Arturo Barrio

Arturo Barrio is vice president and regional executive for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas El Paso Branch. He leads community engagement in the El Paso region, which includes West Texas and southern New Mexico. Barrio is also responsible for developing relationships with leaders and experts on the U.S.-Mexico economy. His work helps the Dallas Fed understand the dynamic and growing economy surrounding El Paso.

Before joining the Dallas Fed, Barrio was assistant vice president for international relations at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he fostered regional partnerships and expanded UTEP’s international profile. He also served as senior adviser to the UTEP president on Mexico and Latin America.

Prior to that, Barrio served in Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseeing economic and cooperation affairs for Mexico at the Organization of American States. He also directed the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project, worked on social and sustainable development initiatives, and advised on border affairs and North American relations.

Barrio serves on the Texas Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. He has taught courses in UTEP’s Department of Leadership and Community Engagement as an adjunct faculty member.

In 2025, he joined the Council on Foreign Relations, and that year he was selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar. From 2018 to 2021, he chaired the City of El Paso's Committee on Border Relations.

Barrio earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master of arts in leadership studies from UTEP. Barrio holds a second master’s degree in applied public policy from the Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas (International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies) in Madrid.