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Phil Hardberger served two terms as Mayor of San Antonio. Shortly after taking office in 2005, his strong leadership ability was placed in the national spotlight as he led city efforts to help displaced residents of the Gulf Coast during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Hardberger, a former Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals, a civil rights attorney, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a former Air Force bomber pilot, was re-elected in 2007 by an overwhelming 77 percent of the vote. At the end of his second term in 2009, he held an 86 percent approval rating from San Antonio residents. His legacy as mayor includes the expansion of the River Walk and the creation of Haven for Hope, a 37-acre campus serving the area’s homeless. He increased the city’s green space through the acquisition of a dairy farm of 320 acres and developed it into a prize-winning park. The park was later named after him. He also led San Antonio into the clean energy sector through the Mission Verde Sustainability plan, and he carried and implemented the city’s largest bond initiative of $550 Million for community-wide projects.

Hardberger is one of the three founders of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, along with J. Bruce Bugg and Judge Nelson Wolff.

Hardberger received a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University, a master’s degree from Columbia University and a law degree from Georgetown University.