Maria Hernandez Ferrier, who since 1995 has served as executive director of City Year San Antonio engaging youth from diverse backgrounds in community service projects, has been named director of the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced today.

The agency was formerly known as the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs (OBEMLA) before its name was changed as part of the No Child Left Behind education reform legislation.

Ferrier served as director of OBEMLA in the last months of former president George Bush's term in office in 1992-93.

In her most recent position with City Year San Antonio, Ferrier helped bring together young people aged 17-24 from assorted backgrounds - dropouts to college graduates - in service to San Antonio, Texas. Her "corps members" worked as tutors and mentors to disadvantaged children, developed after-school programs and summer camps and built playgrounds at low-income elementary schools.

Until last year, she also hosted City Year TV, a weekly television program that featured youth in service and volunteer opportunities for people in San Antonio.

She is the recipient of numerous honors - among them, the Hispanic Heritage Month-Education Award in 1995 and induction into the San Antonio Woman's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Ferrier holds a bachelor of arts in speech, a master's of education in guidance and counseling from Our Lady of the Lake University and a doctorate in educational administration from Texas A & M University.

As director of the Office of English Language Acquisition, she will serve as the principal adviser to the secretary of education on all matters affecting English acquisition, language enhancement and academic achievement for limited-English-proficient students under the No Child Left Behind Act.

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