With more than 35 years of experience in higher education, philanthropy and public policy advocacy, Jacob Fraire leads ECMC Foundation’s strategic grantmaking and program-related investment program in support of its North Star: By 2040 equity gaps in postsecondary completion are eliminated, so that underserved learners have greater opportunity for social and economic mobility. 

Before joining the Foundation, Mr. Fraire served as director of policy and strategy for the Diana Natalicio Institute at the University of Texas at El Paso. Previously, Mr. Fraire was president and CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) where he represented the presidents and chancellors of the state’s 50 public community college districts, which enroll more than 700,000 students. 

Under his leadership, TACC secured policymaker support for state policies and funding in favor of community college students, including the creation of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance and legislative approval for the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education program, authorizing short-term credentials for adult learners. Before joining TACC, Mr. Fraire served as vice president of philanthropy at Trellis Company (formerly Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation). 

For a decade, Mr. Fraire served in multiple policy advocacy roles in Washington, D.C. He served as director of legislation and policy analysis at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, as the senior legislative coordinator at a firm representing research-intensive universities, and separately as principal of a firm representing multiple guaranty agencies in the Federal Family Education Loan Program. 

Mr. Fraire has served on multiple national and state boards, including Grantmakers for Education, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (board chair), the Advisory Board for the Community College Research Center, the federal Committee on Measures of Student Success, the Corporate Advisory Committee of the Council for Opportunity in Education, the TACC Business Advisory Council, the Texas Transfer Working Group and the Texas Dual Credit Task Force. 

The son of migrant farmworkers, Mr. Fraire grew up in El Paso, Texas. He holds a bachelor of science from St. Edward’s University and a master of public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Virginia, have five adult children.