Two East Texans on task force
Posted/updated on: February 7, 2026 at 4:59 am
EAST TEXAS — Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed two people with roots in our region to the Early Childhood Education and Care Task Force. The task force was launched Jan. 20 to improve the quality, access and affordability of child care for families. According to our news partner KETK, Jeff Austin III of Whitehouse and Nancy Windham of Nacogdoches, were among 11 others named to the task force.
Austin received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Business as well as a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Tyler. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program, SMU’s Southwestern Graduate School of Banking, Banking Leadership Texas and Leadership Tyler. Austin is currently the chairman of the Board of Austin Bank Texas N.A. and Austin Bancorp.
Windham attended Stephen F. Austin State University and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute, and also studied basic industrial development at Texas A&M University. Currently, she is the Regional Economic Development Advisor of the Texas Forest Country Partnership.
Abbott also said, “The real reason why we passed this bill, the real reason why we’re having this announcement today, is because of the importance of helping parents across the entire state be able to access quality and affordable early child care and child education for their children,” .
