Providing vital information resources for the betterment of our communities
About Us


What is AACIS?

  • A COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP of over 25 public, private, governmental, educational and healthcare  organizations  working together since 1998
  • GOVERNED BY COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS to build neighborhood assets.
  • INVESTED IN THE VISION  of a shared COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SYSTEM that is culturally relevant and geographically specific.
  • COMMITTED TO PROVIDING computer data, computer information and computer literacy classes in Spanish and English.
  • Our History - Draft


    In the late 1990s, two community partnership organizations, the San Antonio Community Network (SATNET) and the San Antonio Community Information System (SACIS), were working separately towards a common goal: developing a system where the residents of San Antonio and its surrounding counties could readily access information related to healthcare, education, and social services. While numerous information resources existed at that time and still do today, the information often is difficult to locate, once located, it is difficult to access, once accessed it is not comprehensive and too often outdated.

    Following planning meetings conducted with community leaders and over thirty public, private, and non-profit organizations, it became clear that merging SATNET and SACIS would be the best strategy for making the proposed information system a reality. In March 2000, the Alamo Area Community Information System (AACIS) was born. The vision of AACIS was also put forth at that time, “to provide our citizens with enhanced access to information, services and tools that will aide them in all levels of community life and facilitate the development of skills necessary to improve upon the quality of life.”

    The beginning of AACIS coincided with the receipt of a TIF:CN1 grant (Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund: Community Networking 1 grant). To view the contents of the original TIF:CN1 grant, click here. Today, AACIS is supported by the Alamo Area Foundation, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, and additional sources. AACIS is governed by a Policy Group with the majority of development undertaken by a Working Group. AACIS currently serves fives technology centers and includes a datacenter and a repository of links to various community services. AACIS maintains partnerships with over twenty organizations and is looking forward to increasing these collaborations.

    Our Partners

    The following organizations have participated in the organizing and planning of the Alamo Area Community Information System:
     



    Our Organization

    Gloria C. Arriaga
    Alamo Area Council of Governments
    Executive Director, Chair, Policy Group

    T.C. Broadnax
    City of San Antonio
    Assistant City Manager

    Mary Ellen Burns
    United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County
    Vice President,
    Partner Relations and Education Issue Council

    Dennis Campa
    City of San Antonio
    Director,
    Dept. of Community Initiatives

    Chakib Chehadi
    Workforce Solutions Alamo Executive
    Director

    Sharon Cooper, Ph.D.
    Regional Dean
    The University of Texas School of Public Health
    San Antonio Regional Campus

    Fernando Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P.
    San Antonio Metro Health District
    Director

    Dr. Richard Harris
    Professor of Sociology
    University of Texas San Antonio

    Baron Herdelin-Doherty
    San Antonio Nonprofit Council
    Chair

    George Hernandez, J.D.
    University Health Systems President and CEO

    Patrick Howard, AICP Assistant
    Director
    City of San Antonio-Planning and Development Services Department

    Palmer Moe
    Kronkosky Charitable Foundation
    Executive Director

    Frank Moore Professor
    The University of Texas School of Public Health
    San Antonio Regional Campus

    William P. McManus
    San Antonio Police Department
    Chief

    Richard Milk,
    AICP Community Development Coordinator
    City of San Antonio-Planning and Development Services Department

    Kevin Moriarty
    Methodist Healthcare Ministries
    President and CEO

    Pilar Oates
    Methodist Healthcare Ministries
    Executive Director

    Sister Michele O'Brien
    Bexar County
    Community Health Collaborative
    Director of Community Service Outreach, SRHC

    Amy Dameron Phipps
    Zachry Foundation
    Executive Director

    Charles Pruski
    Assistant Director
    San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

    Jean Setzer, Ph.D.
    Vice President
    Planning & Grants Management
    University Health Systems

    Clarence “Reggie” Williams
    San Antonio Area Foundation
    Executive Director 



    AACIS Working Group Members 
    John Berlanga, San Antonio Metro Health District
    Dr. Steve Blanchard, Our Lady of the Lake University
    Anne Connor, Methodist Healthcare Ministries
    Charles Cooper, UTSPH-San Antonio Regional Campus
    Dr. Kristine Egan, City of San Antonio-Community Development Division
    Edward Gonzalez, City of San Antonio
    Lynne Heilbrun, UTSPH-San Antonio Regional Campus
    Variak Khus, Methodist Healthcare Ministries
    David Kruse, Alamo Area Council of Governments
    Elisabeth Martinez, UTSPH-San Antonio Regional Campus
    Pleas McNeel, Internet Society
    Cam Messina, Voices for Children
    Dr. Laura McKieran, Helping Good Grow
    Raju Sagiraju, UTSPH-San Antonio Regional Campus
    Karen Schultz, UTHSCSA-Healthy Texas
    Dr. Eva Shipp, UTSPH-San Antonio Regional Campus

    Grants and Projects

    TIF: CN1
    Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund
    Community Networking 1

    The AACIS work plan, developed during a six-week strategic planning session in the summer of 1998, identified five key components that AACIS should possess: 1) a decentralized information system, 2) data/clearing house consortium, 3) information and referral, 4) community building, and 5) community indicators. A three-phase plan was devised:


    • Phase I
      Phase I of the development of the AACIS focuses on the planning and implementation of the first two components, believing that some basic infrastructure of AACIS needs to exist before bringing the product to the community.
    • Phase II
      Phase II of the development of the AACIS deals with the strategies to develop the information and referral component which integrate and coordinate the existing efforts to collect, maintain and provide information about social services in the community. Phase II also develops the community building component which identifies the training strategies needed to make AACIS accessible to the broader community.
    • Phase III
      Phase III will be initiated once a solid foundation of information about the community is in place and a communication vehicle to be used by the community is fully operationalized. Phase III will create a community scorecard, a means by which the community can track its progress on a range of indicators.

    AACIS is a member of
    CTCNet (Community Technology Center Network)
    and
    ACN (Association for Community Networking)
    Revised: 7/2009

    Address • San Antonio, TX 782** • (210) 999-9999 • (210) 999-9999 FAX
    Copyright © 2009. Alamo Area Community Information System. All Rights Reserved.