AAFCS - Texas Affiliate

For more than 100 years, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) members have been working to improve the quality and standards of individual and family life by delivering educational programs, influencing public policy, and conducting research. Members in Texas were formally organized in 1913.  This website is devoted to our Texas Affiliate Members. The story of the AAFCS begins with the story of Ellen Richards, one of the leading figures in the emergence of home economics as a profession. Richards and her followers believed that the application of science to domestic issues could help save society from the social disintegration that was taking place at the turn of the century.

In 1909, Richards founded the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), which became the most influential professional association for home economists. AHEA believed that students who chose home economics as a field of study would not only be better prepared homemakers, but would also be better prepared for careers focused on people and their environments. What Ellen Richards started as the American Home Economics Association has evolved into the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Founded in 1913 by Mary E. Gearing, first chair of Home Economics at University of Texas, Texas Home Economics Association (THEA) has a long history. Affiliating with the AHEA in 1918, THEA becomes one of the most active affiliates in the nation. Following the lead of AAFCS, in 1995 we became Texas Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (TAFCS), and in 2010 became AAFCS-Texas Affiliate. Over the years, Texas members have served as national officers, Foundation Board Trustees, Board of Directors members, committee chairs and committee members. Individual members have been honored with national awards including Distinguished Service, New Achiever, Leader of the Year, and Teacher of the Year. Texas Affiliate is known for beginning the HUGS program - Helping Undergraduate Students. HUGS matches family and consumer science majors with mentors and pays a portion of the students’ membership dues.

A lot has changed since 1909. Our workforce is more diverse than ever, the definition and makeup of today’s families are more varied than previous generations, and our neighborhoods, communities, and cities have changed dramatically.  You will see AAFCS members in all walks of life—they are early childhood, elementary, secondary, university/college, and Extension educators; administrators and managers; human service professionals; researchers; community volunteers; housing and home interior professionals; entrepreneurs; consultants and in other content areas and career settings of our profession that touch the home and heart.

In 2009, AAFCS began its second century with a new tagline: Connecting Professionals -
Touching Lives.  This tagline speaks to the core essence of what AAFCS-TX does:

Connecting Professionals— The ability to connect professionals across multiple practice
settings and content areas to share knowledge, research, and experience is one of our strengths.  AAFCS-TX helps create more integrated solutions to today’s critical social and economic challenges through our conferences, publications, and e-communications. We help connect FCS professionals across multiple practice settings and content areas.

Touching Lives—AAFCS-TX continues to be recognized as the driving force in bringing people together to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities. It truly is the perfect applied science for helping people thrive in our complicated world.