February 2014 ENGAGE Recap

Guest post from 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series guest blogger Alicia Dietrich. Alicia is a public affairs representative at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. See the end of this post for the podcast from the breakfast.
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As Austin prepares for a new era of single-member city council districts, Leadership Austin hosted the February 5 ENGAGE breakfast panel to explore "Countdown to 10-1: The Changing Face of Austin City Governance."

Austin voters approved a plan in 2010 to restructure the city council from eight at-large positions to 10 single-district members and a mayor elected at-large. The new structure takes effect this fall.

Panelists included former state Rep. Wilhelmina Delco; Dr. Regina Lawrence, director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at The University of Texas at Austin; and Bill Spelman, current Austin City Council member and a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. The discussion was moderated by KXAN News Anchor Robert Hadlock.

Here are eight takeaways from the discussion:

1. New city council members are going to have a learning curve their first year as they learn how difficult it is to balance campaign promises made to their district constituents with city governance.

"When you run for public office, you make outrageous promises," said Delco. "You tell people, 'If you make sure that I'm elected to that council, your street will be paved, your lights will be on, when you call, I’ll come within 15 minutes.' So, when you go on to a council representing a specific district, then you feel compelled to look at that district rather than the big picture."

Spelman agreed: "The first time somebody runs for office, if they're a newbie and they haven't had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the building on a board or a commission or a task force, they don't know very much about city government. They think their job is to make promises, and they don't understand that you can't always keep those things."

2. Council members must learn to work together and cooperate.

Spelman grew up in Los Angeles and talked about his experience working with city council there in the 1970s. "The city council actually represented their districts, but most of them recognized that they had an obligation to the entire city, in part because some of the money that they needed in order to run for their rather large districts had to come from downtown and Westside. So they had to represent other parts of town or at least be aware of the problems in other parts of town."

Delco also talked about her experience working in the Legislature, and how she convinced conservative lawmakers to vote for early childhood education in exchange for her vote to allocate funds to help eradicate a cattle disease. "You get those tradeoffs where your issues aren't important enough for me to oppose, and then I'll trade that for something that's very important to me. I think that's a good thing. It gives you a bigger picture of an issue that's not important to you, but is important to someone else."

3. The new 10-1 structure is an opportunity to engage new voters who have felt left out of the process.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to get people talking about what does city government do, and why does it matter?" said Lawrence. "Now candidates have something to talk about that they didn't necessarily before. You have an opportunity now to talk about neighborhood and community and very specific concerns for specific areas of the city."

4. The new 10-1 structure isn't perfect, and some groups will still be under-represented on the council.

"Unless you have 25 districts, you're not going to represent the diversity of the population," said Delco. She also pointed out that many minorities are not concentrated in any single district, and that the new structure doesn't guarantee representation for those groups.

5. This is an opportunity to increase voter turnout.

"Levels of voter turnout have plummeted in Austin and in Travis County over the last several decades," said Lawrence. "This may not be an ideal opportunity, but it is an opportunity to try to begin to reverse that trend." Panelists also pointed out that moving the election date to November will very likely have a positive effect on turnout.

6. The new mayor will have to work to unite council members on citywide issues.

"I wouldn't want to be mayor if they paid me in gold coins tomorrow, because that's the person who's got to juggle all those commitments that people have made in order to get [elected]," said Delco.

7. Sign up to serve on a city board or commission.

"You guys—who need to be on boards and commissions—have not been telling us you want to be," said Spelman. "If you want to be on a board or commission, we can probably arrange that. But not enough people are interested, and as a result, we're going to have an increase in the number of people we have to appoint, and without increasing the number of people who are interested, we're going to have some trouble."

Said Delco, "One of the things I think the council has to do is—right off the bat—start educating these new council members who, again remember, ran for and were elected on their issues and not the issues of the city at large. One of your first jobs is going to be to explain to [your constituents] what all these boards and commissions do and how important it is for them to have representation on them."

8. Keep educating yourself about these issues.

Lawrence encouraged voters to attend the "Why bother? Austin City Government 101" informational session hosted by the Strauss Institute, KUT, and the League of Women Voters to answer questions and teach voters how to make their voice heard at City Hall. You can also continue the conversation and build skills for community collaboration at Leadership Austin's Skills Booster Shot on February 28.

Full Audio from the Event


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January 2014 ENGAGE Recap

Guest post from 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series guest blogger Alicia Dietrich. Alicia is a public affairs representative at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. See the end of this post for the podcast from the breakfast.
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The January installment of Leadership Austin’s ENGAGE breakfast series explored the best ways for leaders to move Austin forward during this period of tremendous growth and change. Panelists Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe and University of Texas at Austin Professor Jeremi Suri sat down with moderator Shannon Wolfson of KXAN to discuss the challenges Austin faces as it grows, and what it will take for leaders to address those issues.

Suri outlined what he believes to be the three greatest leadership challenges facing Austin: the challenge of success and how to lead beyond that, diverse groups in Austin not living in integrated ways, and the uneven growth of the economy and lack of opportunities for upward mobility.

January 2014 ENGAGE breakfast at the Long Center

To address Austin’s greatest challenges, Biscoe advocated for better collaboration between the city, government agencies, nonprofits, and community leaders. He noted the improved state of mental health care in the city after local hospitals worked with the county jail to make sure that patients were getting appropriate treatment instead of jail time.

However, he said that while the city has high aspirations for cooperation, we often fall short on implementation.

"We've always done a good job of studying and putting together reports and plans," he said. It's the next step that’s key, though.

