The Paso del Norte Group was founded on May 2004. Paso del Norte Group (PDN) founding member, William D. Sanders identified the need for a regional model concept and introduced a Strategic Plan using the Commercial Club of Chicago, as a model.  The Paso del Norte Group (PDN) united with the El Paso Business Leadership Council, under Woody Hunt’s leadership and was very supportive and merged all assets under the name of The Paso del Norte Group.

Since its founding, The Paso del Norte Group has been active in supporting a variety of civic, social and economic initiatives as our region has grown and developed. Right from its inception, members engaged The Paso del Norte Group in the Downtown Redevelopment Committee developed under Mayor Caballeros administration and launched three PDN initiatives that spun off as separate not for profit organizations; Medical Center of the Americas ( mcamericas.org ), Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization now known as Innovate El Paso  ( innovatelpaso.com ) and the Borderland Mobility Coalition.