District VII Trustee Jay Aiyer, the first Asian-American to serve on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees, views education as the vital link between a healthy community and a strong economy. In the growing suburbs of his southwest Houston district, Aiyer promotes HCC programs that steer high school students to higher education and supports initiatives that help adults find better futures through training and study.
He helped establish HCC oversight for basic adult education services in the community and believes they help provide opportunities for better jobs, higher wages and new hope for families. Aiyer believes HCC's leadership role in creating the partnerships that provide these opportunities is essential to its mission as a community builder. Education, says Aiyer, lifts families out of the cycle of poverty.
He envisions more partnerships between HCC and city and county governments so more programs can reach a wider audience. He encourages businesses to invest in their employees through more training and education partnerships with HCC. Houston's future prosperity depends on a skilled, educated work force, and Aiyer sees HCC's organizational stewardship as a key ingredient.
In a recent op-ed piece about "reforming, reinventing and reinvesting for academic success," Aiyer cites Texas' near-bottom ranking in the number of residents enrolled in colleges and universities and stresses the need to change the trend. By encouraging and rewarding student success and offering the right mix of opportunities, HCC can play a significant role in increasing college enrollment and improving lives.
Aiyer, an attorney specializing in immigration law, is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law and also holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and its LBJ School of Public Affairs. He served as the youngest chief of staff in recent Houston history under former Mayor Lee P. Brown and also worked in the Texas Senate. He was senior management consultant for Deloitte and Touche, L.L.P. to improve operations of public, educational and non-profit institutions.
Aiyer has written several reports on management solutions in government, including the first comprehensive review of business operations in the Houston Independent School District. He is a graduate of the Center for Houston's Future, Texas Lyceum and Leadership Houston and grew up in the city.
