Byron Jay Lewis
President/Director
Email: Byron Lewis
direct fax: 956-289-3001

Byron holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his law degree in 1986 from the University of Houston College of Law and was in private practice until 1999 when he worked with Scott & Lewis. He has served as President of Edwards Abstract and Title Co. since 2001 and is also a partner in the law firm of Lewis, Monroe & Peña that serves as counsel to Edwards. He is an active civic leader who has given his time to serve various organizations such as president of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; president of Rotary Club of Edinburg; Teach for America board of directors.

Rachel Arevalo
Executive Vice President/Senior Commercial Closing Specialist
Email: Rachel Arevalo
direct fax: 956-289-3002

Rachel is a seasoned professional who has devoted over thirty years to Edwards and the title insurance industry. She joined Edwards in 1976 working part time and due to her commitment, dedication and work ethic, she was named Sr. Vice President/Operations Manager. She has had the opportunity to work with many of the Valley’s premier lenders, real estate attorneys, surveyors, realtors, builders and others in the real estate industry. Rachel has shared her knowledge and experience with many and she is very familiar with the past and present history of land sales, development and growth of the Valley. She is proud to have worked hand in hand with previous owners Cecil A. Edwards and Jesse Hedrick.

Diana S. Kaufold
Branch Manager/Vice President
Email: Diana Kaufold
direct fax: 956-289-3006

Diana joined the Edwards Team in 1988 and presently serves the company as Vice President and Branch Manager of the Edinburg Escrow office. She has previous consumer and commercial lending experience. You can count on Diana to conduct the most detailed and complicated commercial and residential real estate closings. Her expertise also includes out of county orders, 1031 Exchange and HUD closings. She takes great pride in serving all of her loyal customers together with her experienced and professional team and looks forward to being a part of the Valley’s real estate industry for years to come.

Norma Cano
Escrow Officer
Email: Norma Cano
direct fax: 956-289-3010

Norma joined the Edwards Team in 1992. She has worked in all levels of the title industry. The wide range of knowledge and experience has prepared her for a current position as Escrow Officer in Edinburg. Norma was appointed to this position in 2003 and has been serving local, out of county, residential and commercial customers.

Alan D. Monroe
Counsel
Email: Alan Monroe
direct fax: 956-289-3016

Alan serves as counsel with the law firm of Lewis, Monroe and Peña. He earned his law degree in 1975 from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. He is licensed to practice law in all Courts of the State of Texas. He is also licensed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States and is Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate Law and Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Mark S. Peña
Counsel
Email: Mark Pena
direct fax: 956-289-3005

Mark joined the law firm of Lewis, Monroe and Peña as counsel in January 2002. His family has a long history in the legal profession. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from Texas Wesleyan University in 1999 where he was on the Law Review. Mark is also a certified mediator. Mark devotes countless hours to his community serving as Rotary Club of Edinburg President and chairman of the Edinburg Environmental committee.

Rene Correa
Counsel/Examiner
Email: Rene Correa
Direct fax: 956-289-3023

Rene Correa joined the Edwards Management Team in 2002, after several years in private law practice in Weslaco. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Houston in 1974 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1978. He has been licensed to practice law in the State of Texas since 1978. Rene enjoys the daily challenges of title examinations related to both commercial and residential real estate transactions.

Angie Villareal
Assistant Plant Manager/Examiner
Email: Angie Villareal
Direct fax: 956-289-4336

Angie is one of the premier real estate property examiners in the Rio Grande Valley and most likely, the State of Texas! A talented professional whose primary focus is working on acreage orders, Angie takes pride in knowing most of the land development history for this area. She specializes in files that require that special, extra effort to examine. Challenges and finding solutions for those challenges are the name of the game for Angie. As in the case with most of the Edwards’ employees who are in management or leadership positions, Angie worked her way up the ranks in the title industry. She has earned the respect of her peers, the title plant team and customers alike because of her work ethic. Her career in the title insurance industry started in 1979 and this has been her passion throughout her life. Angie has come full circle and is home where she started in 1979. She currently serves on the Edwards Abstract and Title Co. management team since 2004.

Elva Jackson Garza
Vice President/Marketing Officer
Email: Elva Garza
direct fax: 956-289-3004

Elva joined the Edwards Team in 2002 as Vice President and Marketing Officer. She has devoted over twenty years to the marketing and public relations field. Her experience includes nine years as marketing officer in the banking industry and eleven years with the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. In addition to her marketing and advertising duties, Elva also handles all of the employee and customer education programs for the company. She is recognized as a civic leader with an economic development background serving on various leadership positions such as chairman of the board of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; President of the Kiwanis Club of Edinburg; President of the Valley Chamber of Commerce Executives and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation board of directors.

Edna Cazares
Comptroller
Email: Edna Cazares
direct fax: 956-289-3008

Nancy Bryant
Accounting Manager
Email: Nancy Bryant
direct fax: 956-289-3008

Mel Casas
Branch Operations Coordinator
Email: Mel Casas
direct fax: 956-289-3012

Mel joined Edwards Abstract and Title Co. in 1999 while attending the University of Texas Pan American where he attained a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. His previous experience in operations, sales and marketing has prepared him for his current position on the Edwards Management Team as the SureClose product specialist. During his tenure with Edwards, he has gained experience in several departments that has allowed him to offer support as needed to the five branches.

