Learn from peers about best practices and innovative ideas being put into action at literacy programs across our great state. Best of Texas aims to bring local experts together to share their wisdom and experience – and maybe help us all avoid a few pitfalls along the way.

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This online session will be held on:

Thursday, October 31, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (CT).

The Zoom room will open at 9:50 AM.

Please arrive on time – the Zoom room will close to late arrivals 30 minutes after the session begins.

ABOUT THIS SESSION

Many adult students and families need health literacy for their own lives. And others make a whole career out of it! Learn from some local Texas experts about what they’re doing in their programs to help connect adult learners to health literacy opportunities.

Join us for this virtual session where we will hear from Dr. Teresa Wagner, Director of the University of North Texas Health Science Center State Certified Community Health Worker Training Center. She will share information about her program and how health literacy impacts underserved communities in Texas. We will also chat with Natasha Duncan (East Texas Literacy Council) and Cindy Sutherin (Ysleta Community Learning Center) who have successful health occupations programs in their learning centers.

Guests this month:

Cindy Sutherin
Director
Ysleta Community Learning Center

Cindy Sutherin is a passionate, driven educator with over 30 years experience across all ages, from 3 years to 70+ year-old students. She has worked in multi-lingual and multi-cultural education, program development, student advocacy, and leadership development.

She is currently the director of the Ysleta Community Learning Center, YCLC, in El Paso Texas which serves adults seeking education and training for greater economic opportunity and access.

YCLC focuses on working with students to develop pathways to career advancement that include language, literacy, and training primarily in the career fields of Transportation, Distribution and Logistics and Health Science.

Natasha Duncan
Executive Director
East Texas Literacy Council

Natasha Duncan is the Executive Director for the East Texas Literacy Council in Longview Texas. Her background is in early child education from the University of Maryland. She has a passion for Adult Education in her community.

Natasha has 20 plus years in non-profit management; her extensive background of working in low-income communities helped her to focus her efforts on the lasting effects that education can have on families and the catalyst it can be for future generations. She is a proud wife, and mother of two Longview Lobos.

This year Natasha was featured as a member in our community that makes a difference with Texas Bank and Trust; she keeps active community representation of adult education and nonprofit leadership with her Chamber of Commerce. She has enjoyed collaborating with Longview ISD, city organizations and Greater Longview United Way for speaking engagements, sits on several community boards in her city and has a passion for making a difference in her community.

Teresa Wagner
Director
UNTHSC State Certified Community Health Worker Training Center

Dr. Wagner is a registered and licensed dietitian with a doctorate in public health. She’s certified in Public Health, Patient Safety, Lifestyle Medicine, Health Coaching, and a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) Instructor. Dr. Wagner is an associate professor in the School of Public Health at UNT Health Science Center.

Dr. Wagner is the Director of the UNTHSC State Certified Community Health Worker Training Center. Her research focuses on alleviating health disparities in underserved communities through health literacy. She’s a sought-after presenter and mentor who works to certify community health workers as conduits to health literacy who help alleviate community barriers to health.

As a result of her work, she has received the 2018 Texas Health Literacy Hero Award and the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Christian University. In 2023, she received the UNTHSC School of Health Professions Faculty Achievement Award. In 2024, she received the Texas Distinguished Dietitian Award and a Global Service Award from the International Health Literacy Association.

Host:

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker
Executive Director
Literacy Texas

Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker joined Literacy Texas in January 2024, after a successful run as the Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties, a small non-profit that made a big impact on the Texarkana community during her tenure. Dr. Walker helped the organization find financial stability and expanded innovative academic and workforce program options for adult learners at her center. She and her team launched the first 100 Families Alliance in Texas, and this innovative approach to holistic support for students led to impressive growth in enrollment and goal completion rates for those she serves.

Dr. Walker was a first-generation college student who personally knows the powerful role that education plays in helping change the course of a person’s life. This passion has fueled a career in education that has spanned two decades and impacted thousands of students. She is a certified Texas teacher and principal, and she has worked in both adjunct faculty and staff positions in higher education. She has also led professional development trainings for teachers and administrators and served as a public speaker. She earned a doctorate in education leadership from Texas A&M University–Texarkana, and her dissertation research focused on the importance of holistic support for adult learners. She holds a master’s degree in education administration from Texas A&M University–Texarkana, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of North Texas. Dr. Walker also attended Texarkana College and was a graduate of Liberty-Eylau High School.

This online learning session is offered free of charge to Texas nonprofit professionals who work in the fields of adult and family literacy.

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