our team

Lisa Bombin, President & CEO, Visionary Virtuoso

For over fifteen years Lisa has been the ‘go to’ person to create and implement visionary solutions for today’s ever changing marketplace and increasingly savvy audience. She is always performance-focused in each stage of planning and execution.

Lisa’s communications skills and experience producing leading events have taken her from national to international guest speaker at various industry conferences around the globe. 

Unico Communications was elected to lead talent relations for The ALMA Awards (American Latino Media Arts Awards) for a number of years, which has aired nationally on ABC, NBC, and MSNBC. Lisa has served for six years as producer of San Antonio’s largest business event of the year, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Gala, a spectacular evening which hosts 1,800 of the city and state’s influencers.

Favorite event that you’ve produced: A political convention party hosting 2,500 delegates with a great line up of A-list musical talent and political leaders. 

Dream event to plan: The Super Bowl halftime show.  The Academy Awards.  The Olympics.  Oh… was I supposed to name just one?

If you had an unlimited event budget what would you want your clients to splurge on? Hands down… audio visual.  Having elements like animated screens, additional cameras, video mapping, and video production, clients can transform a message or a cause into an experience, an emotion and ultimately an action from the audience. 

Ruben Solis, Director of Finance & Administration, El Banquero

Mr. Solis’ financial management experience spans more than 36 years of assisting a variety of different business portfolios with their strategic financial planning needs, ranging from both for profit and non-profit, and from minimal budgets to multi-million dollar budgets.

As Director of Finance & Administration at Unico, Mr. Solis is responsible for overseeing all accounting services and financial operations, and coordinating and analyzing financial reports to develop internal strategic business plans. In addition, Mr. Solis is accountable for implementing and maintaining administrative policies and procedures for a wide-ranging set of activities including financial accounting and reporting, employee relations (hiring/terminating policies, payroll, etc.) and other corporate policies.

Accountants are A) Intelligent B) Funny C) Attractive D) All of the Above    Too serious

What’s it like being the father of twins? Very unique and so satisfying

What is the most common error/misunderstood accounting term? Profit/Loss

Bernadette Peña, Event Producer, Ringleader

Bernadette came to Unico Communication with a unique specialty.  She brought more than 20 years of finance management as a senior banking executive of Frost Bank.  Her passion for events helped convince her to turn a corner in her already successful career as she ventured into the national production arena with our agency.  Bernadette has helped the agency implement best practice with expense reporting and has incorporated new analytics into our event budgeting and assessments. In her first year with Unico, Bernadette played a key role as associate producer for the premier Latino event of the Democratic National Convention.  Since then, this natural-born leader has also co-produced countless major events alongside political leaders, celebrated athletes and famed movie figures. Bernadette stays active in our community as the grandmother of a child with different needs by supporting organizations that focus on accessibility. She has completed countless hours of volunteer time for the Epilepsy Foundation of Central and South Texas, Kinetic Kids, and other groups that are committed to promoting awareness, support and a voice to those with special needs. 

Favorite event technology that makes a producer’s life easier:  I've discovered I have a love/hate relationship with a headset. The gear can be heavy and it is nowhere near pretty!  However, it's the absolute best way to stay connected with the team during an event. Now, if someone would create a light weight battery pack, that would be fabulous!

Have you ever been star-struck at an event and if so who made you lose your composure?  Meeting Hillary Rodham Clinton was great, she was friendly and appreciative, we have a great photo, too!  Another favorite, Nely Galan, she was enthusiastic, and had amazing energy and a commanding presence! 

Heels or flats when producing an event?  Both!  It's not unusual for me to make a quick-change backstage! 

Christopher Pulido, Producer, The Crowd Guru

Christopher brings more than 10 years of diverse social, corporate, and association experiences to Unico Communications in producing national conferences, meetings, and private events for our clients. Christopher began his professional training responsible for the management and roll out of the registration division of major conferences which included upwards of 35,000 registrations.  He has trained armies of skilled and volunteer staff on the set-up and registration procedures including greeters, workshop monitors, registration experts, and ushers. 

Christopher earned a Masters in Tourism Administration with an emphasis in event and meeting planning from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. He also served as a founding board member of the Network of Latino Meeting Professionals.  As Unico producer, he specializes in the fine print of event master plans, registration procedures, emergency plans, all while streamlining communication and briefings across large teams.  

Favorite city to work in? I can’t decide between San Francisco and Chicago.  I love working in both of them and all the challenges that come with it.

Must have technology at an event?  Free high speed Wi-Fi!  It is essential for guests to connect to the event app and post to social media.  

Never leave without:  My iPhone mobile charger!  Production days run long and my phone needs to last just as long without me having to connect it to a wall.  No planner has time for that!        

Altagracia Espinal, Stage Manager, The Choreographer

Altagracia’s infectious smile partnered with an impressive solution-centric mentality has served her well over the past 20 years as she’s worked on countless productions of many popular televised programs.  Her experience has taken her from coast to coast, entrenched behind the scenes of several talent departments and live production staffs.  She has served on major productions such as ABC’s “Duets” and NBC’s “The Voice” in LA and the BET Awards filmed in Atlanta.  Altagracia now leads stage management for Unico’s top national events.  She masters the art of being invisible as she floats quietly backstage ensuring show grips and PAs are in synch with the live program happening on stage.   Altagracia often says, “stage management is the choreography of magicians backstage.”

