AUSTIN — Boerne resident Emma Faye Rudkin is among five state appointees to the Governor’s Committee on people with Disabilities for terms to expire Feb. 1, 2026.
Gov. Greg Abbott Tuesday announced the appointment of Billy Blanchard and reappointment of Kori Allen, Evelyn Cano, Emma Faye Rudkin and Benjamin Willis to the Governor ’ s Committee on People with Disabilities. The committee recommends changes in disability policies and programs, supports a network of committees on people with disabilities, issues awards to promote greater awareness, and promotes compliance with disability related laws.
Emma Faye Rudkin of Boerne is the executive director and founder of Aid The Silent and serves as a staff member of the Deaf Young Life San Antonio. She is a television host for PBS KLRN with her service dog, Hank the Hearing dog.
She is a member of the Rotary Club of San Antonio Young Members Board, the Nonprofit Council of San Antonio and a volunteer for Morgan’s Wonderland, Kingdom for Kids and the Rotarian Service Projects.
She has served as a gubernatorial appointee on the governor’s committee on People since 2018. Rudkin received a bachelor’s degree in communications and nonprofit management from UT-San Antonio.
Billy Blanchard of Victoria is a vocational rehab counselor for the Texas Workforce Commission.
He is a member of the Victoria Bad News Chairs Adaptive Sports Team, former president of the Disability Coalition of the Golden Crescent, and former board member for the Brain Injury Association of Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration/ finance from UT-Austin.
Kori Allen of McKinney is the ADA and capital programs coordinator for Coppell. She is an officer of the Dallas/ Fort Worth Chapter of Little People of America, self-advocacy award recipient of the North Texas Disability Chamber, and member of the Little People of America-State Legislation Monitoring Team and the Accessibility Professionals Association.
She is a volunteer in various roles for The Contemporary Chorale and Metrocrest Services. She has served as a gubernatorial appointee on the governor’s committee since 2020.
Allen received a bachelor’s degree in health studies from UT-Tyler and is working toward a certification by the Texas Accessibility Academy as a registered accessibility specialist.
Evelyn Cano of Pharr is co-owner of Grande Produce LTD and Cano & Sons Trucking.
She is president and co-founder of the Disability Chamber of Commerce Rio Grande Valley, executive board secretary for Disability Rights Texas, committee member for the McAllen Disability Task Force, and a youth ministry coordinator for St. John’s Baptist Catholic Church.
She has been a disability advocate for more than 15 years and is a former Texas certified bilingual educator.
A gubernatorial appointee on the governor’s committee since 2018, she received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University. Benjamin Willis of Lumberton has volunteered for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and as the Southeast Texas MDA Goodwill Ambassador.
He has served as an appointee on the governor’s committee since 2022. Willis is studying engineering at Texas A&M University with a long-term goal of designing assistive technology for people with disabilities.
Comment
Comments