L-R: Town Lake Links Members Lisa Newman, Freda Mills and Anje Watkins

Town Lake (TX) Chapter Member Freda Mills won the Unsung Hero Award at the Austin Independent School District’s 35th Annual African-American Heritage Celebration. The honor recognized her 29 years of dedicated service to disadvantaged students.

Mills is a graduate of California State University Long Beach, Pepperdine University, Cal-Poly Pomona and the University of Texas at Austin. She began her career in education in 1989 as a teacher in the Los Angeles and Pomona Unified School Districts. Most recently, she served as principal of Mary Jane Sims Early College Preparatory for 12 years and principal of Pleasant Hill Elementary School for two years. She retired in January of 2018 and remains active as a public education advocate and volunteer.