Mary McQueen is the Vice President of Advancement & Government Relations for Del Mar College. Mary oversees development, alumni, scholarships, the DMC Foundation, and Government Relations for the College. Under her leadership the DMC Foundation had grown to be among the top 10% of community college foundations nationally with overall assets of $22 million and average annual fundraising at $3 million. Mary's current major project is to raise $25 million for a comprehensive campaign for DMC.

Mary's previous positions include Chief Development Officer for the Texas State Aquarium, Director of Public Affairs at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Public Affairs Producer for KEDT-TV and Editor in Chief for three city magazines, Business Monthly, Corpus Christi Monthly and Corpus Christi Magazine.

Mary has a BBA in Management and has been a CFRE since 2005. She was named Outstanding Professional Fundraiser of the Year (AFP Coastal Bend) in 2016 and has received the Rotary Lifetime Achievement Award, Rotarian of the Year Award, Spirit of Rotary Award, YWCA “Y” Women in Careers Award and Outstanding Alumni Award from TAMU-CC National Alumni Association.

Matthew Busby is the Associate Vice President of Development for Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. The fuel that drives him is witnessing amazing students overcome very real obstacles and impossibilities to achieve success … and helping facilitate the joy his donors experience through philanthropy.

His responsibilities include leading the six-person development team, guiding the comprehensive campaign to success and individual fundraising. Prior to joining Del Mar College in 2019, he spent ten years between College of the Mainland and Hill College, serving in financial aid, academic advising and fundraising positions.

A sixth-generation Texan, Matthew has a master's degree in management & leadership from Western Governor's University, a bachelor's degree in political science from Baylor University and an associate's degree in general studies from Temple College. He loves spending time with his family and friends; the great outdoors; reading; piano; dancing and genealogy.

Matthew earned his Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in 2017, the same year he was elected as President of the Texas Association of Community College Foundations (TACCF). During his two-year term he led the state organization through an exciting period of strategic reinvention and growth. He is a member of AFP, CASE and TACCF and has presented at district, state and national conferences for AACC, CASE, TACCF and NCMPR on LinkedIn and fundraising strategies.

Joel has a BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Joel assists the Executive Director of Development in the planning, coordinating and reporting roles of the Foundation's resource management function. This is accomplished through managing and coordinating associated functions and reporting on the administration of financial and scholarship matters associated with the Del Mar College Development and Foundation Services activities.

Joel also oversees the related financial and reporting functions associated with the DMC Foundation which operates as a separately chartered 50l(c)3 organization; manages and coordinates various databases associated with donor tracking, gift reporting, accounting and on-line scholarship management, oversees departmental training on databases. Other duties include providing the administrative duties of supervising one or more staff members and working with volunteer committees associated with the Foundation Board as directed.

Cynthia has been with Del Mar College Foundation since 2016 and has served as the Development Officer since January 2022. Presently, she plans and executes Annual Giving campaigns and nurtures relationships with donors in South Texas and beyond.

Prior to joining the Del Mar College Foundation, the Corpus Christi native spent 18 years at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times – both as a journalist in the Newsroom in various editor roles and in the Marketing Department, representing the newspaper in the community and organizing events.

Del Mar College is central to Cynthia’s story. Her parents met as students at DMC. And when Cynthia was attending the University of Texas at Austin in the late-1990s, her father took a second job - teaching night classes at Del Mar College - to pay for her education.

As a development officer at Del Mar College Foundation, Kelsey Chopelas connects individuals, corporations, and private foundations to philanthropic opportunities benefiting DMC students. Kelsey believes closing the gap between financial need and education is the key to an improved quality of life and a stronger workforce in the Coastal Bend.

Prior to joining the Del Mar College Foundation team in 2021, Kelsey worked in business development for a national consulting firm with a primary focus in municipal projects. In addition, Kelsey brings experience from Texas Tech University, where she managed sponsored and gifted funds within the Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

Kelsey earned her Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Communications from Texas Tech University in 2012 and her Master of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2022. Kelsey is a graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi Class 48 and a member of the steering committees for Class 50 and Class 51.

Kelsey also serves on the publicity committee for the Texas Association of Community College Foundations, and is a member of Texas Farm Bureau.

In her free time, Kelsey can be found enjoying the outdoors alongside her husband, Colin, and their four-legged children, Gracie and Luna.

Alexandra is the Donor Experience Coordinator for the Del Mar College Foundation development team.

As a second generation American and first-generation university graduate, Alexandra is passionate about empowering first generation minority students through higher education.

In her role, Alexandra works collaboratively with the development team and college community to create bespoke donor events that amplify the impact and mission of Del Mar College.

In her free time Alexandra likes to try new recipes and spend time with her husband and their little boy, Jeffrey.

Cecelia Gonzales is the Data and Technology Manager for the Foundation. She was born and raised in Kingsville, TX. She has a BBA in Management (2009) and an MBA in Business Administration (2014) from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Most recently Cecelia hails from KEDT as the Director of Fundraising Events, South Texas Public Broadcasting System. Her two favorite jobs besides this one were as a student worker at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, which was her first experience in the development field, and as a Vet Tech at Hubert Veterinary Hospital because of her love for animals.

