Meet Tanya Makany-Rivera: Bringing Lived Experience to the Workforce Board

Tanya Makany-Rivera brings two decades of experience in local government and politics to her role on the Gulf Coast Workforce Board. As Director of External Legislative Affairs for AT&T, she works in a field where understanding communities and the issues affecting them is essential.

A lifelong Houstonian, Makany-Rivera also brings something more personal to her board service. As a young mother, she experienced firsthand the challenges of balancing work with finding affordable child care. She has also experienced being laid off and has relied on Workforce Solutions services herself.

“I’ve used the services of Workforce Solutions in the past. Just knowing what a struggle it is to find child care and placing my young sons in places that weren’t that great, but it was what I could afford.”

Those experiences give Makany-Rivera a personal connection to the issues the board addresses. Now, she has an opportunity to bring that perspective to the table and ask questions about how workforce and child care systems can better serve families while supporting the businesses that provide those services.

“I’m happy to now be at the table and be able to ask those questions.”

For Makany-Rivera, workforce development is closely connected to child care, economic opportunity, and the well-being of families. She sees the many factors involved as part of what makes the board’s work so important.

“Just all the intricacies that are at play make this a very important board.”

Outside of work and board service, Makany-Rivera enjoys getting away from Houston whenever she can, as well as exploring the city’s arts and culture scene. She also makes time for her sons, balancing a busy professional life with the people and activities she enjoys most.

“I love to travel… As well as enjoying, you know, local art here and theater and spending time with my boys.”

Tanya Makany-Rivera’s connection to workforce development is both professional and personal. Having experienced some of the challenges families face herself, she now brings that perspective to the boardroom, helping ensure those experiences remain part of the conversation when decisions are made about Houston’s workforce and families.

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