Wendy Maurer

Wendy Maurer is a passionate disability advocate with about 2 decades of experience.  She started her career as a special education teacher in Eagle Pass, TX, but was eager to learn how to best work with autistic students.  She then obtained her master’s degree from Texas A&M University in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis.  At the same time, she graduated from graduate school and her son was formally diagnosed with autism.  As her family resided in rural Maverick County, she knew her family needed to have access to medically necessary treatments and moved back to Montgomery County.  Within the course of 2 years her son gained access to care at Cole Health and their son’s life trajectory had changed.

She then left teaching to join Cole Health as their Regional Business Development Manager as she is still to this day forever grateful for the services her family received.  Wendy has been an integral part of the Cole Health team with building provider and community partner relationships.  She leads a community training program she created with UT Health and Baylor College of Medicine as pediatric residents and fellows learn about early intervention services in ABA therapy. 

When not in the Houston community advocating for access to care, Wendy is advocating throughout the state for the disability community.  She is a former Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities – Partners in Policymaking graduate and sits on the advisory committee for TXABA – Public Policy Group.  Wendy also sits on the board of directors for Families for Effective Autism Treatment – Houston and can be found consistently working to help improve the lives of families by gaining access to resources.

Although she resides in Montgomery County, her heart is still in Maverick County and she still is co-founder and executive director of Eagle Pass HEROES, a nonprofit group in Eagle Pass that provides resources and training in the rural Southwest Texas region.  She has piloted new projects, programs, and continues to have visions of those gaining access within their own communities.

Though her list of roles is quite large she claims that none of it is work – it’s a passion.  She is thrilled to join the Project Beacon Board of Directors in hopes to make an impact to last a lifetime for others.

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb