By Justin Sayers – Senior Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal

Jul 14, 2025

With three kids between the ages of 8 and 12, Cheney Gamboa doesn’t have much time for her own hobbies. Almost all of her free time is spent at home or taking the kids to school, Girl Scouts meetings, camps and more.

The role of mom can be fast-paced and nonstop. But it helps her strike a balance with her job as Hutto’s director of economic development. The city 30 miles northeast of Austin is among the fastest growing in the country, and Gamboa is constantly on the hunt to bring in new employers or lifestyle options to join the manufacturers and amenity-based projects that call Hutto home.

“I think especially in my role, we’re often looking at the future -– what’s to come next month, next quarter, next year, in five years. What does this look like? What’s that forecast telling us?” she said. “It’s very easy to get caught up in what’s next and not really stop and appreciate what is. So being with kids will quickly remind you of the right now because they need something now, they want something now, they want to do something now.”

Gamboa said there is a specific way she “refills her cup,” in a sense. Her family takes an annual week-long summer trip near Galveston. She’ll disconnect from work, explore the natural beauty of the beach and spend quality time playing games and watching movies with the family. She said it’s where she makes some of her favorite memories.

“They just are so much fun, and they’re fun ages where they’re really developing into their own little humans, and so it’s really fun to just get to know them outside of our daily grind,” she said.

What are some ways you stay present in your day job?

I think it really comes down to celebrating the successes. As I kind of spoke to previously, we’re always focused on the next project. As soon as we get one done, it’s, “OK, well what is up next? Or what can we pivot to that needs the attention?” I think it’s really important that we take those intentional pauses and celebrate the wins, whether that’s a big win for the community or it’s a win on my team or a win for their organization — whatever that looks like. I just think those milestones are really important to stop and acknowledge and celebrate because we do accomplish a lot.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about economic development?

That we’re just out here throwing out incentives, passing them out like Monopoly money, and that’s not the case. I can’t speak for other communities, so I don’t know what experience they’re speaking of, but we’ve worked really diligently to make sure that the incentives that we do engage in and support and recommend have the best interest of Hutto at heart and give requirements and milestones to achieve in order to receive the funds. It’s not just a handout.

What is the best piece of professional advice you’ve received?

Stay curious. I think that’s probably the best advice because I think when you run out of curiosity, it directly relates to your passion for whatever you’re doing. So if you’re not curious about what you’re doing and the life you’re living and who you’re engaged with and things like that, then I think that kind of loses its spark and can lead to complacency and just kind of feeling a little stuck or unfulfilled.

Are you more of an advice giver or an advice taker?

I think it depends on the situation. I think, in general, I’m much more of an advice giver, and I think that’s just from my current station in life. With three young kids, there’s a lot of guidance, a lot of coaching that goes on. And then with growing a team, too, professionally, it’s a lot of speaking about experience and providing context and helping them understand different perspectives as we’re navigating through different initiatives.

What is your biggest professional challenge?

A common theme for me has always been education, like getting information to people that need it or would benefit from it. I think that’s something that is consistent throughout my professional career — making sure that the right information is available at the right time for the right audience and is actually reaching them.

When you’re driving to work, what do you listen to?

Keep in mind, my commute has now doubled since opening the parking garage. It used to take me about four minutes to get to work, and now with driving up to the designated floor and parking and getting down to the ground floor and over to City Hall, it has doubled my commute, so all of eight minutes. Sometimes it’s just nice to have quiet because I don’t get that a lot with the kids. Also with my job, I’m just out and about — I’m in the office at least four days a week, and so it’s just a lot of people and interaction, so sometimes it’s nice to listen to nothing. When I am listening to something, we have Sirius XM, and so I listen to a lot of Pop2K and The 10s Spot because my youngest is quite the little singer, and that’s what she plays on her Amazon (Echo) Dot at home, so I’m trying to be hip and know what song she’s listening to.

What is your favorite restaurant in Hutto?

That’s hard. I love the options of Jack Allen’s (Kitchen) and Casa Jalisco (Sports Bar & Grill). Between those two, I could probably go a whole month and eat their food.

What is your dream vacation?

I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, so I think that would be pretty high up there on the dream vacation list.

How did you earn your first dollar?

My very first job was at Dairy Queen. Making a Blizzard was probably how I made my first dollar.

Cheney Gamboa

Title: Director of economic development, city of Hutto

Age: 44

Hometown: Iowa City, Iowa

Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Iowa; master’s of business administration, University of Phoenix

Family: Husband, Eloy; Daughters, Cecelia, Liliana and Olivia; Dog, Jasper

Email: cheney.gamboa@huttotx.gov

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