Staff
The Student Advisory Council is organized and supported by Young Invincibles, The Education Trust in Texas, Every Texan, and Breakthrough Central Texas as a joint initiative of the Texas Postsecondary Advocates Coalition for Equity (TX PACE).
As part of a paid fellowship through early 2023, student members will be actively engaged in the work of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance and subsequent legislative activity.
Meet the staff supporting the Student Advisory Council:
Liz Kufour
Staff
Young Invincibles Southern Program Coordinator
Liz is the Southern Program Coordinator for Young Invincibles (YI). Liz took on this role after starting with Texas’ inaugural cohort of YI’s Young Advocates program, serving on the Youth Advisory Board and working as a "super advocate" for a year.
Liz plays a critical role in engaging young adults to have a voice in YI’s four policy areas. Programmatically, this includes coordinating health insurance literacy (HIL) trainings around the state and supporting young adult engagement programs. She also supports youth-led local actions - from town hall events to conferences - designed to build a stronger young adult base for our campaigns.
Liz recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in African and African Diaspora Studies and a B.B.A. in Management. Of YI’s core areas, Liz feels closely connected to YI’s higher education work, and she intends to use her time at YI to expand her understanding of the intricacies of higher education in order to effect lasting and sustainable change for young adults within Texas. She intends to pursue a dual JD/MBA degree, focusing on public policy and social entrepreneurship in the near future. In her free time, Liz enjoys analyzing Lil Wayne lyrics, discovering hidden gems on Netflix, and volunteering within her community.
Will Davies
Staff
Policy and data analyst with Breakthrough Central Texas
Will Davies currently serves as a policy and data analyst with Breakthrough Central Texas, an educational non-profit organization that supports first-generation college aspirants to achieve their personal and professional goals from 6th grade through postsecondary completion. He is responsible for the execution of Breakthrough’s research and advocacy activities focused on improving postsecondary access and success for young Texans across institutional and local, state, and federal policymaking domains and leads the collection, management, and analysis of data to evaluate and improve outcomes and strategy. Originally from Boston, Will earned a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Boston University then spent the next four years teaching English as a foreign language in South America.
After returning from abroad, he worked five years as a (Spanish/English) bilingual elementary classroom teacher and three as a campus literacy specialist in Central Texas public schools while earning a M. Ed. in Education Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin where he is currently a doctoral student. Will’s academic research has often focused on the sociopolitical context of bilingual education, especially the rapid discursive shift around and expansion of dual language education and its implications for the access and experience of minoritized students and families.
He is also a research analyst and program evaluator for Building a Green Texas: Activating a New Generation of Sustainability Leaders, an initiative that partners the University of Texas system, Texas school districts, sustainability professionals, municipal governments, and community based organizations to strengthen climate resiliency through the development of green building pipelines and active environmental education opportunities for high school-aged youth from the communities most impacted by climate change and least represented in green careers. Will loves to spend as much of his free time as possible outdoors hanging out, hiking, cooking, biking, swimming, camping, or playing sports with family and friends.
Victoria Uriostegui-Garcia
Staff
Student Coordinator / Breakthrough Central Texas
Victoria is a first generation student at the University of Texas at Austin studying Communication and Leadership at the Moody College of Communications. Born and raised in Austin, she plans to pursue a certificate in public policy. She joined the Student Advisory Council program to develop new skills in policy and advocacy, and during her time aims to support each Council member to reach any and all their goals for the program. Through the process she hopes to listen actively, help, and ensure we are best preparing students by cultivating a safe, purposeful, and visionary environment.
Rubesela Benitiz
Staff
Higher Education Policy Fellow / Young Invincibles
Rubesela is the Higher Education Policy Fellow at Young Invincibles and a full time student at Texas A&M University. Rubesela believes that everybody should have the opportunity to pursue a higher education regardless of their social class, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and background one might have. Rubesela is committed to elevating the voices of young people to create a better tomorrow. During her free time, Rubesela likes to watch Ted Talks, attend social events, sketch, and dance to Latin music.