Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Beatris Mata, Jennifer Stockemer, and Meaghan Young to the Texas Early Learning Council for terms set to expire at the pleasure of the governor.
The Texas Early Learning Council serves as Texas’ State Advisory Council as required by the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. The Council utilizes its breadth of stakeholder representation to increase coordination and collaboration across state agencies and local program and service providers in order to improve the quality of and access to early childhood services across Texas. In 2019, the Council led a statewide birth-five needs assessment and developed the Early Learning Strategic Plan as part of Texas’ Preschool Development Grant project.
Beatris Mata of Odessa is the director of Early Childhood for the Ector County Independent School District. She is a board member of the Texas Association for Administration and Supervisors of Programs for Young Children, member of the Odessa East Rotary Club, and volunteer at the Ellen Noël Art Museum and Ector County Library. Mata received a Bachelor of Art in Fine Arts and Mass Communications and a Master of Art in Educational Leadership from The University of Texas Permian Basin.
Jennifer Stockemer of Prosper is the owner and director of Ivy Vine Preschool, LLC. She is vice president of the Texas Woman’s University Doctoral Student Organization, committee member of the Texas Council on Family Relations, and a member of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children. Stockemer received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Science in Child Development from Texas Woman’s University.
Meghan Young of Austin is the director of Early Childhood Intervention for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She is former vice president and secretary of the LBJ School Austin Area Alumni Association and volunteered through the after school support program of the Girls Empowerment Network. Young received a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Affairs from The University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs.
