continued
Though Austin says she has "always been a child
advocate," her professional journey has been "a relay," including legs at the
Organization of American States and the National Audubon Society. In these jobs, her interest was in cultivating leadership and working with young
people, so it was not difficult to transition into her new position as director
of a community center focused on youth development.
PLTI grads singing "Good Job, good Job" | TACOLCY is a close partner
of HSC: it is a site for the Neighborhood Leadership Program and has hosted
Public Allies. "The values HSC has are very much aligned with TACOLCY's and my
personal values," Austin
said. Now
Austin is
diving into the political arena as a candidate for Commissioner for the
City of
Miami, District
5. She recalls the incident that "sparked her motivation" to run for
office: a
high school senior who had failed the FCAT three times reached out for
help,
insisting that she needed to graduate high school so she could go to
college.
As a result of that conversation, TACOLCY began offering
one-on-one
FCAT tutoring. Austin
realized that while she could touch hundreds of lives through her work
at TACOLCY, as a policy maker she would be in a position to impact
thousands more. |