Leadership

Lydia Tate has happily called Waco home since 2011, after spending most of her life in the Houston area. After graduating from Houston Baptist University with her degree in Music Education, she was offered an opportunity to expand her passion for women’s ministry via Sigma Phi Lambda as their first national Executive Director. There she honed her skills in organizational management and expanded her knowledge of the nonprofit sector. She is inspired by her work in women’s ministry at CWJC and looks forward to great things in CWJC’s future in her role as Executive Director. She would love to share conversation with you over a warm beverage and chat about the mission of CWJC and how you can be a part of this great organization’s mission. Lydia can also be found singing, playing piano, playing board games, and serving at her church. She also enjoys life with her husband, David, their three teenage-y sons, and their amazing dog, Cami.

Gabriella started off at CWJC as an administrative assistant intern 2021 while she was attending McLennan Community College to obtain an Associate degree in Administrative Office Management. Gabriella started in January of 2021 and ended in May 2021 when she graduated with her degree. Gabriella came on to the staff as an administrative assistant in July 2021 and then trained to become a Site Coordinator in 2022. Gabriella enjoys working alongside the staff, students, and all of our interns. Gabi loves what CWJC does for women in our community and has enjoyed watching the women who come to CWJC accomplish such huge milestones. Gabriella and her husband Eric have 5 beautiful daughters and Gabriella loves enchiladas, chips, queso, and reading!

Audrey is a central Texas native who calls Waco home. She holds a B.A. in Language and Linguistics and an M.A. in Spanish from Baylor. Her professional passion is serving adult learners, and she has cultivated her skills through ESL classroom and college Spanish classroom teaching, continuing education program planning for the Waco community, and volunteer engagement with Baylor’s membership program for senior adults, Lifelong Learning. At her core, Audrey believes that anyone, at any age, can learn and change and grow. Her goal is to invest in the local community through CWJC’s work to empower, equip, and advocate for women in McLennan County. Audrey loves good books (especially science fiction), good food (especially international fusion), and sunshine (especially in winter). She and her husband Jamey can often be found hiking, biking, reading, or camping in a beautiful Waco or Texas State Park.

Paula Winstead grew up in Florida, but she moved here with her husband and daughter three years ago for her husband’s job with the VA. Paula has a Bachelor’s in Nursing, but switched to teaching when her kids were young so she could be more hands-on with her children’s education. She homeschooled all three of her children and her last one is getting ready to graduate and start studying at Baylor in the fall. Paula immediately started volunteering as a teacher for GED classes with CWJC when she moved here because it combined her love for teaching with her heart for helping people in difficult situations. Paula is the part-time Testing Administrator for CWJC’s Pearson testing center. Providing this service helps CWJC students have a more successful testing experience because it’s quicker and easier to schedule their tests, and it’s in an environment they are comfortable with which reduces their anxiety. In her free time, Paula enjoys spending time with her family and is thrilled that her two sons just recently moved to Texas so they can all be together again. She and her family love to travel, especially to National Parks where they like to camp and hike in the wilderness and explore God’s beautiful creation. Paula also volunteers with Antioch’s STARS book club mentoring program, and is a house hostess for one of Antioch’s mission houses.

Dana has lived in Waco most of her life and shares an active church life with her husband at Highland Baptist Church where he is a deacon. Their son and new daughter-in-law live locally and are also at Highland, which is a tremendous blessing to Dana. Dana holds a BA in Accounting from Baylor University and was a plant controller in the manufacturing industry for almost 20 years. Here she lived a vibrant work-life with prayerful Christian coworkers. After the business moved to Houston, she decided to leave the corporate world and thought she would do some volunteering. God moved in her life and brought her to CWJC for what she thought would be teaching an Excel class. In 2016, she joyfully accepted a position at CWJC. Dana loves seeing the impact CWJC makes in the lives of the sweet ladies who come through the doors and enjoys the relationships she has with CWJC staff. Dana enjoys helping others with their businesses, attending weekly Bible study, spending time with her family, and traveling with her husband.