Dan Cook
Network Engineer
Email: Dan Cook
direct fax: 956-289-3000

Dan, a graduate of Southern Methodist University School of Engineering provides technical expertise to the IT department at Edwards Abstract. He holds many industry standard certifications CCNA, MCSE, WCSP, A+, N+, HP APS. Dan has worked in the information technology field since 1995 and has worked in the title industry since 2001.

Marilyn De Luna
Branch Manager/Escrow Officer
Email: Marilyn De Luna
direct fax: 956-289-3014

Marilyn is a Valley native with experience in the title insurance industry since 1984. She started her career in Houston and joined the Edwards team in 1999 in McAllen. During her career with Edwards, she has been a leader of the company having served as branch manager for the Weslaco branch office and Sharyland Plantation branch office. Her career has come full circle as in January, 2008 she was named Branch Manager/Escrow Officer of the McAllen office. Marilyn has extensive experience handling residential resale, construction, refinance and commercial transactions. Her dedication and commitment to excellence has allowed Marilyn to work with many leading realtors, real estate attorneys, commercial and residential lenders, developers and investors. She makes time to represent Edwards as an affiliate member of the Greater McAllen Association of Realtors, Women's Council of Realtors and RGV Builders Association.

Patti Kohrt
Assistant Branch Manager / Escrow Officer

Email: Patti Kohrt
direct fax: 956-289-3028

Organized, dedicated, leader……. are a few words that can be used to describe Patti Kohrt, Assistant Manager of the McAllen Branch Office. She devotes herself to knowing the A-Z’s about the title industry and the profession that she loves. According to Patti, her greatest passion is learning something new everyday, to bring people together for a common goal and to educate people about the title industry. Patti has represented Edwards Abstract at the 2007 Region VIII County Clerk’s Annual Conference and will be a presenter at the 2008 Annual County & District Clerk’s Continuing Education Seminar. She joined the Edwards Team in 2002 and has been a licensed escrow officer for over ten years. She has previous knowledge and experience in the real estate law, corporate law and municipal law. Patti has a very full life that includes volunteer work in her church and community organizations as well as guiding and sharing her life with her family.

Vickey Terveen
Escrow Officer

Email: Vickey Terveen
direct fax: 956-289-3015

Vickey Terveen has worked in the title industry since 1980. Her experience as an escrow officer includes serving several major builders throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Vickey joined the escrow team in McAllen in 2004 and is looking forward to serving her customers with successful closing transactions.

Veronica Cano
Escrow Officer

Email: Veronica Cano
direct fax: 956-289-3027

Veronica thrives in a fast paced environment and is an experienced residential and commercial closer. As an Escrow Officer at the McAllen Branch Office, she not only believes in the primary goal of having a successful closing, but she also believes in getting to know her customers. She joined the Edwards Team in 1996 and has proven that willingness to learn is one of the keys to success. As a licensed Escrow Officer since 2002, her experience has given her the opportunity to serve many of the Valley’s established realtors, lenders and attorneys in the Rio Grande Valley and other parts of the state of Texas. Her work ethic is based on addressing the needs of those she deals with and to provide them with the best of her customer service skills. Veronica represents Edwards Abstract and Title Co. in several organizations such as the Rio Grande Valley Builders Association, Greater McAllen Association of Realtors and Women’s Council of Realtors.

Mariana Ramirez
Escrow Officer

Email: Mariana Ramirez
direct fax: 956-289-4344

Mariana's secret to success is personal commitment and dedication in everything she does for her customers. She strives to learn something new about the title insurance business every day to sharpen the skills that have served her well in her career. After a couple of years of experience in the mortgage industry, Mariana joined the title insurance industry in 2003 as an escrow assistant and was licensed as an Escrow Officer in 2007. Her goal each day is to go above and beyond for her customers and to find a way to make their transaction smoother.

Mission Office

2005 E. Griffin Parkway
Mission, TX 78572
Phone 956-583-1220
Fax 956-583-1798
Mission Office

Mary A. Barrientos
Branch Manager/Escrow Officer
Email: Mary Barrientos
direct fax: 956-289-3009

Mary joined the Edwards team in 1993. She has proven that through hard work and dedication, you can rise to the top. Mary has worked in all levels of the escrow side of the title industry and has filled the positions of escrow secretary and escrow officer. In August 2000, Mary was named branch manager of the Mission office. She is a member of the Mission Chamber of Commerce and affiliated with the RGV Builders Association and Women's Council of Realtors.

Weslaco Office

2300 W. Pike Blvd.
Suite 101
Weslaco, TX 78596
Phone: 956-973-9654
Fax 956-968-7163
Weslaco Office

Mary Arce
Branch Manager/Escrow Officer
Email: Mary Arce
direct fax: 956-289-3026

Mary has worked in the title industry since 1992 and has been a part of the Edwards team since 1997. She has a real estate background and is a licensed realtor who was working in the Mid-Valley prior to joining the Edwards team. She is a past member of the Weslaco Kiwanis Club and currently serves as a director of the Weslaco Lion's Club. Her civic involvement also includes serving as a former chair of the Greater Association of Realtors for the Mid-Valley.

Yvette Aguirre
Escrow Officer
Email: Yvette Aguirre
direct fax: 956-289-3025