Renewing Democracy Speaker Series

The “Renewing Democracy” series, hosted by the newly launched Patman Center for Civic and Political Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, features bipartisan conversations on effective civic leadership with today’s political professionals. The series, free and designed for UT students, aspiring public policy professionals and the general public, kicks off on Thursday, January 25 and runs throughout the spring semester. 

Series Schedule 

• April 11 - Social Media and Organizations (RSVP Now)
  • Jenifer Sarver, Adjunct Professor, Moody College of Communication
     
• April 18 - Stories from the Field: Crisis Leadership (RSVP Now)
  • Theresa Gage, Adjunct Associate Professor, LBJ School (formerly ERCOT)
  • Savin Ven Johnson*, formerly Deputy Task Force - COVID 19 – FEMA

* LBJ Alumnus

Past Speakers
 

• January 25 - Civic Leadership: Stories from the Field
  • State Senator Sarah Eckhardt
  • Former U.S. Congressman Kenny Marchant
     
• (POSTPONED) February 1 - Stories from the Field: Voter Registration and Voting
  • Heider Garcia, Dallas County Elections Administrator
     
• February 6 - Stories from the Field: Writing Your Elected Officials
  • Ben Leffler*, Chief of Staff, Austin City Councilman Ryan Atler
  • Nirav Shah*, Chief of Staff, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard
     
• February 8 - Training: Giving Testimony
  • Lyssette Galvan, Public Policy Director, National Association for Mental Illness
  • Bryan Mares, Government Relations Director, National Association of Social Workers-TX 
     
• February 20 - Stories from the Field: Building Coalitions and Collective Impact Groups
  • Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, President of NextGen America
  • Randan Steinhauser, former Director of External Affairs for the Alliance for School Choice
     
• February 27 - Stories from the Field: Action Plans and Sustainability in Coalitions and Collective Impact Groups
  • Debbie Bressette, Founder of Bastrop County Cares
  • Bee Moorhead, Executive Director, Texas Impact
     
• February 29 - Building Teams that Work
  • Katie Popp, Workplace consultant, formerly worked at “Great Places to Work”
     
• March 5 - Stories from the Field: Public Participation
  • Larry Schooler, former Manager for Public Participation for the City of Austin
        
• March 7 - Power of the Press: The Role News Media Plays in Civic Life
  • Evan Smith, former CEO of the Texas Tribune
     
• March 19 - Getting Your Message Out
  • Jason Stanford, Democratic strategist and communications consultant
  • Tyler Norris, Republican strategist and communications consultant
     
• March 21 - Political Strategy
  • Jessica Colon, Republican strategist and campaign consultant
  • Cliff Walker, Democratic strategist and campaign consultant        
     
• March 26 - Media Engagement: Being on Camera and Interview Skills
  • Marjorie Clifton, Communications consultant
     
• March 28 - The Future of Urban America with Mayor Ron Nirenberg. Moderated by Evan Smith
  • Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio
     
• April 2 - Public Deliberation
  • The Honorable Sherri Greenberg, former Texas State Representative (D)
  • The Honorable Larry Gonzalez, former Texas State Representative (R)