He explained that government tends to respond to issues and problems, and if you have a problem you want solved, you need to get it in front of the right person and work to build consensus.

"We respond, by and large, to specific issues that we try to fix," he said. "I don’t know if we as a county ever sit down and think, 'What kind of Travis County do we want?'"

He noted that building consensus and compromise are crucial: "If you have five persons responsible for a decision, you'll see that often what we approve wasn't what was brought to us. But you'll see what got consensus and what we had resources to back up."

KXAN's Kate Weidaw interviews
panelist Judge Sam Biscoe

Suri noted that it was important that people learn that compromise is necessary and that they shouldn’t feel shut out of the process if they don’t get everything they want. "When people come to believe it's a process where the decision of today isn't the last decision—if they only got 20 percent of what they wanted today, maybe tomorrow they'll get something more. When it's a process and you have credibility, that's what works."

Suri also discussed the importance of crossing lines in politics to get things done. "We need to talk to people who think differently and see things differently. We need to make a conscious effort to cross lines because you can't [create change] if you're only talking to people who already agree with you. You need to make a conscious effort to cross lines, and the beauty of Austin is that we have such an intellectual diversity here all around us."

As Austin moves toward a new City Council structure next year with single-member districts, both panelists stressed the importance of asking tough questions of potential leaders to make sure they can articulate a vision for the city’s future and how they will include everyone in that vision.

"As an elected official, your attitude should be 'I represent all county residents,'" said Biscoe. "From the neighborhood association level on up, inclusion should be part of everything we do. If we err, it should be that we included too many people."

Suri said, "We desperately need people in this city now who can continue to talk to groups who have been dominating dialog but are also able to bring other people in and connect them. Successful politicians are connectors. Second, I think it’s time we ask our politicians to say not just what they promise to do about a problem, but what they envision the city looking like. I think we do need a vision. I don’t mean a visionary in terms of pie in the sky, but an ability to articulate, to tell us a story about how you see our city with all these changes, institutionally and economically, growing in the next five to 10 years and how we can all be part of making that kind of city."

Both panelists also emphasized the importance of mentoring and incubating future leaders, through encouraging students to pursue public service and by implementing permanent succession strategies at the government level.

"We need to remind people at all age levels, but particularly young people, that public service is a noble calling," said Suri. "Leadership has to involve politics in your organization and in your city."

Full Audio from the Event


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Leadership Starts by Asking the Big Questions

Guest post from January ENGAGE panelist Jeremi Suri. Jeremi is the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. You can read more of his writing on his website: jeremisuri.net.
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Successful leaders do not believe that they have the correct answers. They do not have set plans. Policy-making in a period of rapid change and multiplying uncertainties offers few clear paths forward. The role of leadership, especially in a city like Austin, is to make sure diverse stakeholders are energized to explore the big questions: What kind of city do we want to live in? How can we grow while preserving the qualities that have made Austin so livable and attractive?

The model for the leadership we need today in Austin is neither charismatic nor technocratic. Charismatic figures are eloquent and persuasive, but they encourage simple choices and polarized opinions. We have enough of that already. Technocratic leaders have detailed knowledge about key issues, but they have trouble seeing the connections that matter most for life, economy, and community. Too much obsession with the details can make inspiring change impossible.

The most successful cities in the United States are governed today by figures who see themselves as brokers with a vision. Urban officials must speak to different groups and take their interests seriously. They must manage diverse revenue flows from taxpaying families, local businesses, tourists, and state and federal agencies. They must also oversee complex spending flows through school districts, police and fire departments, municipal transportation units, housing agencies, and other services of last resort.
There are no consistent formulas for reconciling these different interests. The revenues and expenditures are often unpredictable, especially when the local economy is growing quickly but unevenly. City leaders must constantly adjust to bring different groups into balance, serving many masters and re-defining the common ground that addresses the broadest set of urban needs. This is the fundamental brokering function of city leaders—the core of urban politics.

Vision, however, is essential to making urban politics serve a higher purpose. Successful cities have leaders who continually remind negotiating groups that they should work toward something larger than just their immediate interests. Skilled leaders do not dictate a vision, but they motivate stakeholders to see personal value in looking forward toward a larger image of what their city should be like, and what role they should play. A city is, after all, as much an idea as a reality. Urban groups must see themselves as part of something more than themselves—a community—and leaders must help them articulate this vision and its service to each stakeholder’s long-term goals.

No one person or group can impose a vision on another one, especially in a large and decentralized city like Austin. A common idea of what Austin is about must emerge from continual engagement among diverse stakeholders. The common idea will constantly evolve, building on a venerable past as it adjusts to the opportunities and demands of the present.

City leaders are not the dictators or even deciders for the governing vision of Austin. They are the facilitators of the process, insuring its depth, fairness, and representativeness. City leaders must keep the engine of the city running as they push citizens to steer together to a mutually beneficial destination. City leaders cannot presume to know the precise coordinates or the exact route for the destination. Their job is to ask, time and again: Where are we going? How will we get there? How can we keep everyone on board?

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NOTE: The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni, faculty members, and guest bloggers are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization. To purchase tickets to the January 8 ENGAGE breakfast featuring Jeremi Suri, please visit the Leadership Austin website.

December 2013 ENGAGE Recap

Guest post from 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series guest blogger Alicia Dietrich. Alicia is a public affairs representative at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. See the end of this post for the podcast from the breakfast.
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As panelists gathered for the December installment of Leadership Austin’s ENGAGE breakfast series, everyone agreed that the issue of affordability in Austin is complicated and all but impossible to solve in the short-term.

