Local community workforce champion retires
Former Workforce Network Inc. CEO Fay Crider (left) poses for a photo with the organization’s founder Gail Davalos after they received the Workforce Excellence Impact Award in 2025. Courtesy photo
Fay Crider has spent over a decade of her 35-year career in workforce development and advocacy at the helm of Workforce Network Inc., a regional nonprofit dedicated to cultivating job opportunities for Central Texas residents. Crider officially retired in February, leaving a lasting legacy of job creation programs in the Highland Lakes area.
“Fay’s leadership, vision, courage, and grace have defined this organization in real and lasting ways,” Workforce Network Inc. Board Chair Bill Rives said in a media release. “She built a strong foundation and a team that will continue serving our community with pride and compassion.”
During her tenure as CEO and president , Crider acquired multiple grants for high-demand job training programs, providing affordable or free connections for Highland Lakes residents to careers in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, healthcare, accounting, trucking, and more.
While she served as CEO of Workforce Network Inc., the organization implemented sweeping free job training programs in Burnet and Llano counties and acquired millions of dollars in federal funds for ongoing training programs.
“Fay has consistently led with both strategic vision and deep compassion,” said Diane Cook, Chief Operating Officer of Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area. “Her work has strengthened the workforce ecosystem while ensuring individuals facing real world challenges have access to meaningful opportunity.”
One of her programs, Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-by World, had a real impact on dozens of Highland Lakes residents, including Sara McKinney of Granite Shoals. McKinney signed up for the program in 2023 and by 2024 became a homeowner and a registered nurse.
“This class really taught me what being unstable was,” she told the Marble Falls EDC Board of Directors during a regular meeting in March 2023. “It gave me the tools to become responsible and move forward.”
Emily Miller, a former program director with Workforce Network Inc., has stepped in as the new CEO. Gail Davalos, the organization’s founder, will stay on board through the fall to assist with the leadership transition.