Issue Areas:

Education

Education:

The University of Texas School of Law – J.D.

The University of Texas at Austin – B.A. in History, with honors 

Focus

Mary Lynn Pruneda is Director of Education and Workforce Policy at Texas 2036. She is an expert in some of the most complex public education topics, including assessment, accountability and school finance. She specializes in data-driven policies that result in more students reading and doing math on grade level and strengthening the connections among Texas’ public education, higher education and workforce systems so more Texans are prepared for success after high school.

Impact

At Texas 2036, Mary Lynn leads the organization’s education and workforce policy efforts. Her work includes efforts to:

• Create strong academic foundations: Help advance policies that improve early literacy and numeracy instruction, expand access to high-quality instructional materials and tutoring, and target state investments toward strategies shown to improve student outcomes.
• Maintain rigorous and transparent assessment and accountability: Support efforts to preserve strong systems for measuring student achievement and school performance, ensuring parents, educators and policymakers have reliable information to understand student progress and identify where additional support is needed.
• Better prepare students for college and careers: Create and sustain high-quality postsecondary pathway options for all Texas students, regardless of where they live.  This includes reforms that strengthen the connection among K-12 education, postsecondary opportunities and the workforce, expanding opportunities for students to graduate with the knowledge, skills and credentials needed to succeed after high school.
• Strengthen and support the teacher workforce: Help advance investments and reforms focused on teacher compensation, preparation, mentorship and retention, with an emphasis on ensuring students have access to effective, well-prepared educators.

Past Experience

Mary Lynn joined Texas 2036 after serving as Gov. Greg Abbott’s Education Policy Advisor. In this role, she worked as the lead policy advisor on 2019’s school finance overhaul, House Bill 3. During this time, Mary Lynn also oversaw the Governor’s Childcare Task Force and Tri-Agency work.

Mary Lynn’s past experience also includes working as the General Counsel for the Senate Education Committee.