Elisa Chan was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States in 1988. She became a U.S. citizen in 1999 and has resided in San Antonio for over 30 years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Software Engineering at Beijing University of Technology in 1987, and her Master's degree in computer science at the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1993. For 13 years, she worked successfully in the computer software development field.
Elisa has always shown passion for San Antonio economic development with special interest in international business. While a member of the San Antonio City Council, Elisa led the city's international economic development efforts.
Elisa is also savvy in business. In 1992, Elisa and her husband, Clifford Hew, P.E., started Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc. (UNINTECH), a structural and civil engineering design and consulting firm. With Elisa and Clifford being the only two employees at its inception, twenty four years later, UNINTECH now has over fifty employees in both the San Antonio and Austin market. As president and CEO, she oversees operation, business development and strategic planning initiatives, financial management, human resources and information technology for firm-wide operations. UNINTECH has consistently been ranked among the "Top 25 Largest Engineering" and "Women-Owned" firms in San Antonio by the San Antonio Business Journal.
Elisa was elected in May 2009 as part of the San Antonio City Council for District 9. She became the first Asian American woman on the city council and also the first immigrant to serve on the council. She was reelected in 2011 and 2013 with over 70% of the vote.
Elisa is very engaged in the San Antonio Asian community. She helped establish the Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce, serving as its President in 2004 - 2007. In 2014, she established a second organization, the Asian American Alliance of San Antonio (AAASA), a non-partisan, non-religious organization that has 25 Asian organizations as its members.
Elisa has been a staunch advocate of fiscal conservatism and responsibility during her tenure on city council. She fought hard and successfully, for the five years she was on Council, to ensure that city's budget was balanced without raising taxes, and to keep its AAA general obligation bond ratings by Standard & Poors, Fitch, and Moody. Throughout Elisa's terms on city council, some of her top priorities included increasing the number of city public safety personnel and improving public infrastructure in San Antonio. She helped create over 18,000 private sector jobs for San Antonio's economy. Since her election, Elisa was a leader on council for the city's international economic development efforts. She was also a leading voice on the city council for technology.
