The mission of the Literacy Assistance Center (LAC) is to strengthen and expand the adult education system, and to advance adult literacy as a core value in our society and a foundation for equal opportunity and social justice. Nationally, there are more than 36 million adults who lack basic reading, writing and math skills. In New York City alone, there are more than 2.2 million adults who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent, English language proficiency or both. At the LAC, we envision a future in which every immigrant, every parent, and every adult in this country has the full range of knowledge and skills they need to secure employment, achieve economic security, access quality health care, support their children in their schooling, and actively participate in the civic life of their communities. Since 1983, the LAC has been working to build the capacity and improve the quality of the Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and High School Equivalency (HSE) programs that serve New York and the surrounding region's most educationally disadvantaged and economically marginalized communities. Our staff has spent years in the field witnessing the power of literacy education to transform lives.