Texas Border Business
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) and Teach For America Rio Grande Valley (TFA-RGV) will host the second annual Youth Panel during RGV Startup Week 2026 on Tuesday, April 28, from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m. at the eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization in Brownsville. The event is free and open to the public.
Titled “How Education Can Help Young People Achieve Their Dreams and Thrive in Our Community,” the Youth Panel features current students, recent graduates, and emerging voices from across the Rio Grande Valley speaking openly about the barriers and opportunities they face in education, career, and everyday life.
The 2025 debut brought more than 140 community members to the eBridge Center. This year’s format goes further: following the panel, attendees will gather in small groups to map available resources, identify gaps, and commit to concrete next steps. The insights from the session will be compiled into a community white paper designed to serve as a resource for local institutions working to support young people across the region.
“When we held this event last year, we had a packed room of participants ranging from students, educators, businesspeople, and community advocates. A room full of community leaders sitting down to listen to students. Not talk at them. Listen. The conversations that came out of that first panel are still echoing. This year, we’re going deeper, and we’re committed to turning what we hear into something the whole Valley can act on.”— Jonathan Stevens, Managing Director of Strategy and Development, Teach For America Rio Grande Valley
The Youth Panel is an official event of RGV Startup Week 2026, which runs April 24 through May 2 with events hosted in Brownsville and partner cities across the Rio Grande Valley. Registration is free and provides access to the Youth Panel and the full week of programming. RSVP at rgvstartup.com.