Ever get star struck?  If so, with whom? I'm a bit of a weirdo in that I really don't get "star struck" and because of this I frequently hear from my daughters how I'm not "normal." I usually get most excited over having the opportunity to see musical rehearsals. Hearing the voices of Marc Anthony or Carlos Vives, powerhouses like Mary J. Blige or Kelly Clarkson in the raw moment of a rehearsal, is just simply priceless. It’s like having your own personal concert. You can choose any seat in the house and you can see it over and over again. God knew what He was doing when He decided not to give me a singing voice. I'm pretty sure I would have spoken in constant singing every minute of every day.

 What song would you sing if you were a contestant on a singing competition show?   I would choose I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack. When my girls were little I used to play it for them and I told them that whenever they hear this song, I wanted them to know that it was my dedication to them.

How do you get ready the day of a big event? On event day, I like to wake up early and have some quiet time to pray and meditate. Most of the time it means tip-toeing past my roommate into the bathroom of our hotel room to get some privacy.  

Deborah Kilpatrick, Communications Coordinator, Magician

Deborah makes the magic happen. As Communications Coordinator she manages key members of our team responsible for community outreach, copywriting, and creative branding. After receiving her degree in business from Trinity University, she joined Unico providing operations oversight for large conventions and events.  Her passion for structure and detail, drove her to interface with the clients more often as the resident problem-solver.  She serves as a direct liaison between clients and our internal team developing key messaging, scripting and branding materials for their next national initiative.  She is a master at quality control assurance standards and provides a critical eye on every client project.  From large program books to visual presentations, Deborah combs through client collateral with precision, verifying the final product meets branding standards.

What’s your favorite social media tool you use onsite for events? I have a series on Snapchat called “Deb on Headset” that my fans love following, and by fans I mean a few close friends that don’t mind my selfies. Plus, I like capturing snippets from behind the scenes!

Favorite part of your job? I love meeting prominent movers and shakers! Not only is it motivating and inspiring, but our partners tend to be a blast to work with.

Notes on paper or notes on your handheld device/laptop? I’m a paper and pen kind of gal. The process of writing things down helps me commit them to long term memory and any break from the screen is welcome.

Monique Barreiro, Production Manager, The Ringer

It isn’t often that you’ll find Monique Barreiro star-struck.  She’s been mastering the red carpet for more than 15 years.  From Production Coordinator at “The Voice” (Season 3) to Production Manager at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, this talent has a gift for glam.  Monique has streamlined major event load-ins with ease, coordinating Unico’s vendors under narrow windows involving street closings, city police departments, talent security and limo drop-offs. Her modest nature keeps her from mentioning her LA accredited shows around clients. But for our agency, we consider her our secret weapon of Production.   When you talk with her, the better question is “who HAVEN’T you met?”

Were you Team Adam, Team CeeLo, Team Christina, or Team Blake when you worked on The Voice? TEAM BLAKE of course, he’s had the most wins not only because he’s dedicated to his contestants but because he has the funniest personality. 

Selfies on the red carpet – do or don’t? Well that all depends on how you look and who you are taking it with. 

What’s one of the Hollywood red carpet’s best kept secrets?  Double stick tape is not only used to keep the carpet in place but is used on almost every woman walking the carpet. 

Nancy de los Santos, Scriptwriter/Copywriter, Wordsmith

Writer/Producer/Director Nancy De Los Santos, began her career in Chicago as Producer for Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s film review program At the Movies. She was an Associate Producer on the films Selena and My Family, Mi Familia.  She wrote One Hot Summer for the Lifetime Movie Network and one of The Disney Channel’s highest rated original films, Gotta Kick It Up!  She’s co-writer and co-producer of the Cinemax/HBO feature documentary, The Bronze Screen: One Hundred Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood Cinema.  De Los Santos is a member of the Writer’s Guild of America West, The Latino Writers Committee, and is the first Latino to serve on the Writers Guild of America Board of Directors (2006-08). Nancy has been on Unico’s writing staff for the past five years.  She breathes life and evokes emotion with every script she touches. Her gentle approach to rehearsing with nervous speakers helps them evoke confidence and fluidity as they master their public address. She has acted as lead scriptwriter for four years in a row for the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Awards Luncheon, and recently lent her skills to the Aspen Institute’s Second Annual America’s Future Summit.

Emojis in text messages or all words? For business text message: All words, correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. No abbreviations. No, absolutely, no emojis. Unless, we become amigos... then I add my personalized Bitmoji!

How often do you check your IMDb profile? Not often... maybe once every six months. Just to be sure it’s updated. I know what I've produced and written... IMDb is for others to check me out!

Do you have any unusual rituals to get yourself into a writing mindset? Before I write anything, be it a letter, script, story, speech, or letter.... I look for inspiration. I spend some time with books I have on that particular subject, embracing the subject matter. I look for quotes from others - writers, teachers, experts, on the subject. I surround my heart and mind with words and ideas, then, before one word is written, I meditate... asking God and the Universe for guidance. 

Margil Villarreal, Senior Graphic Designer, Creator

Margil Villarreal is a senior graphics designer that makes brands thrive in a digital economy. With more than 20 years of practice in graphic design he creates customer experiences that connect brands with people. His expertise spans a range of practice areas – including magazine spreads, corporate identity, package design, event branding, social media, advertising creative and web design. For the past 10 years, Margil has helped Unico interpret client themes into creative masterpieces.  From clean/corporate looks to artistic pop-art collateral, he is a visual talent that enjoys variety and creative range. 

Design pet peeve? When you design something spectacular but the client doesn't get it.

Favorite ad campaign?

Evian Live Young Advertising Campaign

Force Volkswagen Campaign

Ecovia Advertising Campaign 

What do you really think of Comic Sans?  It should stay in a speech bubble!