Weekly Lunch SARA: Overview and Projects

Derek Boese is the General Manager and CEO of the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), a 300 person organization responsible for ensuring the river remains Safe, Clean and Enjoyable from the headwaters in Bexar County down through Goliad County. He is responsible for a $370M annual budget, including design and construction of the $300M San Pedro Creek Culture Park, oversight of the $240M Bexar County Creeks and Trails Program, serving as local sponsor for the Westside Creeks Ecosystem Restoration Project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the multi-million dollar expansion of SARA’s Wastewater Treatment Plants in eastern Bexar County. His oversight includes the Mission Reach and Museum Reach parks along the San Antonio River. Mr. Boese is a graduate of Leadership San Antonio Class 47 and serves on the boards of the Texas Water Conservation Association (TWCA) and the National Association of Flood & Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA).

Before becoming the General Manager of SARA in 2021, Mr. Boese was the Chief Administrative Officer and head of the Flood Protection Authority – East (FPA) in New Orleans, LA and was responsible for the physical, operational and financial integrity of the regional flood risk management system protecting the east bank of the greater New Orleans area and 576K people and $79B of infrastructure.  Mr. Boese served as the CAO since March 2017, overseeing the transition from three separate levee districts into one consolidated regional authority consisting of 250 people and a $60M annual budget. He first served as the Executive Director of the East Jefferson Levee District for the FPA starting in 2015.

Mr. Boese has a B.A. in Civil Engineering from Rice University, an M.S. in Engineering Management from Missouri University of Science and Technology and a J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans.   He is a licensed attorney in Louisiana and is also an Adjunct Professor teaching Critical Infrastructure at the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement, Emergency and Security Studies Program.

Mr. Boese is married to Mrs. Allison Reyes Boese. He also has 3 children: Vanessa, a third-year law student at the University of Kansas; Shaun, an Ocean Engineering senior at Texas A&M – Galveston; and Natalie, a ballerina in the Milwaukee Ballet Company.