San Antonio Water System

Prior to joining SAWS in 2012, De La Garza served as assistant city manager and chief human resources officer with the City of San Antonio. While there, she led several major initiatives including extensive revisions to employee benefits and compensation plan designs, as well as a citywide consolidation of human resources staff.  She also served as Director of Human Resources for the City of Dallas and has a background in marketing and retail management.

A San Antonio native and graduate of Harvard University, De La Garza is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, International Hispanic Network and World at Work Association, and currently leads the local San Antonio chapter of DisruptHR.  She also attended the Harvard Business School Summer Program for Strategic Human Resources Management as well as the Harvard Law School program on Interest Based Bargaining and Negotiation.  She is a graduate of Leadership San Antonio XIX.

At SAWS, De La Garza oversees talent acquisition and succession, learning and development, compensation and benefits, employee wellness, HRIS management, employee relations, risk management, workplace safety and organizational development for nearly 2,000 employees and retirees.

Human Resources, Workplace Safety and Risk Management

The Human Resources Department is responsible for all aspects of human resources, risk management, and workplace safety administration for SAWS. The group primarily engages in attracting, developing and retaining a qualified workforce to help SAWS reach its organizational goals and mission through a focus on excellence and continuous improvement.

Talent Acquisition & Succession – Provides recruitment and staffing programs to attract qualified, diverse candidates for employment, while supporting internal employee promotions and succession planning.

Learning & Development – Develops, implements and administers employee development and training programs to maximize workplace productivity, and promote employee career and self-development, and safety awareness.

Compensation and Benefits – Develops, implements and manages effective and market competitive employee compensation, and employee and retiree benefits programs.

Employee Wellness – Promotes physical and mental well-being for employees and retirees through special programs and initiatives, resulting in repeated recognition as a Healthy Workforce by the San Antonio Business Group on Health.

HRIS Management – Manages all aspects of the Human Resources Information System (HRIS), including data integrity, system functionality and capability.

Employee Relations – Promotes productive workplace relationships between employees by providing professional human resources consulting for effective employee performance management.

Risk Management –Manages all facets of the comprehensive commercial insurance program as well as premises risk assessments. Includes claims handing for workers’ compensation, liability, casualty and subrogation issues.

Workplace Safety – Works closely with management to develop, coordinate, and promote safety awareness through quality assurance, specialized programs and activities, and safety specific training to ensure a safe work environment for all employees.