Classified Employee Association President: Miguel DeLeon

We welcome back Miguel DeLeon, an executive assistant in ACC’s Teaching and Learning Excellence Division (TLED), as Classified Employee Association (CEA) president for the second time.

When did you start working at ACC and in what role?
I started working at ACC in June 1999. I had just graduated from high school and was starting classes at ACC. I was given the opportunity to work as an hourly clerk in the Continuing Education Division.

What additional role(s) at the college have you held (if any)?
After learning the ropes, I received a few job and title changes, including Continuing Education Admission Assistant, but overall I have always supported faculty, staff, and students with their needs at the college. I have also been under Enrollment Management in the Admissions, Recruitment, and Youth Programs departments, where my knowledge and experience grew. In the last five years, I worked in Liberal Arts, Humanities & Communications and currently I work in TLED as an executive assistant.   

What inspired you to run for president?
This is my second time leading the CEA. I enjoy representing the association and the employees to the administration. I take pride in the responsibilities that we have, not only as an institution, but as leaders in the community of the people we serve.

Do you have any goals for this year in your role as president?
Yes, we have established our goals this year and have shared them with the administration. A high-priority goal is to work with the administration on bringing back the upward evaluation process, and we have started those initial steps. Other goals we look forward to working on in the upcoming year are an employee mentor program, doing our part to promote health and safety, increasing CEA engagement, and professional development participation and opportunities. 

Where did you grow up? What was it like?
I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and grew up on a small farm in Bastrop, Texas. If I wasn’t doing chores on the farm, I was on running around kicking a soccer ball in a field somewhere in the Central Texas area. As a latchkey kid, I grew up fast and learned independence at an early age, and like most kids in Bastrop County, my parents worked in the “big city” of Austin — which is even bigger now — that provided our family with the means to prosper.

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
I feel everyone should at least take a semester of a course of higher learning. It could be a credit or non-credit course. Just stepping foot in a college class is a huge achievement and a great feeling, so I would want everyone to experience that at least once.

What do you “geek out” about?
When I have time, I love to “geek out” about birds and photography. Currently, I geek out about school. I am working on completing my bachelor’s degree at Texas State University. I plan to graduate this spring 2023. The other thing I geek about is my kid — he is 3 years old and into tractors and anything related to Blippi. So, I am into that, also. 

Please share your motto, mantra, or personal philosophy.
I have many, but I will fall back on one I liked many years ago that is coming up more and more as I continue my education: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” – Albert Einstein

What do you believe it takes to help students succeed?
It takes individuals who value the product we are delivering and don’t accept failure as an answer. It takes all of us adapting and modifying our ways to meet students’ needs — wherever they are in their journey. I believe it takes all ACC employees to do this, regardless if we are faculty or staff or what department we work in. All our jobs are intertwined with one another with the ultimate goal of student success. It takes all staff to realize that their value to the community is tremendous, and that is something they can be proud of, regardless of the job function and how much they interact and engage with students. 

What is the best way for people to contact you?
The best way for people to contact me is by email at [email protected].


Student Government Association President: Kay Trent

Kay Trent is the 2022-23 Student Government Association president. She is majoring in Psychology and studying for the LSAT. She also is working on obtaining her Project Management certification. Kay started her ACC journey virtually in the spring of 2021, prior to moving to Austin from San Antonio.

What additional role(s) at the college have you held (if any)?
I’m in a very unique position because not only do I attend ACC full-time, I also work for the college with Jason Brown as the peer specialist/outreach person for the BRASS program. BRASS stands for Black Representation of Achievement through Student Success, and our program provides opportunities for smaller class sizes as well as workshops and events. Our program delicately holds our students and staff closely to continuously build up our community together. It’s a wonderful program that I’ve grown to love immensely, and I would not be the Kay Trent that is known today without BRASS.

What inspired you to run for president?
To be quite honest, I ran for vice president of SGA because I wanted to maintain my vote over things like legislation. There were a lot of people rooting for me to run for president but I was content with being VP. Then, as the universe would have it, the president-elect got accepted to a four-year university and transferred over the summer, thus making me President. The universe pushed me into something that was outside of my comfort zone.

Do you have any goals for this year in your role as president?
As of right now, my main goals are the fight for affordable housing and to partner with as many people as I can across the college to have the goals outlined in SGA’s proposal met. Our requests are not outlandish. I will continue to push and fight for the well-being of our 71,000+ student body. Other goals include building connections between the college, continuing to provide and fight for accessibility and resources for our student body, and being in spaces and places where conversations are happening and decisions are being made by administration and faculty for our students. For effective change to happen, the student voice needs to be practically in every room. We want students to know that they matter even when the world may tell them differently. SGA is here, our presence is felt, and the work that we are doing has been soul-fulfilling and done with intentionality. 

Where did you grow up? What was it like?
I was born and raised in Lake Charles, LA. I grew up surrounded by traditions — of foods, festivals, and family. Lake Charles was and still is a very small town, but the community is what has kept the city together. I was involved in everything from basketball to pageants while also riding four-wheelers and wearing boots to the zydeco.

