Gov. Rick Perry named Belton educator Candance Leigh Hawks Thursday to the Continuing Advisory Committee for Special Education.

Hawks is special education director for the Belton Independent School District.

She was one of 16 Texans appointed Thursday to the committee, which provides policy guidance on special education and other services for children with disabilities.

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Continuing Advisory Committee for Special Education Appointees
(Source: Texas Governor’s Office)

Candance Leigh Hawks of Belton is a special education curriculum coordinator, currently serving as the interim special education director for the Belton ISD. Hawks has more than 20 years of experience with special education students and programs in Texas. She is a member of the Texas Counsel of Administrators of Special Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hawks is also a member of the Texas Counseling Association, and the Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Hawks received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Emily Bodden of Houston is chairman of the board of The Arbor School, a school for children with special needs. She has previously worked as a special events coordinator for both The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Children’s Hospital of Austin Foundation. Bodden received a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Southern Methodist University and also attended The Fundraising School at the Indiana University Center of Philanthropy. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Sharon Jeannine Brown of Tyler is the district behavior training specialist for Tyler ISD who works with teachers, students, administrators and parents in providing behavioral support in the environment for children with disabilities. She is a member of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association and is certified trainer in nonviolent crisis prevention intervention. She also served as a district trainer of a computer program used by special education professionals. Brown currently serves on the Autism Screening Team for Tyler Independent School District. She is a Texas certified teacher of 28 years with additional certifications for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in generic special education, the severely emotionally disturbed and autistic, and the severely and profoundly handicapped. Brown received a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in special education from the University of Texas at Tyler. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Mel Capelo of Pasadena is principal of Williams Elementary. He is a 26-year veteran in education. He was a secondary level special education administrator before becoming a principal. Prior to that, Capelo served for 11 years as a speech pathologist in the East Harris County Cooperative for Deaf Education in Baytown. Capelo has had affiliation and memberships with state organizations, including the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, the Texas School Improvement Initiative, the Texas Council for Exceptional Children and has served on various committees in his district. A graduate of the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Capelo received a master’s degree in educational administration from Texas Southern University in Houston. He obtained his superintendent certification from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. His term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Margaret H. Christen, Ph.D., of Houston is a student support administrator at Katy High School. She was a special education teacher for 15 years in various schools in the Virgin Islands, Massachusetts and Texas. Christen is a member of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She is a member of the International Reading Association and the Division of Learning Disabilities of the CEC. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Christen received a master’s degree in special education from the University of the Virgin Islands and a doctoral degree in educational psychology from Texas A&M University. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Vicky Coffee-Fletcher of Austin is a division administrator with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. For eight years Coffee-Fletcher worked for the Austin Travis County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center, serving as associate director of clinical operations for three years. She has 18 years of experience in community-based social services, including children’s mental health, education, child welfare and juvenile justice. Coffee-Fletcher received both a bachelor’s degree in family and child development and a master’s degree in counseling and guidance from Southwest Texas State University. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Rose Marie Cruz of Laredo volunteers as a special education advocate, helping to educate parents on their children’s educational rights. Cruz is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. Since 1984, Cruz has volunteered her services at schools in Germany, Hawaii, Georgia and Texas. She is a member of the District Education Improvement Committee for the United Independent School District and former member on the Textbook Review Committee for Texas in 2004. Cruz received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Christy Dees of Austin is a senior policy analyst for the Department of Aging and Disability Services. She is a member of the Health and Human Services Commission's Children's Policy Council and the Center for Disability Studies Consumer Advisory Committee. Dees is also a member and past president of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veteran's of Foreign Wars and is past chairman of the board of the Arc of Austin. She is a former member of the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee of Round Rock ISD. Dees received a bachelor’s degree from Southampton College of Long Island University. Her term expires Feb. 1, 2007.

Kathy L. Grant of Houston is the judicial assistant for U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes. Grant has been an advocate for special needs children of Texas for 10 years. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Mary Helen Haines of Dallas is a senior lecturer in the Teacher Education Department at the University of Texas at Dallas. Haines has 29 years of teaching experience in the Richardson ISD, where she was chair of the social studies department from 1980-2000. She is a member of the National Education Association, the Texas Council for the Social Studies and is past president and member of the Richardson Council for Social Studies. Haines previously volunteered with Winners on Wheels, an organization for young people in wheelchairs, and with the Family to Family Network, a support group for families of children with disabilities. A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, Haines received a master’s degree in aesthetic studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2009.

Sherri Adair Hammack of Austin is the manager of the Community Resource Coordination Group / Texas Integrated Funding Initiative state office for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She serves on the church council for Oak Hill United Methodist Church, as a block leader with Neighborhood Crime Watch and is treasurer of the Bowie High School Choir Booster Club. Hammack received a bachelor’s degree from Texas Woman’s University and a teaching certificate from Southwest Texas University. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Marjie Haynes of Huntsville is the division director for instruction for the Windham School District. Haynes has worked in the field of special education for more than 30 years. She is a member of the Correctional Education Association. Haynes has served on the Texas Education Agency’s Special Education Steering Committee and Juvenile/Adult Special Education Services Committee. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, Haynes received a master’s degree in educational psychology from Texas A&M University. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Priscilla King of Jarrell previously owned and directed Windy Hill School, a child care facility for 97 children under the age of 13. King and her husband, who have five adopted children, have fostered more than 100 children over the past 18 years as foster parents with the Department of Family and Protective Services. She currently serves as a trustee on the Jarrell ISD School Board. King is a member of the Jarrell United Methodist Church where she serves as chairman of the administrative council and Sunday school superintendent. She is also involved with Sr. Café, a meal program for senior citizens in the Jarrell area. King received an associate’s degree in child development from Central Texas College. Her term expires Feb. 1, 2009.

Drusilla Knight-Villarreal of Corpus Christi has been a special education teacher for 28 years, teaching middle school resource and homebound/hospital students. For 15 years Knight-Villarreal has served as the special education teachers' representative on the Corpus Christi ISD’s planning and decision-making team. She has served the Corpus Christi American Federation of Teachers in various positions, including vice president, consultation team member, handbook committee chair, public relations committee member and legislative liaison. Knight-Villarreal wrote a weekly column and reported on educational issues for both the Flour Bluff Sun and the Coastal Bend Sun newspapers for almost a decade. Knight-Villarreal received her bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in special education from Texas A&I University in Kingsville. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Shewanda Williams of Houston is a charge nurse with Brazos Presbyterian Homes. Williams makes patient assessments, distributes medications and attends to all patient needs. She is a graduate of Partners in Policymaking, a leadership training program for adults with disabilities and parents of young children with developmental disabilities. Williams received a nursing degree from San Jacinto College. Her term will expire Feb. 1, 2007.

Pam Willson of Brooksmith has owned The Dance Academy for more than 30 years, Willson is a disability advocate, who emphasizes autism spectrum disorders and positive behavior interventions. She has received training from the Partners in Policymaking program, including courses on disabilities and education, and has completed coursework at Texas State Technical College in Brownswood and Howard College in Big Spring. Her term expires Feb. 1, 2009.