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AUSTIN, TX – For the seventh consecutive year, the ATXelerator will field a class of 25 talented Austinites from districts across the city to learn about Austin city government and the value of future-focused policy to plan for the city’s long-term future success.
“I am extremely impressed with the quality class our board and alumni were able to recruit for the 2024 ATXelerator class,” said ATXelerator founder and executive director Ward Tisdale. “With backgrounds in technology, law, government, nonprofits and real estate, among other professions, this cohort represents council districts from all parts of the city and brings a lot of excitement and expertise to the table.”
The ATXelerator class starts January 5, 2024 with opening weekend activities including:
An Esther’s Follies performance
History of Austin by Michael Barnes of the Austin American Statesman
Media panel on current council affairs
Scooter Tour of mixed-use development in the UT West Campus area
Red Line tour led by Capital Metro
Future of Austin Demographic Presentation by the Austin City Demographer’s Office
City Council Panel Discussion with Council Members Vanessa Fuentes & Zo Qadri
City Government Overview by Austin Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo
Mayor Kirk Watson
January 10 marks the first of 10 weekly Wednesday evening sessions taught by experts in the fields of transportation, land use, utilities, economic development, homelessness, diversity and social equity, campaigning and a variety of other issues intended to prepare future candidates and city board and commission members. The ATXelerator has a closing Saturday of class project presentations on homelessness, affordability and mobility in April. Following the class projects, class members engage in a pitch-style competition before an expert panel of judges and a public event for contest finalists.
When this cohort concludes its class in April, the ATXelerator will have an alumni base of more than 175 Austinites, including more than 30 current or former city board and commission members, three council candidates and District 2 City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes serving on the city council.
The ATXelerator, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2017, is the only elected office candidate recruitment engine in Austin. It is designed to identify, mentor and promote the next generation of future-focused leaders interested in public service. The 25 individuals selected for the Class of 2024 have a standout dedication and commitment to the future success of Austin and to serving our community through public service.
The 2024 class includes:
District 1
Brianna Evans
Valerie Figlin, Meta
Caroline Gorman, Leon Cosgrove Jimenez, LLP
Manveena Singh, Dell Technologies
Brian Wheat, TLC
District 2
Steven Apodaca, TSG Consulting
District 3
Chloe Chiang, Chloe Chiang Real Estate
Michael Cowles, U.S. Department of Justice
Liani Lye, Open Austin
District 4
Maria Brown-Spence, Hearts2Heal
Jules Mandel, Disruptor Collaborative
Andre Shavers, Cadence Bank
Jonathan Thompson, Sunsational Solutions
District 7
Ramsey Bissex, City of Austin
Andrew Griffin, Make ATXhome
District 8
Peter Breton, Capital Metro
Luis Osta Lugo, Valencian Digital
Maria Yuan, FUSE Corps
District 9
Alexander Cantwell, Cartograph Ventures
Bobby Joe Dale, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Caitlin Gary, Capital Growth Real Estate
Chris Merron, Apple
Jen Weaver, Vivid Development
Philip Wiley, IBM (ret’d)
District 10
Elizabeth Adams, Urbanspace Real Estate
Christian Tschoepe, Zendesk
About the ATXelerator
The mission of the ATXelerator is to identify and prepare future-focused leaders for public service and educate the community about solutions that will improve Austin's quality of life for generations to come. The program aims to encourage citizens to pursue and prepare for elected office and board/commission service through a technology accelerator model. For more information, please visit www.atxelerator.org.