touch and
multiple-touch” technique to reach the right people and say all
the right things.

When Frank talks, people listen; even his four children, Jessica,
Matthew, Olivia and Sonia (well, most of the time anyways.) Every
client has a great story to tell, and Frank will find the right way to
tell it.

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Trish DeBerry
Partner and President

Trish has a hands-on work ethic; getting down in the trenches for GDC’s
clients to create aggressive campaigns that influence public perception
and get results regardless of the client’s industry and market. Her
experience in politics, land development, television, communications
and public relations helps her identify the needs of the client, develop
critical crisis communication strategies and direct the overall strategy of
accounts. Political “wins” include: a public relations effort to fluoridate
San Antonio’s water supply, a campaign for a much needed sales tax
initiative for San Antonio’s public transportation and highway system,
and, as campaign manager, helping to elect the first Hispanic mayor of
San Antonio in more than two decades.

Trish’s experience also includes public and media relations for projects
like the ForeStar Realty/The Professional Golfer’s Association’s
Cibolo Canyons development, Faulkner USA and the new San Antonio
Convention Center Hotel. In the corporate arena, she has shaped the
brands and images of many clients, including H-E-B Grocery Company,
Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Pace
Foods Ltd. She has been honored by a profile in PR Week magazine,
earned San Antonio & South Texas’ Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the
Year in Marketing in 1998, and the same year was included in the San
Antonio Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.”

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Trinity University and
currently serves on the board of directors for the San Antonio Youth
Literacy and the San Antonio Children’s Museum. Trish also devotes
time and energy to Big Brothers and Sisters, the Downtown Alliance,
the Downtown Rotary Club and the University of Texas at San Antonio
athletics department. Trish and her husband, architect Carlos Mejia, have
a son named Scott Ansel and a daughter, Madeleine France.

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Tess Coody
Partner and COO

It’s difficult to say which you’ll find more of in Tess Coody’s office,
pictures of her husband and three sons or books on subjects
ranging from marketing, promotions and advertising to poetry.
Tess applies this very same mix of enthusiasm for all aspects of life
and a hunger to always learn more to her professional career, as
well.

And it’s worked. Clients including Sprint PCS, Citibank and
Vanguard Health System, a hospital system that spans across five
states, have all benefited from the guidance and insight that Tess
offers.

Along with the impact Tess has had on the agency’s clients, she is
also responsible for bringing her passion for family into the mix by
creating a childcare center onsite at GDC. This has led to a culture
that understands the needs of employees and offers incentives that
attract and retain highly talented individuals at the agency.

Whether she is reading a new book about the best approach to fully
integrate a client’s marketing efforts, enjoying time with her family
or making GDC an even more family-friendly environment, Tess
has the perfect mix of knowledge and enthusiasm to bring any client success.

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