LEGISLATIVE CENTER │ TAKE ACTION | LEGISLATIVE UPDATES | STATE ADVOCATES FOR ADULT EDUCATION FELLOWSHIP | LEGISLATIVE TALKING POINTS | NATIONAL ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LITERACY WEEK | VOTER RESOURCES
In March 2021, COABE selected activists and leaders to champion the cause of adult education WIOA Title II programs. The State Advocates for Adult Education Fellowship (SAAEF) is a hands-on advocacy training program for adult educators, adult learners, and friends of adult education. During the yearlong program, fellows are learning how to work with the media, their communities, and policymakers to create change benefiting adult learners and adult education programs. Final impact reports are in process, and this year’s cohort will move in to the mentorship phase.
Meet the Fellow Alumni
The State Advocate for Adult Education Fellowship (SAAEF) equipped me with the tools that I needed to reach out to my legislator, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. Without the training I received through SAAEF, it is likely that I would have missed my opportunity to also meet her legislative director who spoke to our providers virtually during the pandemic. Furthermore, I could have missed the opportunity to speak with her about financial education on October 14, 2021, a discussion that would open the door for the Multilingual Financial Literacy Act introduced by the Congresswoman during this year’s Adult Education and Family Literacy week. When I first interviewed to join this fellowship, I said that I wanted to know how to put substance into my passion for adult education and literacy to get people to listen and—more importantly—to act. This outcome is proof that the COABE SAAEF experience more than fulfilled that goal!
– Jacqueline Aguilera, TX SAAEF Mentor (Cohort 1)