Panelists Brian Kelsey (Civic Analytics), Frances Ferguson (HousingWorks Austin), and Chris Bradford (Land Development Code Advisory Group) discussed ways that Austin can work to keep the city affordable amid very rapid growth that shows no signs of slowing down. The discussion was moderated by KXAN anchor Robert Hadlock.

Kelsey pointed out that Austin is a much wealthier city than it was 12 years ago. In 2000, one in seven households had an income of $100,000 or more. Today, it’s one in four, and that statistic is a reflection of the fundamental demographic changes that are happening in a city that's gaining 60,000 residents a year.

"We constantly need to figure out—with land economics going this way, which tends to really throw up housing costs—how we keep both the low end and the low-middle end served in our housing stock," said Ferguson. "And that’s going to take some very creative policies."

Panelists discussed multiple ways to address housing affordability, including facilitating new construction, preserving existing housing stock, using creative loan programs to create and sustain an affordable stock of homes, raising wages, and improving education and workforce training for high-wage jobs.

But probably the most effective solution is one of the most tedious and complicated pieces of the puzzle: the re-write of the Land Development Code in Austin.

CodeNEXT is an initiative to revise the Land Development Code, which determines how land can be used throughout the city—including what can be built, where it can be built, and how much can (and cannot) be built. The process is a collaboration between Austin's residents, business community, and civic institutions to align land use standards and regulations with what is important to the community.

Bradford noted that the housing stock in Austin must increase to meet rising demand as 150 people move here each day who need a place to live. However, the current code in Austin was written 30 years ago and has been amended many, many times since to become a complicated document that severely restricts the types of housing that can be built in the city.

Notice how many enormous new apartment complexes are going up on Lamar and Congress and Burnet? Bradford pointed out that the code is written in such a way that these are often the only types of projects allowed for those areas. The current code makes it very difficult to build all types of housing for all types of people needed in a city with diverse incomes and needs.

"There's no breathing room to build small, multi-family buildings," said Bradford. "It’s very difficult—unnecessarily difficult—to even build things like garage apartments in central neighborhoods. One of the things we should be focusing on is making it easier to build small infill projects: garage apartments, making it easier to build duplexes, making it easier to build small multifamily buildings, to build four-plexes or six-plexes. Those can be added all over the place and provide a kind of invisible density that will be an important source of new supply."

Bradford and Ferguson both also advocated for policies that preserve existing multifamily properties. Housing units built in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are a lot more expensive in Austin than in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. While that should be where affordable housing exists, demand is high enough to keep prices high.

As part of HousingWorks Austin, Ferguson has worked on projects that create affordable housing in central neighborhoods through shared appreciation programs. Homeowners who buy an affordable home can't just flip it to sell it at market value and pocket the profit, and this approach allows a stock of affordable homes to stay in the market through multiple sales in the future.

She pointed to the Mueller redevelopment as a great example of this type of housing, and she encourages all city leaders and policy makers to take tours of these homes that are integrated into central neighborhoods.

Mueller Illustrative Plan (click here for a larger version)

"When people see the solutions that Austin has, they change their mind," said Ferguson. "Because the picture that they have in their mind is something they built in the '70s. And the solutions Austin has are remarkable, are effective, are well-managed, and when they see that, the other thing they understand is that they can put this kind of housing in every part of town and not have a problem at all. In fact, it becomes an asset in their communities in terms of being able to have a mix of homes to serve their workforce. And the third thing they begin to understand is this notion of all kinds of homes in all parts of town."

But beyond finding ways to lower housing costs, Kelsey pointed out the need to address ways to increase wages for residents. He advocated raising the minimum wage and noted that improving schools goes beyond more funding.

"We need a different mindset in how we educate and train future workers," said Kelsey. "I would like to see a different conversation about the role of career and technical education to prepare people for high-wage job opportunities here. We need to figure out ways to make education and workforce training work better for more of our residents."

Though the panelists approach the issue of affordability through different lenses and with different solutions, all agree that the housing issue must be addressed now if the city wants to maintain its character.

"Housing is the only way you have an integrated city," said Ferguson. "It is the only way. Busing people around is not an integrated and diverse city."

Full Audio from the Event


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Austin's Affordability Conundrum

Guest blogger Paul Hilgers (ESSENTIAL 1987) with a look at affordability in advance of Leadership Austin's December 18 ENGAGE breakfast on the same topic. Paul is CEO at the Austin Board of REALTORS®.
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It's an exciting time to live in Austin. Our economy and our housing market are stronger than ever, fueled by new jobs and new residents... 150 people each day, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce. However, every rose has its thorns and, for Austin, that thorn has become decreasing housing affordability requiring decisive and positive action.

Austin is quickly becoming one of the most expensive housing markets in Texas. If that trend continues, there will be much less opportunity of homeownership for Austinites who fill our workforce needs and maintain the diversity of our city. One key factor in responding to this challenge is the impending overhaul of the City of Austin's Land Development Code. We must tackle that challenge in a way that fits with Austin's vision and makes development more practical and less costly.

Currently, Austin's Land Development Code is a complicated set of rules and regulations that are notoriously difficult to navigate and interpreted inconsistently. As a result, the LDC creates uncertainty in the development process and takes significantly more time and fees to build a new home in Austin than it does in other Texas cities. In theory, that is intended to prevent development that falls outside of the city’s growth plan. In practice, the inefficiencies of the code work to unnecessarily delay development that is good for communities and cause the cost of homeownership to rise.

