A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Flores Alamo Colleges

Dr. Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education, is a sixth-generation Texan with nearly twenty-five years of experience in state budget and policy, university administration, fundraising, and building coalitions among higher education institutions, school districts, and policymakers.

Dr. Keller recently took part in a special edition of A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores to speak about collaborative efforts to expand the Texas talent pipeline and the significance of House Bill 8—a $683 million investment in community colleges aimed at rewarding schools for aiding students in completing their degrees or certificates.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:


How the Building a Talent Strong Texas Plan aims to award valuable credentials to Texans


The impact of House Bill 8 


Future Focus on Collaboration and Workforce

Dr. Martha Kanter, a leading figure in the national education landscape and Senior Fellow at New York University's Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy, works on spearheading initiatives aimed at improving college access, affordability, and quality in American higher education. With her extensive background as the former U.S. Under Secretary of Education, overseeing federal postsecondary policies and programs, Dr. Kanter brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.

Since 2018, Dr. Kanter has been an integral partner of the Alamo Colleges District, collaborating on the inception and implementation of what is now known as AlamoPROMISE. AlamoPROMISE is now available to graduating high school students across Bexar County. 



Dr. Kanter and Keren Morin Lugo, Palo Alto College student and AlamoPROMISE Scholar, recently took part in a A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores to explore the impact of Promise Programs and their pivotal role in shaping the future of education and social mobility.

Some key concepts they covered include:


National trends in promise programs


Best practices across promise programs


The biggest challenges that promise programs face



To learn more about AlamoPROMISE, visit alamo.edu/promise

In July 2023, Dr. Amy Bosley – an innovative higher education administrator with extensive teaching experience and advanced communication, human resources, and business expertise – began her position as the third president of Northwest Vista College (NVC), a vibrant community of more than 17,000 students and 900 employees.

Dr. Bosley has an extensive track record in higher education and has served in various capacities, including Vice President for Institutional Planning Development and Chief of Staff at Valencia College in Central Florida. She is passionate about the community college mission and the impact that college leaders, faculty, and staff have on students, their families, the workforce, and their community.

Dr. Bosley and NVC student, Daniel Bigler, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on their experiences at NVC and what’s ahead.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:


What attracted Dr. Bosley and Daniel to NVC


NVC’s Excelencia in Education framework


Looking at what’s ahead as NVC approaches its 30th anniversary

Dr. Naydeen González-De Jesús joined the San Antonio College (SAC) family in January 2023 as the second female president in the school’s near century-long history. She has a distinguished record of service both in higher education and public diplomacy within the foreign service. Before coming to SAC, she served as executive vice president of student success at Milwaukee Area Technical College and as the public diplomacy officer for the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, dedicating her time to impacting the lives of students from the U.S. and abroad by creating connections and platforms for student success and faculty-led research.



“Dr. Naydeen” – as she is known around campus – is the 13th president at SAC, among the largest single-campus community colleges in Texas and the nation, and serves nearly 20,000 students each semester.



In 2021, SAC received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America's community colleges.

Dr. Naydeen and SAC student and student government leader, Desteny Espinoza, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on their experiences at SAC and what’s ahead.



Some key concepts covered during this episode include:


What attracted Dr. Naydeen and Desteny to SAC


How SAC is addressing economic and social mobility


Looking at what’s ahead for SAC

This semester, the Alamo Colleges is celebrating 10,000 graduates, including close to 500 AlamoPROMISE graduates, whose accomplishments serve as a great testament to our efforts to empower our diverse communities for success.

While the semester is coming to an end, this is only the beginning for our Alamo Colleges graduates.

Five of our student graduates, one from each of our Alamo Colleges, recently took part in a special edition of A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores, and guest, Dr. Julien Mahler, a Northwest Vista College Alumnus, and emergency medicine physician, to share experiences they have gained while being Alamo Colleges students and their plans for the future.

Featured guests:


Dr. Julien Mahler, Northwest Vista College Alumnus, and emergency medicine physician
Cara Sullivan, Former Alamo Colleges District Student Trustee & Northeast Lakeview College Graduate
Emad Alobaiteri, Northwest Vista College Graduate
Rebeca Hernandez, Palo Alto College & AlamoPROMISE Graduate
Brittney Carson, St. Philip’s College Graduate
Simon Chiquito, San Antonio College Graduate



Some key concepts covered during this episode include:


Advice for students considering the Alamo Colleges 
How the Alamo Colleges has prepared graduates for the future
How Promise-to-Promise positioned one student for higher education



To learn more about our grads, visit alamo.edu/grads

In November 2022, the Alamo Colleges and University at Texas at San Antonio announced an expanded transfer agreement that, for the first time, allows eligible students to start at any of the five Alamo Colleges and then transfer to UTSA to complete a four-year degree while having educational costs covered at both institutions.

Dr. Taylor Eighmy, UTSA President, and San Antonio College graduate and current UTSA Student, Nia Houston, recently took part in A Seat at the Table with Chancellor Dr. Mike Flores for a conversation on how ACD and UTSA are creating seamless pathways to student success.

Nia Houston is among the first group of students in the Promise-to-Promise program, which is being piloted this fall and will be available broadly to eligible students admitted to UTSA for Fall 2023.

Some key concepts covered during this episode include:


How Promise-to-Promise came to be
How Alamo Colleges & UTSA are working together on other transferability initiatives
How Promise-to-Promise is making an impact on Nia’s college journey