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 2021 Fellow AlumniMary Rainey
Shelton State Community College
Heidi Graves
Kenai Peninsula College
Marsha Taylor
Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center
Karina Ravkina-Matousov
Los Angeles Unified School District
Jonathan Huie
Asian Pacific Development Center
Jim Spafford
Manchester Adult & Continuing Education
Beth Kushner
Briya Public Charter School
Corydon Strawser
Orange Technical College (OCPS) and University of Central Florida
Diane Hollis Harrell
Troup County CLCP
Trevi Hardy
College of Western Idaho
Rebecca Eller-Molitas
Elgin Community College and New Readers Press
Christy McIntyre-Gray
Wayne Township Adult Education
Jennifer Seil
Des Moines Area Community College
Christiane Unruh
Butler Community College Adult Education program
Donnie Osborn
KEDC Adult Education
Kelsey D. Vallee
Louisiana Delta Community College
Heidi Durgin
Oxford Hills/Nezinscot Adult Education
Carrie Mae Roper
Literacy Center of West Michigan
Laura Kim-Lowe
MORE
Daphne Monix Higgins
Holmes Community College
Kevin White
Literacy KC
Ginette Chandler
Second Start
Susan Yasenka
NMAEA
Stacie Evans
City University of New York
Cori Lupton
Ohio Options Program at Cuyahoga Community College
Saeed Sarani
CASMEO.org
Julie Rossi
Retired Rogue Community College ABS Department
Cheryl Hiester
The Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon
Yvottone Reneé Rivers (Mentor)
Dorchester County Adult Education
Sara Valle
The Right Turn
LaToya Montrell Newson
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Adult Education Division
Christina Anne Robinson
Houston Community College
Nicki Wake
Provo City School District
Brian Kravitz
Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Inc.
Latasha Drax
Penninsula Regional
Asha Lickley Dore
Shoreline Community College
Jennifer Donaho
Eastern Panhandle Instructional Cooperative
Ashleigh Henrichs
Wisconsin Literacy
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)