About Us
Empowering the next generation of south Texas investors
We are the bridge between region-defining capital and the
founders who are rewriting the rules of industry.
Leadership
JAMES T. (JIM) DEVLIN
CHAIRMAN
Jim Devlin was a co-founding partner of Suemaur Exploration & Production, LLC and is founder of Lincoln Energy Company, LLC, both oil and gas exploration companies. He is an Advisory Director of 1st Community Bank and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Driscoll Children’s Health Care System. Jim is a past President of the American Association of Professional Landmen. He has served in leadership positions on numerous charitable organizations as well as chairing NAPE Expo.
Dr. James Needham
Vice Chairman
Jim Needham joined the South Coast Angel Network in 2014. Jim retired in 2014 from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where he was the Dean of Community Outreach. He is a school board member with Flour Bluff ISD and is the Site Coordinator for the Texas General Land Office’s Adopt-a-Beach Program for Padre Island. Jim holds a BS in Construction Science, a MS in Construction Management, and a PhD in Architecture.
Dr. Philippe Tissot
Vice Chairman
Philippe Tissot has been a SCAN board member since 2016 and has been co-leading deal screening since 2017. He is the Conrad Blucher Institute Chair for Coastal Artificial Intelligence and Co-Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation AI2ES AI Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Philippe holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, and a Diploma in Physics Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne.
Kathleen M White
Director
Kathleen White joined the South Coast Angel Network in 2019. She is a member of the Executive Committee and has participated in 30 deals. Kathleen has been a Certified Public Accountant for over 40 years. She is semi-retired but still manages several local businesses and provides estate planning and wealth transfer services for clients. Kathleen has been active with countless community activities including Christus Spohn Hospital, Coastal Bend Community Foundation, decades of various sailing events and Ronald McDonald House.
Jim Shiner
Past Chairman
Jim Shiner is a founding member of South Coast Angel Network (SCAN). He has been actively involved in angel investing for more than 10 years. Jim is a professional engineer and cofounded and served as CEO of Shiner Moseley and Associates. In 2006, Shiner Moseley was sold to HDR Engineering, where he served as a senior vice-president and national director for coastal engineering. In 2011, he left HDR and formed a new engineering company, Shiner Consulting, providing port and coastal engineering services primarily to ports and oil and petrochemical companies.
William (Bill) Sterett
Secretary/Treasurer
Currently retired, Bill Sterett was the Co-Managing partner of Vista Auto Group, which comprised of six automobile franchises (Toyota, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Mitsubishi, and Isuzu) which was sold to AutoNation in 2003. Bill has been a volunteer on Driscoll Children’s Hospital Governing Board for 16 years, where he held various positions including Finance Chair and Chairman of the Driscoll Children’s Health Plan.
Simon Hanna
Director
Simon Hanna is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor with over two decades of experience spanning corporate leadership and private enterprise. Before launching his real estate brokerage in Florida, he spent 15 years with Pfizer. A proud graduate of the University of Florida, Simon earned his bachelor’s degree before completing a master’s degree from Saint Leo University.
Phil Denniston
Advisory Director
Phil Denniston is an experienced healthcare information services executive, having successfully built and managed major ventures impacting the health and productivity of working people. He holds an MBA from Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, and a BS-EE from Stanford University, Stanford, California.
Shannette Hoelscher
Office Manager
Shannette Hoelscher joined SCAN as Office Manager in November 2024. She has over 30 years of marketing, public relations, fundraising, and management experience in both the DFW area and Corpus Christi. Shannette is a member of the Nueces County Historical Commission and holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts.
MORE THAN A NETWORK | A CAPITAL ENGINE
South Coast Angel Network (SCAN) is the premier investment forum for the Coastal Bend. We are a member-led collective of accredited investors, executives, and industry experts dedicated to financing early-stage, privately held companies.
We don’t just make introductions; we execute. By pooling our collective intelligence, we rigorously vet opportunities, structure professional deal terms, and deploy capital into high-growth ventures in Medical, Technology, and Retail sectors.
Through our strategic alliances with Keiretsu & Alliance of Texas Angel Networks, SCAN members gain access to a national pipeline of deal flow, syndicating with top groups across the country to bring the best opportunities to
South Texas Investor.
Why It Matters
For the Region: We are diversifying the local economy beyond traditional sectors, providing investment exposure in companies spanning the country.
For the Investor: We provide “Smart Money.” By leveraging the diverse expertise of our members—from doctors reviewing med-tech to engineers reviewing software—we de-risk investments in ways an individual investor cannot.