Not a politician — a neighbor who was called to serve.

Jean Wade Mayer never planned a career in politics. When she first ran for the Pflugerville ISD board, it was the height of COVID-19, and she simply felt called to serve. There was no agenda and no playbook — just a deep conviction that her community deserved someone who would show up and do the work with honesty.

That first race was the only one in which she faced an opponent — and she won. When re-election came around again, she ran unopposed, a quiet vote of confidence from neighbors who had seen how she governs.

Professionally, Jean built her career in hospitality, consulting, and event planning. She knows how to bring people together, sweat the details, and plan so that nothing — and no one — gets overlooked. “On every event I built,” she says, “I asked one question at the very first stage: does anyone need accommodations? Ask it early, and you never have the ‘we forgot about that’ moment later.”

She brings that same instinct to the board table. As the founder and host of Moms Talk Autism, Jean is a tireless advocate for students with disabilities — the largest minority group there is, and the one most often left out of the conversation. Her north star is simple: build for everyone from the start, and no one gets left behind.

Jean describes herself as a paradigm shifter, and she’s honest that it isn’t easy work. It takes consistency, persistence, and a willingness to stand in uncomfortable spaces — to say what’s true out loud, even when it doesn’t serve her, so families can trust how decisions really get made.

“Trust is built when our processes are done with fidelity — when we do what we said we would do, the way we said we’d do it.”