Written by Kirby Conda, Kylie Cooper and Vanessa Perez
Portraits by Shoocha Photography | Makeup by Evangelyn Reyes, Dust My Face and Frank Reyna | Hair by Hector Perez Jr., Design Concepts Salon and Evana Reyna| Styling by Alexa Gignac, Julian Gold Corpus Christi
Each October, The Bend proudly dedicates its issue to celebrating the women who shape our community. The HER feature and award serve one clear purpose: to honor the dynamic female leaders of the Coastal Bend who are creating a lasting impact and paving the way for others to thrive. Across diverse industries, these women have invested their time, energy and resources to drive meaningful change. We are honored to present to you the HER 2025 honorees.
A rare combination of empathy, humility and fierce determination, Dr. Amy Mintz is the type of person who keeps a bag of dog food in her trunk in case she comes across a stray in need of a meal. In the corner of her office, a Hobby Lobby bag overflows with materials for an upcoming child development workshop she’s leading for one of her many volunteer organizations. Playful yet purposeful, Mintz creates threads of change and growth, contributing meaningfully to the ecosystem around her through an intrinsic motivation to care for her community.
Born in Alice and raised in Corpus Christi, Mintz’s journey through various degree paths reflects her quest for passion and purpose. Finding her place in human development and family sciences, she was captured by the study of our developmental history: who we become and how every experience, beginning at birth, shapes the people we are today.
When Avery Durrill Reny reflects on her career, she often thinks of the footsteps she’s following. Her grandfather and father poured decades of passion and vision into Corpus Christi, building not only businesses but community landmarks—places where music, food and connection thrive.
Stepping into the family business wasn’t always her plan. After earning a communications degree from Texas A&M University – College Station, Reny launched her career in Fort Worth. But coming home to Corpus Christi and finding her place within Durrill Properties has become one of her most fulfilling decisions.
“I didn’t think I would come home and work with the family business,” she admitted. “But it’s been incredibly rewarding. I know I have big shoes to fill, but it’s an honor to carry forward the reputation and the legacy my dad and grandpa built.”
You might say being at the helm of medical marvels is in Roxana Reyna’s blood. Her great-grandmother, a curandera or folk healer, was often called out to ranches in their community of Hebbronville to heal people’s wounds, either through lotions and tinctures or prayer. Reyna has set a path to conjuring more with her own two hands.
“I’ve always told my kids, ‘What you do today is not for today, it’s for tomorrow,’” Reyna said, reflecting on her choice to chase ambitions that would lead to her earning a specialty degree in wound care from Emory, as well as becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. She currently serves as a Wound Care Nurse Practitioner with Driscoll Children’s Hospital, where she has practiced in many capacities for the last 26 years. She credits her parents—her father was a Marine while her mother owned a flower shop—as the foundation of her work ethic and spirit of giving to others.
Steeped in the legacy of her mother Dorothy Benson-Brown—who transcended humble beginnings as a single mom working as a maid to become a beacon of academic excellence and community leadership—Thea Cain, in all that she does, echoes the enduring influence of cultural awareness and education.
Cain’s mother was one of the first Black students to attend a desegregated Del Mar College, where she would later become a professor and help to develop innovative reading skill workshops. In 1975, after traveling to other Texas cities and participating in large Juneteenth celebrations, she decided to emulate a similar gathering in Corpus Christi called Black Awareness Day, long before any iteration of the now annually celebrated Juneteenth Festival existed here.
Meeting Melanie Nazari at one of the many social outings she might be found hosting or attending, you would never suspect the depth of hardship she has faced in life. Foremost, you’d be struck by her gracious demeanor and ever-present smile, as well as the full attention she grants to every interaction. A true people person, Nazari has a presence about her that draws people to the many causes she champions as a result of these personal challenges and deep values.
A native Corpus Christian, Nazari was raised in the spirit of doing your best at everything you do. The eldest daughter of Gayle and David Villarreal, Nazari was moved to excel early in life as head cheerleader and class president, graduating from college at the University of Texas, where she studied radio, television and film and received a minor in journalism—by the age of 20. Her spirit for adventure took her to California for several years, where she worked in television and experienced the challenges young women face across numerous industries. The sands quickly shifted for her future: one day appearing in “The Young and the Restless” and the next facing a diagnosis of borderline lupus, which would send her back to Texas to be closer to family.
Throughout her 26 years ascending through the ranks of her industry, Cindy Barrera has carried some advice offered early on to her heart: Hope is not a strategy. As the Vice President of Business Development at Frost Wealth Advisors, as well as the 2025 Chair for the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, Barrera balances the weight of her dreams alongside steadfast motivation and a plan to forge those dreams into realities.
As the eldest daughter of a large family from Edroy, Texas, Barerra has long felt confident at taking the lead in advocating for herself. From speaking in front of thousands of people as a child in faith-based settings to being the glue that brought different parts of her family together, she always saw the worth of deepening her involvement wherever she went. She credits watching her parents develop relationships with people within their small community with opening her eyes to the needs of others and to a deeply ingrained sense of giving unto others.
The hum of activity at the Ronald McDonald House feels like a heartbeat: families gathering in the common room, children playing, volunteers greeting newcomers with warm smiles. At the center of it all stands Michelle Horine, Chief Executive Officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities South Texas.
Horine’s journey to leadership has been anything but linear. Drawn to Corpus Christi after college by a journalism job, she followed detours through conservation work, tourism promotion and eventually nonprofit service. Each stop along the way gave her new tools that would one day converge in her role at RMHC South Texas. More than a decade later, she has become the driving force behind an organization that offers comfort at life’s most vulnerable crossroads.
On any given day, Dr. Mary Margaret Ara might be found guiding clinical research, mentoring young people or standing alongside volunteers at a local camp for children with special needs. But wherever she is, one thing is certain: Her presence reflects not only medical expertise but also compassion, service and a deep commitment to community. It’s this rare combination of skill and heart that makes Ara such a gem in the medical field.
Born and raised in Goliad, Texas, Ara grew up surrounded by the values of hard work, service and responsibility. Her family’s cattle ranch gave her a grounded upbringing, and her frequent visits accompanying her grandparents and parents to doctors’ offices sparked an early interest in medicine.
“I was intrigued by both the science—the pathophysiology of medicine—and the relationships,” she recalled. “To be invited in on possibly the worst day of someone’s life and to help turn things around? That was pivotal for me.”
