Alicia Fernandez-Mott ‘82

Alicia Fernandez-Mott is former chief, Division of Seasonal Farmworker Programs, Employment and Training Administration for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.  From 1991 until her retirement in 2006, she managed job training programs for migrant workers across the nation and developed and monitored performance standards and financial management of funds to State governments, non-profit organizations and educational institutions.

Additionally, in 2003, Alicia was asked to work in the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor as director, Office of Discretionary Programs, director of Systems Support. She returned in 2009-10 as team lead and primary technical adviser to all Department of Labor American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grantees, specifically addressing regulatory and reporting requirements. Prior to her Department of Labor Service, Alicia was the director of Rural Opportunities, Inc., a statewide organization providing training and services to farmworkers and other economically disadvantaged youth and adults.

She was born into a migrant agricultural worker family of eight and raised by a single parent. Alicia was mono-lingual Spanish speaking when entering first grade at a time when Texas schools were English speaking only. As a teen, she traveled across the country as a migrant agricultural worker and had to drop out of school having only completed tenth grade.

She received her general equivalency diploma at the age of 30 and enrolled at Bowling Green State University. Attending as time and money permitted, she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1982 at 38 years of age. During her junior and senior years, she was honored to receive a full academic scholarship from Marathon Oil Company.