Samuel E. Luna Jr.'s professional experience spans more than 35 years in architecture, building construction, research and education. Currently, he is a faculty member in the Department of Physics, Engineering and Architecture at San Antonio College.

Receiving an associate's degree in business administration and architecture from San Antonio College and a Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Texas in 1977, Luna, a San Antonio native, has designed department stores, nursing homes, office buildings, libraries, and research laboratories, among other institutions.

For 15 years, Luna served as senior research architect at Southwest Research Institute where he was associated with the planning, design and building program of most structures constructed on the institute's camps from 1967 to 1982. Other projects include work on design of several buildings for HemisFair 1968 (now HemisFair Plaza) and assisting with the concrete module design of the Palacio Del Rio hotel on the River Walk.

Luna is a retired Air Force veteran. He attended several military schools as a member of the 307th Red Horse Civil Engineering Squadron at Kelly Air Force Base. He was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal for his accomplishments for a field base layout design in 1983 and was awarded a second medal in 1988.

Luna has served the City of San Antonio as a commissioner on the Fine Arts Commission, a commissioner on the Planning Commission, and most recently as a commissioner on the Historic Design and Review Commission, of which major projects have included design approvals of the Convention Center Hotel and Main Plaza Redevelopment, as well as approval of improvements for the River Walk. 

He also has served as chairman of the Board of Directors of SER Jobs for Progress Inc., a nationally affiliated nonprofit organization that provides training and employment services to minorities. He also is a co-founder of the Westside Chamber of Commerce.

He is married to the former Mary Kathryn Low. They have four children.