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ADVOCACY

The Austin Young Chamber is focused on helping young professionals learn about the issues and policies influencing our community and providing opportunities to engage at a local level.

Get Connected.
Our Economic Development Committee helps members keep a pulse on what is happening in the Austin area. Whether you are a savvy citizen wanting to stay up to date or new to Austin needing to learn more, the Austin Young Chamber is for you.

Stay Informed.
Stay informed on hot topics and policy issues such as transportation, education, technology, immigration, real estate, and the City of Austin via committee meetings and our weekly newsletters.

Find Your Voice.
Become knowledgeable about what is happening in our City, and use your voice as a conduit for positive change. Economic Development committee members monitor proposed bonds and policies, and make recommendations to the Austin Young Chamber Board of Directors on items we should or should not endorse as a Chamber representing the young professional voice in Austin.


2022 Policy Priorities

Our region and our state are facing many challenges and opportunities that have only been further highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. From transportation and homelessness to education and inclusion, the Young Chamber is prepared to use our voice to advocate for policies that will bring positive solutions for all of our citizens.

Our work centers around a commitment to inclusion across race, gender, experience, ability, and identity. We will focus our efforts towards ensuring that the future of Central Texas includes a diverse workforce of young professionals at all levels of business and community. We believe that such diversity makes us stronger as a collective and fuels innovation and prosperity for all.

The vision of the Austin Young Chamber is for Central Texas to have the most inclusive, collaborative, and community focused workforce in the country.

Our policy priorities reflect our vision and values. We will review and participate in advocacy opportunities that reflect our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and are related to the established priority areas below. We view this document as a guidepost and not a finite set of positions. Policy priorities are listed in alphabetical order and should not be viewed as a prioritized list.

Please direct any questions related to our policy priorities to Joana Ortiz, President & CEO of the Austin Young Chamber, info@austinyoungchamber.org


  • Affordability
    We are supportive of policy priorities that create equity and opportunity in housing and the affordability of housing in the Austin metro area.
  • Education
    AYC recognizes that education is the pipeline to the workforce and an effective system for career development or career transitions for our community. We support policies prioritizing public and higher education.
  • Homelessness
    AYC supports compassionate, equitable and sustainable solutions that, together, provide a strong infrastructure of support to those experiencing homelessness.
  • Transportation
    AYC supported Austin’s local ballot proposition in favor of Project Connect. We are supportive of policy priorities that improve transportation infrastructure and make investments in our community.
  • Workforce Development
    We are committed to keeping Texas and the Central Texas region an attractive place to start, grow, or expand a business, and fostering the growth of current and future employees to meet workforce demands and provide a livable wage.

Civics 201 Resource List

These resources were crowdsourced during our 2020 Civics 201 program.

Resource Types

  • Policy – Resource is about policy and is related to a governing body
  • Issues – Resource is on a specific topic or covers multiple topics pertaining to civic policy
  • Civic Engagement – Resource has an action-oriented component and encourages getting involved
  • News Resource – Resource is affiliated with a news/media source

 Resource Resource Type
ACC Adult EducationIssues
ACC Career & Technical TrainingIssues
ACC Fast Track CareersIssues
ATXeleratorCivic Engagement
Austin Business JournalNews Resource
Austin MonitorNews Resource
Austin Unlimited (e-book) - General Central Texas InformationIssues, Civic Engagement
BG Reads - from The Bingham GroupPolicy, Issues, Civic Engagement
City of Austin Boards and CommissionsCivic Engagement
City of Austin Homeless StrategyPolicy, Issues, Civic Engagement
 Resource Resource Type