Baylor Departments & Waco Collaborate to Present "Waco's Latina Changemakers" Panel
As part of Women’s History Month, members of Baylor’s History Department, in collaboration with the John and Nancy Jackson Chair for Baylor in Latin America, have organized a panel featuring perspectives from Latina “changemakers” whose activism and careers have made the city of Waco a more just and equitable place. This event is the product of conversations with the university’s community partners about the prospect of connecting students to the city’s Hispanic community. Anchored in a new class on “Waco’s Mexican American Experience,” the panel will be open to members of the Waco community and all Baylor students, faculty, and staff. This event is free and open to the public.
The panel will be held on Thursday, March 27th, 2025, at the Mayborn Museum Auditorium, 1300 S University Parks Dr., Waco, TX 76706 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.
Partners include Waco’s Hispanic Leaders Network and the Mayborn Museum, along with on-campus co-sponsors such as the College of Arts and Sciences, the Baylor Women’s Colloquium, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, and the Division of Spanish and Portuguese.
Learn more about our speakers:
Alma Canales | Born in La Rosita, Texas, Alma Canales worked with her family as a seasonal migrant farm worker from a young age. She was recruited to the University of Texas Pan America on a journalism scholarship, and it was there that she became involved with the Mexican American Youth Organization. As a journalist and community organizer, Canales learned to advocate for the needs of the Mexican and Mexican American community in the Rio Grande Valley. She attended El Colegio Jacinto Treviño in Mercedes, Texas and later moved to Austin to become involved in state-wide campaigning for La Raza Unida, a Hispanic political party established in 1970. At twenty-four years old, she was the youngest and first Chicana to run for Lieutenant Governor of Texas under the La Raza Unida ticket. After settling in Waco, Texas, Canales continued her advocacy work through LULAC and the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project.
Linda Fraga | Since the early 1980s, Linda Fraga has pursued meaningful service in the Waco community, serving on numerous community and city-wide boards and commissions. In 1986, she established the Waco chapter of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas (HWNT), hosting the HWNT statewide conference in 1990. For thirty-six years, Fraga worked with her husband, Ernesto, to publish Tiempo newspaper, a local Spanish and English weekly. She and Ernesto used Tiempo to represent Hispanic families. They promoted Hispanic-owned businesses and raised awareness about vital issues to Waco’s Hispanic community. For nearly a decade, Fraga hosted Ya Es Tiempo, a Sunday morning TV show on KXXV Channel 25. She served as the first female board member of the Cen-Tex Mexican American Chamber of Commerce of Waco, which has since been renamed as the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Elizabeth Palacios | Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) D. Palacios is a first-generation student from San Antonio, Texas. She attended Baylor University where she received both her bachelor’s degree in business administration (’80) and master’s degree (’91) in student services and professional counseling. In 2002, she earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduation, she joined Baylor in 1981 where she served in various areas including the Graduate School, where she was awarded a $96,000 federal grant to develop the first graduate minority recruitment scholarship and recruitment program. She moved to the Student Activities, Division of Student Life, as the Community Service Coordinator where she created mentorship programs between local high school students and Baylor students. She developed a community service course, “Working with Children at Risk” for undergraduates who wanted to better understand how to serve. In 2002, she joined the faculty in the School of Education (SOE) at Baylor. Dr. Palacios taught undergraduate courses in secondary education and graduate courses in school psychology and educational administration. During her 10-year tenure as a faculty member, she was one of the few, and at times, only, faculty of color in the SOE. She developed two graduate level courses, “Cultural Issues in School Psychology,” and “Cultural Issues in Student Affairs.” Dr. Palacios’ passion is building supportive academic environments for underserved students in higher education. As a high school graduate from the second poorest district in Texas at the time, she knew first-hand the challenges that many students were still enduring while navigating higher education.
In 2006, she was named Dean for Student Development in the Division of Student Life overseeing various departments including Multicultural Affairs, Community Engagement and Service, the Academy for Leadership Development, Student Activities, and Campus Recreation. In 2016, she was named the first Special Assistant on Diversity for two consecutive University Presidents until 2019. In 2021 she was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Life for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Baylor University. Dr. Palacios has authored numerous publications, presentations, and book chapters in the fields of both school psychology and student affairs. She is a past President for the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, and an inaugural faculty member for the NASPA Escaleras Leadership Institute for Hispanic Student Affairs professionals. She serves on various national, regional, and local boards on higher education, retention, diversity, and leadership development. In her various positions at Baylor, she has been the first Latina in those roles serving as a trailblazer and mentor for many students and professionals of color during her time in higher education. Dr. Palacios and her late husband have three adult children and nine grandchildren. Within the immediate family of five, there are seven Baylor degrees total. After 40 years, Dr. Palacios retired in May 2022 from Baylor to start a new chapter in her life enjoying counseling, speaking, consulting, traveling, and most of all, her grandchildren.
Alice Rodríguez | Re-elected to the Waco City Council on November 2, 2021, Councilwoman Alice Rodríguez has previously served as the representative for District II for a combined total of twenty-four years beginning in 1991. Additionally, Rodríguez served as Waco’s Mayor Pro Tempore in the years of 1992-1993, 1999-2000, 2007-2008, 2012-2013. Rodríguez retired from Waco Independent School District where she worked to recover drop-out students as a School Completion Liaison. She has been awarded the 2016 TAMACC Women of Distinction Award, the 1992 YMCA Pathfinder Award, and the Girl Scouts-Bluebonnet Council Women of Distinction Award, recently being recognized by the National Hispanic Leadership Association and the International Sumando Sueños Award in Mexico City. As a council member, Rodríguez serves on various boards and committees, including vice-chairing the National League of Cities University Communities Council. She is also a member of the Community and Economic Development Committee, the Council on Youth Education and Family, and organizations like Hispanic Elected Local Officials and Women in Municipal Government. Rodríguez has been active in the Texas Municipal League’s Association of Hispanic Municipal Officials (AHMO), having served as AHMO’s Treasurer and a member of its the Executive Board. Additionally, she holds positions on the City Council Boards and Commission Committee, the City of Waco ISD Intergovernmental Relations Committee, the Waco-McLennan County Joint Airport Board, and the Board of Adjustments Board. Rodríguez is the Executive Director of the League of United Latin American Council and Vice President for the Heart of Texas Council of Government Executive Committee. She serves as President of the Waco chapter of the League of United Latin American Council (LULAC) and is a member of the Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana De Jornaleros and the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.