New Leaders Council Austin

08/08/2023

We’re after what was a phenomenal experience at the 2023 NLC Convention! 🪨

Hats off to for bringing our together from across the nation in their vibrant and beautiful capital city.

06/18/2023

Sharing a few highlights from our 8th annual NLC Austin Community Awards and Fundraiser at Cheer Up Charlie's! 🪩 Congrats to our 2023 awardees👇

This year’s ‘Luminary’ Award goes to Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) for their work fighting anti-LGBTQIA+ bills during this legislative session, while also introducing more pro-LGBTQIA+ bills than ever before to protect equal rights in Texas. 🏳️‍⚧️

Our NLC Austin Alumni Recognition goes to Alicia Roth Weigel () for her work elevating and advocating on behalf of the intersex community. Get tix to the June 27th Austin premiere of Alicia’s new documentary film ‘Every Body’ through the link in her bio, and see it in theaters after June 30th! And while you’re at it, go ahead and pre-order her new book anywhere you get your books! 🥇

Our Rising Star Award goes to Brigitte Bandit () for their commitment to consistent and impactful advocacy and dragtivism. 👑

And many thanks to Extragrams, ATX and their fabulous queens Sierra Mykels, Tension (), and Maxine LaQueene for sharing their dragtivism and turning up the heat for us last night. 🔥🔥🔥

06/15/2023

📣 Don’t forget to grab your ticket for our 8th Annual ‘Glam & Give’ Community Awards this Saturday, June 17th! This event is a unique opportunity to support and celebrate progressive leaders and organizations in our region, while enjoying an evening of drag shows, great music, and even better company! 🥂🎉

Tap the 🔗 in our bio to secure your ticket!

06/10/2023

Congratulation to our graduating 2023 NLC Austin Fellows! 🎉

05/30/2023

📣 We’re excited to host our 8th Annual ‘Glam & Give’ Community Awards Celebration and Fundraiser on June 17th at 7-9pm! This is a unique opportunity to support and celebrate progressive leaders and organizations in our region, while enjoying an evening of entertainment, fun, and great company! 🥂🎉

General admission tickets are available for a suggested contribution level of $50. Note: 100% of fundraiser proceeds go towards supporting next year’s class of NLC Fellows, ensuring they can participate in the 2024 NLC Institute fellowship program tuition-free.

Secure your ticket using the 🔗 in our bio!

Thank you for your support!

05/05/2023

April Institute photo download 📸

Huge thanks to for hosting our fellows this month, as well as to many our many guest speakers and alumni who shared dropped by this weekend to share their insights and experience across wide range of topics, centered in this month’s theme: Understanding Our People and Our Power.

01/07/2023

Through our core program, the NLC Institute, Fellows learn the skills most helpful to building power among the leaders closest to their communities. We’re committed to providing our Fellows with the best possible learning experience to help them develop into the progressive leaders Austin deserves.

Each year, NLC Fellows receive six months of tuition-free training, experiential learning, and network building — tailored to the needs of our local community. This training has allowed our alumni to go on to found their own businesses, lead nonprofits, and serve in elected office.

We invite you to share recommendations to help our local chapter with selections for Institute locations, speakers and facilitators across a diverse range of topics, and more.

Thanks so much for offering your recommendations to help ensure our 2023 NLC Austin fellows have the best learning environments they can to develop into the progressive leaders Austin deserves. Your feedback will help us make selections for institute locations, national faculty, and sponsors.

12/18/2022

Meet Fellow, Sergio Sotelo-Sosa!

Sergio is an Agricultural Economist specialized in food supply chain, labor economics and natural resources management. Sergio is passionate about impacting the socio-economic mobility of workers who don’t speak English in primary and secondary sectors.

In his current role as Finance Analyst at Cargill, he engineers financial tools to help increase manufacturing workers' pay while accelerating their promotion in the organization through STEM education. He also participates in the Cargill Hispanic and Latino Council as a Sense of Belonging Pillar, where he is responsible for fostering personal and professional development, reporting DEI metrics and organizing cultural events in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. He is a strong advocate for fair food prices, sustainable wages and accessible natural resources for everyone. He enjoys running, swimming and playing soccer during his free time.

Welcome to the , Sergio! 🤝

12/17/2022

Meet Fellow, Claire White!

Claire is a graduate of University of Tulsa with a Bachelors in English and Secondary Education and of the University of Kansas with a Masters in Special Education. She has spent the last four years in the nonprofit sector, first working with youth and families, and now for the last two years in grant writing. In July, Claire moved to Austin and has jumped in with volunteering on political campaigns. She is excited to become further invested in her new community. In her down time Claire loves to read, rock climb, and spend time outdoors with her husband and two rescue pups!

Welcome to the , Claire! 🤝

12/15/2022

Meet Fellow, Adri Pérez!

Adri (they/them) is an organizer, disruptor, and educator with over 8 years of civic engagement, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ community organizing, and policy justice experience in Texas. Prior to joining Texas Freedom Network as Organizing Director in 2022, Adri led the LGBTQIA+ work at the ACLU of Texas where they advocated for the civil rights and dignity of all transgender people, transgender kids, and all those who love and support them.

As a q***r, transgender, non-binary, and first-generation immigrant, Adri’s intersectional experience fuels their passion for strategy building across multiple issue areas. In 2013, Adri co-founded West Fund, the first abortion fund in West Texas. After finding a passion for redistributing wealth, in 2018 they also co-founded the Fronterizx Fianza Fund, a grassroots organization that raises money to free detained asylum seekers. Adri previously worked at Ngage New Mexico, Fund Texas Choice, and YWCA El Paso Del Norte.

Welcome to the , Adri! 🤝

12/13/2022

Meet Fellow, Allie Roberts!

Allie (she/her) is an advocate for people experiencing homelessness. She holds a Bachelors degree in Government from UT Austin and oversees remote services at Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center.

Allie has held various positions in homeless services and nonprofits since 2017. In Spring 2022, she dropped out of her Texas State MPA program to focus on creating a hotline for under-served community members in need of housing and other help. Prior to her current role, she worked on the Emergency Housing Voucher team at the Austin Housing Authority. Allie is a voting member of the Austin Permanent Housing Committee and participates in other community workgroups. Her interests include technology, equity, and housing policy. The only thing Allie enjoys more than taking hotline calls is climbing at Austin Bouldering Project.

Welcome to the , Allie! 🤝

12/12/2022

Meet Fellow, Aden Avery!

Aden Avery is committed to ensuring that all children have access to an education that prepares them to lead choice-filled lives. In his current role at Empower Schools, he works to advance system conditions at the state and local levels to catalyze and sustain innovation that transforms public schools and communities. Prior to joining Empower Schools, Aden taught 4th grade in Austin’s Rundberg community. He began his career leading research, communications, and advocacy in roles at Young Invincibles and the Roosevelt Institute’s campus network, where he focused on policy topics spanning voting rights, higher education, student loan debt relief, and student mental health. Aden holds a B.A. from Texas A&M University, where he earned the Buck Weirus Spirit Award for his contributions to the university as a student leader. In his spare time, Aden enjoys exploring cideries with friends, landscape photography, and tending to his collection of 100+ houseplants.

Welcome to the , Aden! 🤝