The Austin Board of REALTORS® advocates for a development process that is efficient, consistent and does not pose ineffective barriers to healthy and controlled growth. The code should be condensed to have less negotiated solutions to individual problems and more consistent application of agreed upon planning principles. With a more streamlined product, the Planning, Development and Review Department will be more efficient and thus able to expedite their review of applications and bring down the overall cost of development.

In addition, the new Land Development Code should have a framework that is supported by our community and designed to meet its future needs, protecting the credibility of Austin's neighborhoods and encouraging density where it's needed to create a more balanced housing market.

That approach is clearly outlined by the Imagine Austin plan, which puts forth a vision of Austin that is more compact and connected. Policymakers agree that Austin must begin changing development patterns now in order to make progress toward the goals of Imagine Austin over the next several years.

As a stakeholder in the revision of the City's Land Development Code, the Austin Board of REALTORS® will be engaged in the process, and I encourage you to do the same by getting involved with the City's CodeNext initiative. Let’s ensure that Austin remains a place that residents of all types can call home.

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NOTE: The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni, faculty members, and guest bloggers are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization.

November 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

Guest post from 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series guest blogger Alicia Dietrich. Alicia is a public affairs representative at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. See the end of this post for the podcast from the breakfast.
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Everyone knows that Austin is growing at a rapid pace, but did you know that 23 percent of new residents moving here are international?

With this growing global population and rapidly rising cost of living, what does it mean to Keep Austin Weird?

This was the question explored in the November installment of Leadership Austin’s ENGAGE breakfast series last week with panelists Kevin Johns (City of Austin Economic Development Department), Jakes Srinivasan (WobeonFest Austin World Music Festival), and Jim Swift (retired KXAN journalist). The discussion was moderated by Shannon Wolfson (KXAN News).

The City of Austin’s Economic Development Department has played a crucial role in shaping the impact that this influx has on our region, and the city’s efforts earned the 2013 Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council for their Global Commerce Strategy earlier this year.

Kevin Johns noted that the city has launched many programs to support small businesses owned by international residents. The city has a program that awards small business loans to merchants that agree to hire hard-to-employ people. The city tapped contacts in various ethnic groups as they conducted outreach to other countries with similar ethnic makeups for F-1 promotion. Johns also supported the idea of working with local merchants associations to create ethnic commercial pockets around the town so that Austin could have its own versions of Chinatown, Little Saigon, or perhaps a Hispanic downtown.

"If we are able to use the cultural diversity we have, we have a way to revitalize our city over and over again," said Johns. "Our economic strategy is to embrace diversity as one of our building blocks."

But everyone on the panel agreed that top-down solutions cannot sustain the growth and support the new populations on their own. For Austin to embrace this diverse new crowd and make it an asset for the city, people with leadership abilities must step up and take action on the ground, and folks must step outside their comfort zone and explore the unfamiliar.

Jakes Srinivasan is exactly that type of person. He plays with six different bands around Austin, and he’s used those connections to help promote the international music scene in Austin by launching a blog and keeping track of world music events around the city. He encourages everyone to join a band because music has united diverse crowds in Austin for many decades already. But if you can’t join a band, he encourages you to explore and take advantage of the diverse cultural scene that Austin now has to offer, because those personal relationships are the best way to fight back against cultural stereotypes.

Jim Swift has seen firsthand the evolution of the city. He moved here in 1965 at age 17 and witnessed how the music scene brought together a diverse crowd at the now-defunct music venue Armadillo World Headquarters - with performers like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. He saw how the savings and loan industry boom fueled downtown growth in the 1980s and how the tech boom of the 1990s powered further growth and development that drew the ire of environmental groups.

"Through it all, a powerful sense of tolerance and acceptance coursed through the town’s veins," said Swift. "The city grew because people heard about this place, and what they heard sounded good."

But Swift pointed out that the city must continue to adapt and address affordability issues as ethnic groups and artists and creative types are priced out of their central neighborhoods. "I believe that without a vigorous and sustained campaign to infuse the city center with affordable housing options, the heart of Austin is destined to atrophy."

Swift recalled a TV report he did back in 1995 when the area’s population hit 1 million, and there was a quote from then-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle in the piece that is just as relevant today: "We can’t build a wall around the city. There’s lots of us who would love to do that, but we can’t do it. So what we have to do is shore up our wall of the spirit so that people who come here get affected by the magic of this place."

Full Audio from the Event


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Another Big Fall Season for Leadership Austin

A message from 2013-14 Leadership Austin Board Chair Brian Dolezal (ESSENTIAL 2001).
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Outside, it’s finally beginning to feel like fall - well, Austin’s version of it - but inside Leadership Austin, the season is heating up. This is Leadership Austin’s busiest time of year and for good reason: we've kicked off all four of our programs in the past six weeks, and, as you might imagine, there is a lot of terrific, behind-the-scenes work that goes into them thanks to professional staff members and committed board members and volunteers. Here’s a brief update:

ESSENTIAL
The 60-member ESSENTIAL Class participated in a stellar opening retreat September 6-7 at T Bar M Resort in New Braunfels. Thanks to the leadership of Ashley Phillips, Christopher Kennedy (ESSENTIAL 1995), Sam Planta (ESSENTIAL 1991) and a number of CREW volunteers, the kick-off event to this in-depth, nine-month course on regional issues and leadership skills was spectacular, and their first class at Shoal Crossing was equally impressive. You can view the current class roster here. A big thanks, once again, to Seton Healthcare Family for underwriting the ESSENTIAL Class for the sixth consecutive year. Thanks also to H-E-B for their ongoing support of our Healthy Living for Leaders initiative throughout the season.

