Venegas, Bertha
Bertha Venegas
Bertha Venegas is an irrigation and underground utility expert. Venegas worked as the State Outreach Specialist for over 30 years at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) division. In this role, she engaged people in rural communities and provided resources for developing youth and elderly recreation centers. Venegas owns and operates Tenoch Distribution in San Antonio, Texas, a company that focuses on underground utility products.
“My first DC always told me to learn from everyone around me. He would say pick up the phone (that was back then) and call the range conservationist, soil scientist, agronomist, etc. They have a wealth of knowledge, and they will help you.” – Bertha Venegas (Littlefield, 2021).
Bertha Venegas was born in Eagle Path, Texas, in 1965 to Bertha Flores and Jose Telles, a housewife and a rancher. Venegas is the second oldest of five children. The family worked a cattle ranch, and Venegas frequently selected the chores that allowed her to be outside, fixing things, feeding animals, and playing in the dirt and mud. Venegas grew up raising animals and growing crops, so she was eager to learn more about natural resources, flooding, drought, and soil. Her mother grew up on a farm in LaMadrid, Coahuila in Mexico, and the family often spent summers enjoying the fresh fruits and vegetables. A career in natural resource management seemed natural.
Venegas first learned of the USDA from seeing it printed on donated food boxes the family received and from attending extension office classes with her mother. Interested in the good people she presumed worked at the office, Venegas decided she wanted to work for the USDA. Venegas was an active and successful 4-H participant. She was club president in high school and won shows for the lambs she raised. Her winnings, particularly from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, helped to fund her college education. A first-generation college graduate, Venegas graduated from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in 1988 with a degree in Agriculture.
The summer before she graduated, Venegas interned with the Soil Conservation Service, now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Despite interviewing with the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Railroad Commission, and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Venegas was determined to work for NRCS. She called her former internship supervisor, who helped her apply for positions, and in 1988, she started as a Soil Conservation Technician in her hometown of Eagle Pass. As a Soil Conservation Technician, Venegas provided technical information to private landowners to increase conservation efforts and effectiveness.
She was soon promoted to District Conservationist in Johnson City. Venegas diligently completed her assignments and took on special projects, seeking additional experience. Her hard work paid off, and in 1997, Venegas was promoted to NRCS Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator (RC&D), a job based in San Antonio that served eight Texas counties. In 1997, Venegas was recognized with the NRCS National Civil Rights Award. As development coordinator, she was also the Liaison to the Alamo Resource Conservation and Development Council. Vengas was one of only 23 liaisons in the state, and she realized that her dedication and practice of seeking out additional opportunities prepared her to succeed in this promotion. As Resource Conservation and Development Coordinator (RC&D), Venegas received the Outstanding RC&D Coordinator for the Southwest Region of RC&D Councils.
In 2011, Vengegas began her most recent NRCS position as State Outreach Specialist. At NRCS, she describes the role as enjoyable and rewarding, as she helped people in rural communities and provided resources for the development of youth and elderly recreation centers. However, Venegas acknowledged that there are times when clients have had a difficult time accepting her as a conservation professional due to her gender and race. Thus, she made an exceptional effort to provide these clients with relevant information and demonstrate knowledge and professionalism. In 2021, Venegas received the National Civil Rights Award for the second time. Venegas also received the Leadership and Visionary Awards from the National Organization of Professional Hispanic NRCS Employees and a Latinos in Ag Service Award.
In 2017, Venegas started Tenoch Distribution, an irrigation, sewer, and stormwater utility product wholesaler. The same year, she began a new NRCS program, the Texas NRCS Urban Conservation Program (TURCP), to grant funding to tribal and local grassroots organizations to address urban food insecurity. In 2018, she expanded the program with Growing Roots for Education, Environment, and Nutrition (GREEN) so schools could build pollinator gardens, community gardens, and rainwater harvest systems.
Venegas holds many other positions to advance agriculture in Texas. She is the FPAC Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator, Texas Civil Rights Advisory Committee member, and Texas Limited English Proficiency Coordinator. In 2022, Venegas retired from the NRCS after a nearly 34-year career. She continues to own and operate Tenoch Distribution. She continues to be involved in natural resources conservation endeavors in her personal life as a landowner.
Venegas’ supervisors and technical specialists have been instrumental in her career in providing knowledge that helped her advance. Vengas remembers her first district conservationist’s advice, “’To learn from everyone around me’” (Littlefield, 2021). Venegas worked closely with and learned from many other soil and range scientists and conservationists who helped increase her technical knowledge and other necessary skills.
Recognizing the importance of mentors and having minorities working in the environmental field, Venegas often works with minorities interested in pursuing a career with the USDA. She helped with applications by providing tips on pertinent information that should be included and counseling on what positions applicants should consider. Further, she often served as a reference for strong candidates. In her last position at the NRCS, Venegas focused on increasing the utilization of USDA programs by underserved, minority, and beginning farmers and ranchers. Being bilingual has also helped Venegas support more ranchers and farmers in accessing new technology and information when they may otherwise not trust or understand the information they receive from the government.
In addition to mentoring minorities interested in working for the NRCS, Venegas worked with the Federal Women’s Program in Texas to recruit, retain, and promote women within agencies through programs such as leadership development. She is also the National President of the National Organization of Professional Hispanic Natural Resources Conservation Services Employees, which seeks to provide opportunities to Hispanics in the NRCS.
Venegas recommends that individuals considering a career in the environmental field gain as much knowledge as possible from supervisors and professionals in the field. She also suggests that individuals be mobile and willing to consider different types of positions. As Venegas demonstrates, a career in the environmental field can be gratifying, successful, and productive.
Bertha T. Venegas. LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertha-t-venegas-40697a205/
Littlefield, Dee Ann. Former Eagle Pass Resident Receive NRCS National Civil Rights Recognition. Del Rio & Eagle Pass News Leader.2021 March, 8. Retrieved from https://www.epnewsleader.com/post/former-eagle-pass-resident-receive-nrc…
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.