Austin Mayor Steve Adler will not be able to join us as planned. We are pleased to have the local transportation topic addressed by John-Michael Cortez, the Mayor's Special Assistant for Transportation.
Topic summary:
Our beloved, weird, and wonderful Austin has so many cool things for residents and visitors to enjoy. There’s just one teeny problem—getting to them! Leave early, pack a lunch, and take an audiobook if you dare venture beyond your neighborhood. There’s hardly any such thing as a “quick trip” these days.
Mr. Cortez will talk about the Year of Mobility, the meaningful progress we are making every day on transportation that will improve Austinites’ lives, and Mayor Adler’s vision for the future of transportation in our city.
About our speaker:
A life-long resident of Central Texas, John-Michael Vincent Cortez earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in International Business from TheMcCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Science in Community and Regional Planning from UT’s School of Architecture. He is a graduate of the Hispanic Austin Leadership program and Leadership Austin Essential Program, and was named a Fellow of the Next Generation Project Texas at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at UT-Austin.
Mr. Cortez's passion for public service is evidenced by his leadership roles in several community organizations and efforts. John-Michael was elected by central Texas voters in 2009 to the Board of Trustees of the Austin Community College District, and served as Secretary of the Board for 2010 through 2012. John-Michael is a Past President of the Austin History Center Association, Rotary Club of East Austin, and Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation. Mr. Cortez has also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Austin Partners in Education, Friends of the Austin Public Library, Austin Public Library Foundation, Austin Independent School District Foundation, Hispanic Scholarship Consortium of Central Texas, LiveableCity, and Austin Latino Music Association. He is also a founding member of FuturoFund Austin.
Due to his extensive work in the community, Mr. Cortez was previously appointed by the Austin City Council to serve on the Libraries for the Future Task Force, Zoning and Platting Commission, and Planning Commission.
Mr. Cortez currently serves on the Advisory Councils for the Sustainable Food Center, Junior League of Austin, and The University of Texas at Austin's Division of Diversity and Community Engagement; and on the Board of Directors of the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
Mr. Cortez grew up working in his family's restaurants in Austin, was previously employed as a consultant at an Austin-based business development firm, co-founded and ran a local, small business in the construction industry, served as Outreach Director for the Office of Congressman Lloyd Doggett, and managed the Community Involvement Team for Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. John-Michael currently serves as a Special Assistant to Austin Mayor Steve Adler.
John-Michael and Priscilla Guajardo Cortez live in East Austin with their beautiful daughter, Isabella.
Agenda:
6:50am - Coffee & Networking
7:05am - Breakfast Buffet
7:25am - Introductions & Announcements
7:50am - Speaker Introduction
8:20am - Q&A
8:30am - Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Directions and Parking to UT Club
Breakfast Fees & Policy
