Texas Family is a project of the Marriage Initiative.
The San Antonio Marriage Initiative ("Marriage Initiative") serves a national movement of authors, churches, community and civic leaders who collectively serve marriages and families. We believe strong families create strong communities and the most strategic way to strengthen a family is to strengthen its leadership team: the marriage. The Marriage Initiative also leads National Marriage Week in the U.S. as well as the Marriage Resource Center, the largest online resource center for marriage and relationship education.
Vision
A Texas where strong families create strong communities, ensuring a thriving and prosperous future for generations to come.
Mission
The Texas Family Project empowers local and state leaders to advance family-first policies that strengthen families, build resilient communities, and create a solid foundation for the future of Texas. Through advocacy, education, and community support, we work to ensure that every Texan has the opportunity to flourish in a state that values and invests in its families.
Carl Caton
Carl Caton is the President of the Marriage Initiative and Managing Director of National Marriage Week. The Marriage Initiative helps dynamic marriage leaders work together toward ambitious goals. He serves on the board of NARME, the National Alliance of Relationship and Marriage Educators.
Carl is a student of the human dynamics of community mobilization and advances a proprietary community process called Local Frameworks (TM). He is passionate about the family and has served in the areas of parenting, fatherhood, and marriage.
He is a 5th generation Texan, the husband of Kelli, his high school sweetheart, the father of two wonderful kids and five grandkids.
Katie MacLeod
Katie MacLeod is the Family Policy Director at the San Antonio Marriage Initiative. She, her husband and her five daughters recently relocated to Texas and are enjoying life in the Lone Star State.
Katie has held several positions across the non-profit and government sectors, including stints as policy and budget analyst for two Governors of Colorado, as contractor and consultant to several non-profit organizations, and as project coordinator for two policy institutes.
Katie received a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a Master's degree in Public Policy from Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government. She hopes her experience with policy analysis and project coordination can serve the people of Texas.
Josette Chavez
Josette Chavez serves as the Ministry Engagement Coordinator for National Marriage Week, where she fosters meaningful connections and collaborates with faith leaders to strengthen marriages across the nation. She is also an active contributor to the Reimagining TANF Project, where she oversees data collection, streamlines communications, and builds partnerships with prominent leaders to drive impactful outcomes.
In addition to her nonprofit work, Josette is a successful entrepreneur, managing operations for her own business. As a certified mental health coach, she is deeply committed to serving her local community, offering compassionate support through Celebrate Recovery programs.
A dedicated wife and mother, Josette has been happily married for over 15 years and is raising four wonderful children. Her passion for community, leadership, and family shines through in every endeavor she undertakes.