ENGAGE
Led by Julie Smith (EMERGE 2011), we've gathered a diverse group of community leaders who have been very active in the ENGAGE Breakfast Series to gain their insight on topics and speakers for this season's programs. The 2013-14 series began earlier this month at the Kodosky Lounge - thanks to our partnership with the Long Center for the Performing Arts - with a topic that’s on everyone’s mind: water. Once again, KXAN News is on board to help promote and facilitate our conversations. And, as you may have recently seen, the Austin Board of REALTORS® is our new presenting sponsor. Our next ENGAGE breakfast about the growing international community in Austin is Wednesday, November 6. Be sure to register now because they sell out fast.

EXPERIENCE AUSTIN
A new group of new Central Texans (or those who are newly re-engaging with Austin) are now gaining a crash course in the region’s issues through EXPERIENCE AUSTIN, which launched Friday, October 18. Presented by Bank of America, the program began with a daylong session to give participants a broad overview of our region’s key issues, and will continue with four weeks of deeper-dive conversations with experts on a variety of topics.

EMERGE
Our next class of 55 emerging leaders (check out the roster here) are now participating in the 7th annual EMERGE program. Thanks to underwriting from St. David’s Foundation, the six-week course at Jackson Walker is in full swing. We're so thrilled to welcome this and previous classes into our alumni network, now about 3,500 members strong… fitting since this is Leadership Austin’s 35th anniversary!

…and that’s just the programs. Additionally, we've begun the formal search process for Leadership Austin’s next CEO and for a new development director. Despite officially being down two positions, our team, facilitated by Seth Sather, is doing a phenomenal job raising the critical funds to keep our programs so essential, engaging, experienced and emerging for our community. There are still plenty of ways to lend your individual or organization’s financial support to Leadership Austin, so feel free to contact me or our interim CEO Christopher Kennedy to discuss the possibilities.

Furthermore, our active board is having some productive conversations on everything from celebrating our 35th anniversary to making our programs even more effective for all of our alumni. Thanks to Jeff Olmeda for keeping us moving forward at a critical time for the organization.

Last but not least, make sure you get these important milestones on your calendar now: our annual alumni holiday party is Tuesday, December 10 at Shoal Crossing (Mopac just north of Steck, where Harold’s Outlet Barn used to be) and the Best Party Ever - presented by H-E-B - is scheduled for Friday, May 9 (not the same weekend as the ROT Rally!) back at the W Hotel.

So yes, it’s a busy fall around here. And as you enjoy a crisp morning and mild afternoon, we hope you’ll take a moment to recall your experiences with Leadership Austin, and perhaps schedule a Walk and Talk with a fellow leader.

With much appreciation to everyone who helps lead this great community,

Brian Dolezal
Chair, Leadership Austin Board of Directors

More on the Central Texas Drought: CultureMap Editorial Series Continued

NOTE: Leadership Austin partners with CultureMap Austin on an on-going series of editorial columns meant to inform Austinites about issues facing our city.
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Today's column is from October 2013 ENGAGE panelist Becky Motal and follows up on that event's discussion of the Central Texas drought. Becky Motal is general manager at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). Head over to CultureMap to read the full post.

LCRA general manager on Texas drought and making it through our slow-moving natural disaster

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The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni, faculty members, and guest bloggers are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization.

October 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

The 2013-14 season of our ENGAGE Breakfast Series launched last week to a sold out crowd at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. The first discussion focused on the impending "drought of record" in Central Texas, our region's water supply, and the implications of next month's election and the water-related constitutional amendment on the ballot - Proposition 6. Speakers included Heather Harward (H2O4TEXAS Coalition), Greg Meszaros (Austin Water), and Becky Motal (LCRA). The panel was moderated by Leslie Rhode of KXAN-TV.

See below for the audio podcast, detailed recaps and media coverage, and a few resources mentioned during the discussion.

October 2013 ENGAGE at the Long Center

Audio Podcast


Download this audio file (MP3)

Media Coverage

• KXAN News - Experts: Drought's effects will linger on
• Community Impact News - Austin continues to stare down drought conditions
• CultureMap Austin - ENGAGE Breakfast Special Editorial Series

List of Resources

• City of Austin Water Department
• H2O4TEXAS Coalition
• Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)
• The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Drought Resource Center
• League of Women Voters of Texas - 2013 Constitutional Amendment Election (Proposition 6) Voters Guide
• WaterWise Austin

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, the Austin Board or REALTORS, and to the other generous supporters of the 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series. Our next breakfast will be Wednesday, November 6 back at the Long Center. Click here for more details and ticket information.

Some Stage Setting for the 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series

Guest post from ESSENTIAL 2010 alum and 2013-14 ENGAGE Advisory Committee member Chelsea McCullough.
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The 2013-14 ENGAGE Breakfast Series will begin this Wednesday, October 2. As in previous seasons. this year we will examine key topics with top community leaders in Austin and the surrounding areas. Before diving into each individual issue, we should first have a shared understanding of who we are as a region and how this can shape our conversations moving forward.

