Dr. Christy Ponce has been President of Temple College since January 2019. Prior to that, she served as Executive Vice President at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. She also has held teaching and administrative positions at El Paso Community College and Austin Community College. In 2016, Dr. Ponce was selected as a part of the inaugural Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence among the top 40 up and coming college presidents. This enabled her to participate in a year-long executive leadership program designed by The Aspen Institute and Stanford University to develop leaders who can help community colleges achieve higher levels of student success while maintaining broad access. In 2021, she was one of 25 community college leaders selected for the 2021-22 class of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship. Dr. Ponce serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s 1,200 community colleges. Dr. Ponce earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the Community College Leadership Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in education from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in political science from Texas State University.