Dr. Francine Sanders Romero is a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, in the Department of Public Administration, where she also serves as Department Chair, and teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Dr. Romero was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame, Higher Education category in 2019. 

Dr. Romero was selected as the Northwest Quadrant Trustee for the CPS Energy Board of Trustees in the Fall of 2021 and in January 2025 was elected Chair of this governance board of the largest gas and electric public utility in the United States.  This continues her record of public service to the community, which includes past terms on the City of San Antonio Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, and Charter Review Commission.  She also serves as Chair of the city’s Conservation Advisory Board, which guides purchases of land and conservation easements through the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.

Dr. Romero received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside, and a B.A. in Political Science from California State University, San Bernardino.  As a scholar, she has focused on the institutional determinants of public policy, with an emphasis on civil rights and land use.  Dr. Romero’s book, Not for Sale, focusing on the controversy of eminent domain through the lens of the Kelo v. New London case will be published in 2025 by University Press of Kansas.