The Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) Advisory Committee helps the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) with several important tasks:
- They work on creating policies and priorities that support building an educated and skilled workforce.
- They develop guidelines and standards for the AEL services statewide, making sure there's a good balance between general education and workplace skills development.
- They create a plan to help students transition smoothly into postsecondary education and career training programs.
- They set up a system to collect and track data on how well adult education and literacy programs are performing.
- They explore potential partnerships with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and other entities to improve literacy programs across the state.
The AEL Advisory Committee can have up to nine members, and they should include at least one representative from a business and one from a local Workforce Solutions office. The members serve for two years, but their terms are staggered.
Meeting Schedule, Agenda & Minutes
The AEL Advisory Committee meets at least four times a year, and sometimes more if necessary. We will post the meeting plans and approved notes as soon as they are ready. You can find all the linked documents in pdf format or video format for easy access.
The meetings will be online using Zoom at 1:30 p.m. CST, unless there's a different time posted.
| May 1, 2024 | June 26, 2024 | October 2, 2024 | December 11, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEL Advisory Committee Meeting - Zoom Link |
| March 15, 2023 | June 21, 2023 | September 27, 2023 | December 6, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 30, 2022 | June 22, 2022 | October 19, 2022 | December 7, 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Member
|
Location
|
Representing
|
Affiliation
|
Term Expires
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jauneen Maldonado | Fort Worth | Workforce Board | Director, Adult Education, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County | December 2025 |
| Ernest Lewis | Houston | Nonprofit | Senior Director, Economic Initiatives, Ripley Baker | January 2026 |
| Leslie Cantu | San Antonio | Business | Assistant Vice President of Administration, Toyotetsu | September 2026 |
| Dr. Ben Stafford | Port Arthur | Community College/Higher Education | Vice President, Workforce and Continuing Education, Lamar State College—Port Arthur | May 2025 |
| Cindy Fisher | Austin | State Broadband Office | Broadband Senior Program Coordinator, Texas Broadband Office | May 2025 |
| Kristina Hartman | Huntsville | Corrections Education | Superintendent, Windham School District | May 2025 |
| Karla Flanagan | Waco | Technical College | Associate Vice Chancellor of Instructional Alignment and Innovation, TSTC | January 2026 |
| Kevin Rose | Mount Pleasant | Higher Ed | Sr. Vice President for Student Success, Northeast Texas Community College | September 2026 |
| Chris Tovar | Odessa | Higher Ed | Director, Continuing Education, University of Texas-Permian Basin | September 2026 |
Committee Members