Central Texas is a dynamic place that is enjoying incredible growth and expansion. According to a recent analysis by Moody Analytics, economic growth in the Austin metropolitan region is expected to proceed at more than twice the national average through 2015. But our community extends beyond Austin and includes a six-county region of Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell, each with their own unique benefits and challenges. Below are a few points of data that may be helpful in framing some of our ENGAGE conversations this year.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Texas State Data Center, CAPCOG

As you can see from the chart above, the Austin MSA is growing rapidly and the highest densities of that growth are in areas outside of the Austin city limits.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CAPCOG

Source: Central Texas State of the Region, CAPCOG

Of note on the above chart: the fastest growing portion of our population has the lowest levels of education.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

We'll present more information like this as the ENGAGE season continues, to provide some context for our discussions. In the meantime, we're looking forward to the new ENGAGE series launching this Wednesday with our panel on water and the impending "drought of record" for our region. Get your tickets here if you haven't already.

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Chelsea McCullough is Executive Director for Texans for Economic Progress and Principal at Intercambio.

June 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

This month's ENGAGE breakfast looked at transportation, mobility, and solutions to our region’s growing traffic congestion issues. We learned that as the 11th largest city in the country, Austin has already seen an 8% increase in congestion in just the first quarter of 2013; and if nothing changes, the average commute time for Austin motorists could be 190 minutes by the year 2035.

Panelists discussed new transit options coming in 2014, the use of tolls to pay for needed expansion of roadways, collaboration between transportation agencies to create a regional plan, and changing the behaviors of Central Texas residents that will lead to less cars on the road. Speakers included Mario Espinoza (Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority), Glenn Gadbois (Movability Austin), and Linda Watson (Capital Metro). The panel was moderated by Brian Sanders of KXAN-TV.

June 2013 ENGAGE Panelists

Below is the full podcast of the event, along with links to media coverage and resources from the discussion.

Audio Podcast

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Media Coverage

• KXAN News - Transportation leaders meet to discuss traffic problem
• Impact News - Transportation options discussed at June 4 ENGAGE Breakfast

List of Resources

• Capital Metro
• Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
• Movability Austin
• CAMPO
• My 35
• Project Connect

As this was the final breakfast of our 2012-13 ENGAGE series, we'd like to once again recognize our generous sponsors for their continued support. Special thanks to presenting sponsor Capital One Bank for their fourth consecutive year of leadership on the ENGAGE Breakfast Series!

We'll be back with a new season of ENGAGE starting October 2013. In the meantime, continue the discussion on what we've covered this year - or send us your ideas for topics to consider in the future - via the blog comments, Facebook, or Twitter. And don't forget to check our calendar for upcoming Leadership Austin events this summer.

If We Can Only Get There: Focus the transportation conversation on peak hour congestion

Guest post from Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) board member Tom Terkel.
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We are blessed to live in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Austin is changing daily, offering all of us ever more opportunities to work, learn, connect, grow and prosper - it is there for the taking for each of us.

If we can only get there. I mean literally. If only we can physically move from one place to another. Our traffic congestion threatens the quality of life we hold so dear as Austinites. When we have to leave at 4:30 to get to a 6:00 lecture at UT, we won’t be so blissful about our great city. And if we don’t continue to focus on creating alternatives for mobility, that dire prediction will become reality. If we wanted to live in Los Angeles, we’d move right?

I am so glad Leadership Austin will be discussing mobility solutions in June, because we need our region’s best and brightest thinking about this problem, and we need you to keep it at the forefront of our public conversation.

Let’s start by defining the problem. Is it moving around at 10:30 in the morning or at 2:30 in the afternoon? Not so much. The true mobility challenges occur in the morning and afternoon rush hours. Peak hour congestion is what the transportation experts call it.

There are many well-intentioned people who offer transportation solutions to problems other than peak hour congestion. If the problem we’re solving is obesity, then sure, a logical policy solution is encouraging walking on trails or riding bikes. And, building Great Streets-style sidewalks and safer biking lanes are great ideas, but they don’t materially contribute to alleviating peak hour congestion.

We need to focus on peak hour traffic congestion as the preeminent problem to be addressed by our transportation policies, priorities, and spending allocations. When we do that, our conversation changes. We start with a blank slate, and then we would:

• Use existing data about where people live and where they work to create an accurate picture of where people are moving from and to at peak hours of congestion throughout the Austin region. We have to remember Austin’s economy depends on the regional communities that surround us too.
• Use the data described above to prioritize congested corridors for policy and spending focus. What solutions could be utilized to alter the current road or create an alternative to the route currently utilized? How can mass transit contribute to alleviating peak hour congestion?
• Analyze the costs associated with potential mobility solutions and describe the return on investment in terms of congestion relief before making decisions about how to spend taxpayer dollars.

Maybe urban rail is the best solution and the highest priority; if so, it will become obvious. Maybe another mode or another route or another corridor is the best solution and the highest priority. Only one way to know.

What our city needs for the residents here today - as well as those who are moving here - is an honest process without a pre-ordained outcome that is oriented around solving peak-hour vehicular congestion, and an open-mindedness to what those solutions may be.

Tom Terkel is Founder and Principal of Four T Realty and is a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin's Board of Directors.

Dialogue About Regional Mobility Ramps Up

Guest post from Capital Metro President/CEO and June 4 ENGAGE breakfast panelist Linda Watson.
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Nearly every week, I see a new report or news article that adds to the community dialogue surrounding transportation and transportation infrastructure in our region.

CultureMap Austin recently reported new Census Bureau stats that paint the picture of Central Texas’ rapid growth and the ramifications for our mobility. Austin is now the 11th largest U.S. city, and we experienced the fourth largest jump in population from 2011 to 2012.

