REBECCA CONTRERAS

Rebecca Contreras is currently the President & CEO of AvantGarde LLC (AG), a consulting firm she cofounded in 2011 as the majority owner.  AG has grown to over 110 employees spread across TX, DC, VA, MD, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Florida, and a few other states. AG's Offices are in the Austin and Washington DC area with clients in 26 different government agencies.  AG offers a one-stop-shop approach to addressing complex organizational issues, AGs capabilities center around four key areas:  Human Capital (HR), Organizational Development, Business Operations and Technology. Rebecca commutes back and forth between her TX and DC offices. To do business with Rebecca’s consulting firm AvantGarde, visit AG at www.avantgarde4usa.com

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Prior to moving into the consulting business, Rebecca spent fifteen years working in government, four of those years in federal government serving in President Bush’s Administration in Washington DC. While living in DC, Rebecca served first as a Commissioned Officer to President George W. Bush in the Bush White House, managing the personnel appointments process for over 1,200 positions in the federal government.  Then the president appointed her as a senior executive to lead corporate HR in the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary & Chief of Human Capital for the U.S. Department of Treasury, a workforce of 128,000 employees. Rebecca started her government career working as a civil servant for nearly twelve years in Austin in Texas Government, including serving as the Director of Human Resources for the Office of Governor Bush for six years. Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, she served six years at the State Treasury under two Texas women icons Ann Richards and then Kay Bailey Hutchison.

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 In 2021, AG received the coveted Stevie Silver Award for Minority-Owned Business of the Year (American Business Awards). She has also received numerous awards in 2020, including two global awards—Women in Enterprise by Women Enterprising Magazine and Women 2 Watch for 2020 by the Women President’s Organization in New York City. Her company was also recognized during National Small Business Week with Texas District Award for Women Small Business of the Year and Federal Contractor Minority Business of the Year. Rebecca also received the Texas Women Profiles in Power and has received Best CEO nomination for 2021 award by the Austin Business Journal, and Governor Greg Abbott, in conjunction with the Texas Small Business Summit, also honored Rebecca with the Texas Latina Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. Rebecca was also recently appointed in September 2021 by Governor Greg Abbott as a Commissioner on the Texas Racing Commission where she will serve a three-year term.  

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Rebecca lives in the Austin Texas area with her husband of 31 years, David.  Rebecca and David are founders of their 501c3 organization, LaunchPad, a nonprofit foundation that supports funding programs for inner-city families and underprivileged youth and causes in her hometown in Austin and throughout her home state of Texas.