Rachel Benavidez

Vice President of Strategy and Service Delivery

Rachel Benavidez is Vice President of Communications and Strategy for VIA Metropolitan Transit. She leads the messaging and outreach strategy and internal/external communications for the transit agency that serves San Antonio and Bexar County with over 30 million passenger trips each year.

Rachel oversees VIA’s social responsibility and strategic partnership programs, created to help amplify VIA’s voice and reach and cement the agency as a key partner in local relief efforts. Her career includes 15 years leading newsrooms for English and Spanish publications and award-winning work in journalism, marketing, PR, and digital and social media.

A Rio Grande Valley native, Rachel has lived and worked in San Antonio since 2008. She is a graduate of the Leadership San Antonio Class 44. She serves the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center Board of Directors and the American Public Transportation Association Communications and Marketing Committee. She was named the “Public Relations Professional of the Year” by the San Antonio Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 2023 and a “Rising Star” by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2011. Her work to empower communities in South Texas was presented for discussion at the Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy, and her work in the Communications field has been recognized by SWTA, PRSA, API, APTA, and APME.