What was most demonstrative to me of our mobility challenges was the growth occurring outside Austin proper. San Marcos was the fastest growing city in the nation for its size. Cedar Park and Georgetown also made the top ten.

A Regional Problem
Those stats really underscore the fact that our traffic problems are regional in nature. Nearly 30 percent of all jobs in the region are located within four central Austin zip codes, so while many people are moving into the communities north, south and east of Austin, they still have to travel to Austin for work. You only need to drive on IH 35 during commute hours to see the scope of the transportation challenges we face.

In fact, an Austin economist has predicted that we only have about five or six more years to do something about our traffic problems before companies start to pull out of our area and relocate elsewhere. In other words, if we don’t address the mobility challenges, traffic woes could eventually derail our economic prosperity.

Regional Momentum for Solutions
With that great sense of urgency, the good news is that now, more than ever before, transportation agencies are pulling together to develop regional mobility solutions. And, after nearly three years of hard work improving nearly every aspect of our business, Capital Metro has never been in a better position to lead the effort.

Increasingly, the public is ready to embrace transit, too. Ridership on Capital Metro outpaced the national trend in 2012, and we saw an additional one million boardings over 2011. MetroRail ridership has tripled since service began and is standing room only every day during rush hour.

Capital Metro, the City of Austin, CAMPO and Lone Star Rail, with guidance from Mayor Lee Leffingwell and members of the Transit Working Group, have collaborated to develop a transportation vision for the region. The collaboration, called Project Connect, focuses on high-capacity transit options for the region that will move more people for less cost and with less impact on the environment.

The vision includes Express lanes on Mopac (coming 2015), MetroRapid service (early 2014), expanded MetroRail service, Lone Star rail service from San Antonio to Georgetown, and urban rail within central Austin.

View the hi-res version of this map

Capital Metro and the City of Austin have hired urban rail expert Kyle Keahey to lead the effort to develop an urban rail plan and bring it to a public vote next year.

A separate Project Connect study is evaluating traffic solutions within the North Corridor, encompassing downtown Austin and the communities of Hutto, Pflugerville, Round Rock and Georgetown.

Public Involvement is Key
Public feedback and involvement is paramount to the design and development of all of these solutions as outlined in the vision. The Project Connect partners have committed to a process that incorporates meaningful and robust dialogue with the community. Look for upcoming opportunities to discuss Project Connect, urban rail and the North Corridor this summer and fall.

Transportation is the topic of the next Leadership Austin ENGAGE breakfast on June 4. Get involved and help shape the solutions that will keep our region livable, healthy and moving.

Since 2010, Linda Watson has been president/CEO of Capital Metro, where she has led the organization in a complete turnaround that has resulted in financial stability and transparency, greater accountability and increased transit ridership.

ENGAGE Breakfast Inspires School Book Drives

The ENGAGE Breakfast Series explores community issues, facilitates civic dialogue, and calls people to action. At the end of each conversation we ask our panelists, "How can we leave here today, get involved in this issue, and make a difference?"

When we discussed education in Central Texas back in February, panelist Denise Trauth answered that question by encouraging ENGAGE attendees to donate a book to a local school to promote early reading. Sitting in the audience that day was Dr. Suzanne Burke, Associate Superintendent for Academics at Austin ISD, who took this call-to-action to heart. Since then, Dr. Burke has worked with her colleagues at AISD to create and coordinate new "Leadership Austin inspired" book drives for Dobie Pre-K Center and Webb Primary School!

If you'd like to contribute, here's how it works:

1. Take a look at the wish lists for Dobie and Webb.
2. Purchase a book from the list at Book People or the Sunset Valley Barnes and Noble between now and May 27.
3. Deliver your book to the campus, or leave it at the store and it will be delivered to your desired school during the week of May 27.
4. If you choose to leave your book at the store, please fill out this certificate and place it inside the cover to make sure it gets to the right place.
5. That's it! It's so easy, why not take a trip to the bookstore today?

We're excited that Dr. Burke has led this effort for the students of Dobie and Webb, and are proud of the small part Leadership Austin has played in igniting her passion for reading and education.

How has Leadership Austin inspired your work in the community? Let us know via Facebook, Twitter or the blog comments below... we'd love to share your story as well!

May 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

This month's ENGAGE breakfast looked at housing supply, demand and affordability in Austin and Central Texas. Panelists discussed the challenges of keeping up with a quickly growing city, the unnecessary costs of development, the need for programs that provide housing options the market doesn't supply, Austin's Land Development Code, and much more. Speakers included Pete Dwyer (Dwyer Realty Companies), Frank Fernandez (Green Doors), and Paul Hilgers (Austin Board of REALTORS). The panel was moderated by Leslie Rhode of KXAN-TV.

May 2013 ENGAGE Breakfast at the Long Center

Below is the full podcast of the event, along with links to media coverage and resources from the discussion.

Audio Podcast

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Media Coverage

• KXAN News - Leadership Austin ENGAGE Breakfast: Housing crisis
• KXAN News - Austin growth outpaces housing supply
• Impact News - Austin housing issues weighed at May 1 ENGAGE Breakfast
• YNN Austin - Leadership Austin's Ninth ENGAGE Breakfast

List of Resources

• Austin Board of REALTORS
• Austin Land Development Code
• Dwyer Realty Companies
• Green Doors
• Imagine Austin
• Keep Austin Affordable's affordable housing success stories

Our next ENGAGE breakfast will be Tuesday, June 4 when we will discuss transportation in Central Texas. Click here for more details and ticket information.

We hope to see you there!