Cecelia really enjoys live music and concerts. And still, one of the most important things to her is animals. She serves as the Community Member on the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. All of her pets are rescues. Her dogs, Roscoe and Dodger, plus her cat, Pepper, were very recently joined by a little black kitten, Salem, that found his way to Cecelia. She says, “It's hard to say ‘no’ to a tiny kitten that walks up to you on the street and claims you as its own!”

Elsie Odom serves as the Scholarship Coordinator for Del Mar College Foundation. In her current role, she oversees the Foundation’s scholarship program, including strategic planning and implementation, data management, awarding, processing, and scholarship reception event. The Foundation partners with corporations, community organizations, foundations, and individuals in raising funds for student scholarships and programs. Elsie awards nearly $2 million in scholarships to students each academic year.

Prior to joining Del Mar College in 2011, Elsie served as Stewardship Officer at Rice University for five years. Elsie has broad-based knowledge of the sector with more than 14 years of experience in higher education. This experience gives her a deep appreciation for how nonprofits seek to improve the quality of life for students. Her passion lies in helping students succeed and achieve their dreams. Her motto is, “Never give up.”

Elsie holds a bachelors degree from the University of Houston-Victoria and is a member of TACCF and TACHE.

Elsie loves spending time with family, especially with her daughter, cooking, gardening, and traveling.

Alex is an Accounting Assistant for the DMC Foundation. He is a Corpus Christi native and a lifelong Coastal Bend resident. Alex earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Accountancy degree both from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. Following graduation, Alex worked in public accounting for two local CPA firms.

After a few years in public accounting, Alex decided to enroll at Del Mar College to pursue a health care related career and later graduated with an Associate degree. Although he found the health care field fascinating, he soon realized that what he really enjoys is being around higher education.

Alex began working in higher education at Del Mar College. He started as an adjunct accounting instructor. Next he became an academic tutor at the DMC Student Success Center where he primarily tutored business subjects such as accounting and economics; although, he also tutored college math and writing.

Alex greatly enjoyed helping students achieve success in their academic pursuits. And now, he is grateful for this new opportunity to work with the DMC Foundation and to continue helping support Del Mar College and its mission.

Some of Alex’s many interests include traveling, learning as much about history as he can, and always learning more about horticulture and landscape design.

Mary Elizabeth earned an MS in Technical Communications (now called Human Centered Design and Engineering) from the University of Washington in the year 2000. She earned a BA in English, English/Language Arts, and Teacher Education from Seattle Pacific University in 1986.

After living most of her life in the Pacific Northwest where she taught secondary English, History, Adobe Creative Suites, Web Design, Graphics Design and other courses, Mary Elizabeth is loving life in Corpus Christi, TX. As the Communications Coordinator, Mary Elizabeth supports the communication functions of the Del Mar College Office of Development and Foundation Services by providing quality digital and print marketing and informational materials to relevant audiences. This is accomplished by developing and maintaining departmental web pages and communication vehicles for the Development, Scholarships, and Foundation Services offices including, but not limited to, electronic newsletters, e-blasts, online giving pages, sponsorship packages, and campaign documents.

Mary Elizabeth also supports the Foundation’s campaign marketing with graphics, document design, and social media posting as needed to deliver communications and campaign messages to target audiences.

When she isn’t working, Mary Elizabeth enjoys living near the Gulf with her husband and their canine kids.

Belinda Cisneros is a confident and well-organized Administrative Assistant who supports various projects in the Office of Development/Foundation department. She is a highly approachable individual who has a pleasant attitude and a willingness to positively affect every individual she encounters at the Del Mar College Foundation and even outside of the College.

When not at work, Belinda enjoys spending time with her family and traveling with her husband of 32 years. She is a graduate of Roy Miller High School.

Victoria Medellin joined Del Mar College Foundation team in June of 2021 as a part of the support staff. She is originally from deep South Texas and has spent her career in various universities and contract positions. 

 Victoria earned a M.A., from The of University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and a M.S., from Oklahoma State University. She also attended University of Texas – San Antonio for her B.S. in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. She values higher education and has a deep appreciation for helping others pursue their dreams.

 When she isn’t working, Victoria enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog.  Her hobbies include gardening; home décor and paper crafting. She is very grateful to join Del Mar College Foundation and is ready to help Texas students achieve their goals.

After growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kimberly served four years active duty, six years reserve and one deployment in the United States Navy.  She earned a BA in business with a focus on marketing from Texas A&M- Corpus Christi while working full time.  She has spent her career in the professional recruiting industry, in retail, contract assignments for the Corpus Christi Chamber Foundation and FUMC Capital Campaign and most recently in fundraising and prospect research.  She is grateful for a part time position at the Del Mar College Foundation and a professional contract role with Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health which allows her to help make positive impact locally and statewide.

A graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi class 33 and of Texas Leadership 16.  Kimberly was nominated Corpus Christi 40 under 40 in 2012.  She has served on the board of American Fundraisers Professional Corpus Christi Chapter, Leadership Corpus Christi Alumni Association, Vinson Morris Child Center and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Alumni Association.  She currently serves on The Corpus Christi First United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc., and volunteers as a peer leader for Women Veterans Network.

Of all these roles, the most treasured is wife (14 years and counting) to her best friend Jim DeVisser, who is a battalion chief for Corpus Christi Fire Department.   Step-mother to her chosen son and daughter Sophia (21), Nathan (24) and full time mother to her God given surviving and thriving kiddos Kekoa and Kailani (6).