Please share your motto, mantra, or personal philosophy?
If you know me, you know that I have a lot of phrases, slogans, and catchy things to say from things learned, but a philosophy that I’ve truly adopted into my life has been to stop asking the world for permission because the answer will always be no. I adopted this concept because I’ve learned that waiting for something to happen or putting off our hopes and dreams until we’ve done something else leaves room for self-doubt and, ultimately, the ability to psych ourselves out of the very things that we deserve.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
I encourage everyone to follow their hearts and live freely as themselves, no matter what. We have to put ourselves first in order to pour into others. Know that it’s never selfish or too late to follow your dreams because choosing yourself is choosing the path to liberation and freedom.

What is the best way for people to contact you?
Anyone can reach me by emailing me at my student email address, [email protected]. My typical campuses are Highland, Riverside, and Northridge. 


Adjunct Faculty Association President: Christie Carr

The Adjunct Faculty Association president for 2022-23 is Christie Carr, an adjunct professor in the Student Development and General Studies departments.

When did you start working at ACC and in what role?
I started in 2006 as an adjunct working in the Student Development Department. In 2008, I joined the English Department as a dual credit instructor. 

What additional role(s) at the college have you held?
In 2014-2016, I became part of our four-person training team in Student Development. We trained 260 faculty to teach in our department as part of the Provost’s program. Meredith Ross Chung and I assessed each member of each cohort before they were certified to teach in our department. 

What inspired you to run for president?
I felt I had a solid skill set to bring to the table. I also have a private industry background where I have won several awards. 

Do you have any goals for this year in your role as president?
I am bringing back the business side of managing our association and managing our members. 

Where did you grow up? What was it like?
I grew up in California as a free spirit creative type

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Go to Yosemite.

Please share your motto, mantra, or personal philosophy.
We are all different and special. Be kind. Embrace the human spirit. Don’t just walk by people — look them in the eye. Let them know you see them and hear them. 

What is the best way for AFA employees to connect with you?
Adjuncts who might like to get in touch with me may email [email protected]. AFA also has our own website through ACC with lots of great information. We hold monthly meetings via Zoom, and these meetings are open to all. Our meeting dates and times are posted on the AFA website.


Association of Professional-Technical Employees President: MaryAnn Cicala

MaryAnn Cicala is the founding director of Alumni Relations and the 2022-23 Association of Professional-Technical Employees president. She has been at the college since November 2014.

What additional roles at the college have you held?
I have been the director of Alumni Relations for the better part of eight years. However, I am constantly seeking opportunities to learn about myself and ACC and engage former students in ACC’s goals and strategies to move the needle with student recruitment, retention, and completion. To that end, I have worn a few other hats outside of my day-to-day job that includes volunteer coordinator for the ACC Fairway 5K and Austin Studio Tours at ACC. I’m currently working alongside Jessica Vess as the co-chair of the oral history project for ACC’s 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. 

What inspired you to run for president?
Quite honestly, because I was asked and encouraged to run. My predecessor, Courtney Grams, encouraged me to consider putting my name in the hat. She was a great leader, and I have big shoes to fill, including those of the past officers. I appreciate that they went above and beyond during my short stint as president-elect to provide the history and conversations to date to get me acclimated, and they continue to serve as reliable brain trust as we begin the year.

Through my experience with ACC’s Leadership Academy and work with Alumni + Employees over the years, I learned a great deal about working with our employees and key stakeholders to coordinate speakers, events, and discussions that align with addressing ACC’s Strategic Priorities. Our ACC administrators consistently answer the call to attend topic-based workshops and conversations that provide timely and clear information and also allow employees opportunities to ask hard questions and give feedback to them. What I learned from this is that our ACC leadership values employee engagement, sees us as partners, and is quick to participate in healthy discussions when it is directly tied to ACC’s mission, goals, and student success. And this is the lens with which I hope to lead with.

Do you have any goals for this year in your role as president?
My personal overarching goal as the president this year is to encourage Professional-Technical Employee engagement to improve morale using the 3 Cs — Collaboration, Connection, and Caring — as our guiding principles. 

I also want to increase staff awareness of and engagement in shared governance through the work of the APTE. I hope to achieve this by:

  • Hosting regular casual conversations to make sure we are getting feedback in real time about any concerns so that we can help make recommendations for policies, processes, and procedures, and
  • Seeking opportunities for senior administrators to mix and mingle with association members.

What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
I believe everyone should work in the service industry at least once in their lives. I am so grateful that I did. Because of it, I will always know how to leave an adequate tip, and I will never forget how it felt to work at the mercy of others who had absolutely no idea how hard I was actually working. I learned how to treat others, and I have determined how I will allow others to treat me. I learned that a simple “thank you” can go a long way, and I learned to appreciate every worker, no matter how big or small their job may be.

Please share your motto, mantra, or personal philosophy?
Ditch “The Golden Rule.” The way one person or group wants to be treated isn’t necessarily the same as the way the others want to be treated. More useful is “The Platinum Rule”: treat others the way they would like to be treated.

What do you “geek out” about?
Helping my wife, Thais, with the small, independent bookstore she opened last year on South Menchaca. She has the entire family — including our two kids — serving in support roles that range from staffing the register, ordering books, posting social media, and running events. We are loving building community literary activists through our own love of reading! Reverie Books is across the street from the ACC South Austin Campus. 

What is the best way for APTE employees to connect with you?
By either email at [email protected] or phone at 512-223-7109.


Full-Time Faculty Senate

Coming soon