April 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

This month's ENGAGE breakfast looked at the growth and impact of the Hispanic population on Austin and Central Texas. Panelists discussed how this influx is far reaching in its influence on our community's economy, education, culture, and politics. Speakers included Perla Cavazos (Office of Texas State Senator Sylvia Garcia), Dr. Paul Cruz (Austin Independent School District), Mando Rayo (Cultural Strategies), and Geronimo Rodriguez (Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce). The panel was moderated by Sally Hernandez of KXAN-TV.

Panelists at the April 2013 ENGAGE breakfast

Below is the full podcast of the event, along with links to media coverage and resources from the discussion.

Audio Podcast

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Media Coverage

• Impact News - Growing Hispanic population brings challenges, opportunity to Central Texas

List of Resources

• Austin Independent School District
• Cultural Strategies
• Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Office of Texas State Senator Sylvia Garcia

Our next ENGAGE breakfast will be Wednesday, May 1 when we will discuss housing in Central Texas. Click here for more details and ticket information.

We hope to see you there!

March 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-Up

This week's ENGAGE breakfast looked at Austin's public safety in a number of different contexts. From mental health and education to major events and transportation, panelists discussed ways the city, county, and region are managing safety in the wake of sustained growth. Speakers included Chief Art Acevedo (Austin Police Department), Dawn R. Handley (Austin Travis County Integral Care), and Dr. Michael L. Lauderdale (City of Austin Public Safety Commission). The panel was moderated by Robert Hadlock of KXAN-TV.

Attendees visit with ENGAGE panelist and Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo

Below is the full podcast of the event, along with links to media coverage and resources from the discussion.

Audio Podcast

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Media Coverage

• Impact News - Engage Breakfast highlights keys issues to Austin's safety
• KXAN - Events like SXSW put strain on police

List of Resources

• Austin Police Department
• Austin Travis County Integral Care
• City of Austin Public Safety Commission

Our next ENGAGE breakfast will be Thursday, April 4 when we will discuss the changing Hispanic demographic in Central Texas. Click here for more details and ticket information.

We hope to see you there!

A Long, Lasting Day with Leadership Austin

Guest post from Leadership Austin board member and ESSENTIAL 2001 alum Brian Dolezal.
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Tuesday, February 5 was a long but lasting day for me. Book-ending a day that included a number of client meetings, media deadlines and preparation for our office move, were the ENGAGE breakfast featuring a panel of experts on education and the first "Meet the Leader" event of the season featuring Teddy McDaniel of the Austin Area Urban League.

Yes, it was a long day, but it was well worth it. As a Leadership Austin board member, I’m already very aware of how successful the organization is at connecting established and emerging leaders to inform them about the issues facing our community, but these two events also reminded me Leadership Austin is the catalyst to affect change.

Not only did I learn new things at both events that I can use in my professional and civic life, I reconnected with past contacts and met new leaders with whom I have already followed up to either get them involved on one of my projects or to connect them to a Leadership Austin volunteering opportunity.

Although I don’t think everyone needs to make the time to attend two Leadership Austin events in the same 24-hour period, I think a couple of doses of Leadership Austin’s phenomenal programming in short order is a great way to re-energize anyone’s commitment to our great community. And, if you are a dues-paying member of the EMERGE or ESSENTIAL alumni association, you get more opportunities to do so.

Of course, this two-event day would not have been possible without the support of Capital One Bank for presenting the ENGAGE Breakfast Series and of Pierpont Communications for presenting the "Meet the Leader" series. I encourage you to thank them at the next Leadership Austin events you attend and, hopefully, they will have the accumulating effect my recent experiences had on me.

Brian Dolezal is Vice President of Hahn, Texas public relations and Chair Elect of Leadership Austin.

February 2013 ENGAGE Wrap-up

This month's ENGAGE breakfast explored the current landscape of education in Central Texas - from early childhood to higher education - and fostered a discussion about how our community can best address its problems, capitalize on its opportunities, and ensure positive results at all levels. The panel included Susan Dawson (E3 Alliance), Vincent Torres (AISD Board of Trustees), Denise Trauth (Texas State University), and Ed Vara (Education Service Center Region 13). KXAN-TV education reporter Erin Cargill moderated the discussion.

February 2013 ENGAGE panelists at the Long Center

Below is the full podcast of the event, along with links to media coverage and resources from the discussion.

Audio Podcast

Download this audio file (MP3)

Subscribe to the Leadership Austin Podcast via iTunes

Media Coverage

• Impact News - Engage panelists speak on challenges in Austin's education system

List of Resources

• Panelist Susan Dawson's recent post on the state of Central Texas education
• Panelist Denise Trauth's recent post on college access and affordability
• AISD Board of Trustees
• E3 Alliance
• Education Service Center Region 13
• Missing School Matters
• Texas State University Office of the President

Our next ENGAGE breakfast will be Wednesday, March 6 when we will take a look at public safety in Central Texas. Click here for more details and ticket information.

We hope to see you there!

College Access and Affordability: CultureMap Editorial Series Continued

Leadership Austin is partnering with CultureMap Austin on an on-going series of editorial columns meant to inform Austinites about issues facing our city.

Today's column is from February 2013 ENGAGE panelist Denise M. Trauth on college access and affordability in Texas. Dr. Trauth is President of Texas State University and is very active both in civic projects in Central Texas and in higher education organizations on the state and national levels. Head over to CultureMap to read the full post.

Why college access, affordability and success are key to Texas economy

NOTE: The opinions of Leadership Austin alumni and faculty members are their own, and do not represent an official position of the organization.