board of directors

Eric Minelga
​Chairman of the Board

Eric Minelga is a senior engineering manager with The Boeing Company where he has led a variety of teams in aircraft interior design, certification, and production. He has a  Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Univ. of Washington and an M.B.A. from Seattle Pacific University. Eric also serves on UTEP’s E-Lead advisory committee and is an active dog raiser with Guide Dogs for the Blind.
​​Sandra L. Martínez-Compton  ​​
Secretary of the Board
   
Sandra Martínez-Compton was raised in Colombia.  She graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Florida International University and a Master of Science in Technical Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  She has worked at The Boeing Company in a variety of teams in aircraft interior design, certification, and production and is currently a Senior Engineering manager leading a team in material development and production support for aircraft wiring and interiors. Sandra has worked with orphans in Africa and under-served communities in Guatemala. She has also worked over the years with organizations such as SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) and GMiS (Great Minds in STEM) encouraging under-served minorities elementary, high school and college students to pursue STEM careers.
​​Jim Hughey  ​​
Board Officer
   
Jim Hughey served LeTourneau University as the Vice President of University Advancement for fifteen years. He previously served as the Director of Advancement for Dallas Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. A graduate of Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, he served in the United States Marine Corps for three years. Now retired, he serves or has served on several non-profit boards including Disciples Homes Management Group, Longview Parks and Leisure Services Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Gregg County. He has been involved with LIMBS International since its founding at LeTourneau University.
Juan Guillermo Acosta  ​​
Board Officer

Juan has 34 years experience as a Physical therapist. He was born in Leon Guanajuato, Mexico before becoming a naturalized US Citizen. After attending UTEP (1981-1984) as a Biology Major, Juan transferred to The University of Texas Health Sciences Center (now called Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas – UTSWMCD), earning his BS in Physical Therapy (1986). Juan is licensed as a Physical Therapist by the Texas State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (TSBPTE). He has also been a member of many different organizations, such as American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Texas Physical Therapy Association (TPTA), and Greater El Paso District (GEPD-TPTA), and has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at The University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston/University of Texas El Paso School of Physical Therapy. He taught “Introduction to Evaluation and Management of Orthopedic Disorders” for three years and worked as a guest lecturer. 
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Jonathan Slager
Board Officer

​Jonathan Slager grew up in West Africa where his parents served as missionaries and humanitarian consultants.  He is the LIMBS International West Africa Outreach Director where he works with local government and nongovernment agencies, hospitals, and businesses to outfit amputees in Liberia. LIMBS partners in Liberia fit approximately 15 amputees a year at the Monrovia Rehabilitation Center at the John F. Kennedy Hospital with LIMBS prosthetics. He has established critical supply chains and is working to expand these efforts to neighboring countries. Jonathan is currently an officer in the US Navy with over 20 years of active duty service as a naval aviator. He returned to the United States for high school and joined the US military while in college. He earned a Bachelor of Science from LeTourneau University in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at El Paso. He is also a graduate of the United States Navy Test Pilot School and instructed at the US Navy Test Pilot School. He is currently an active duty Permanent Military Professor at the United States Naval Academy in the mechanical engineering department with research emphasis on additive manufacturing, joint implants, and prosthetics.
Roger Gonzalez, PhD, PE
Founder and Consultant 

Dr. Roger Gonzalez is Chair and Professor of Engineering Education and Leadership at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and holds graduate degrees in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin. He was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Service Award (NRSA) fellow for his postdoctoral work in neuromuscular control and musculoskeletal biomechanics on children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, while working as a research scientist at Northwestern University Medical School and the premier, and formally known, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now Shirley Ryan Ability Lab). His scholarly efforts have focused on musculoskeletal modeling and neuromuscular control. Dr. Gonzalez is an Elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). More than 130 publications detail his research endeavors having received multiple National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Education research grants, including support from numerous foundations for his international humanitarian and research endeavors. He has also received the American Society of Engineering Educators (ASEE) Teaching Award, Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Award for 2008, and the TIAA Difference Maker Award (2018).

Note: Dr. Gonzalez has stepped down from being an active member of the LIMBS Board, but still gives advice and guidance.