| Biography: |
Austin Dickson began his career with a degree in public policy that helped him serve marginalized communities. He has used his policy background to influence the philanthropic and nonprofit sector.
Austin currently serves as the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. The Community Foundation annually makes about $3 million in grants to nonprofits in seven Central Texas counties and is the region's principal resource for local philanthropists. He also serves on the Public Policy Committee of Philanthropy Southwest, a consortium of charitable foundations for eight states.
Prior to leading the Community Foundation, Austin lived in Atlanta. From 2012 to 2017, he was the Executive Director of Literacy Action, one of the leading adult literacy nonprofits in the U.S. Under his leadership, its efforts supported the education of thousands of low-income adults as well as immigrants and refugees. The organized was recognized by Salesforce, MailChimp, and at South by Southwest for its innovative approaches to poverty work. He previously worked for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta on its grantmaking initiatives.
A Waco, Texas, native, Austin earned his master's in public policy from Georgia Tech in 2010. He started his teaching career at Tech; he taught American government and engineering ethics while a graduate student. Austin went on to teach for nine years at Clayton State University and now has a faculty appointment teaching nonprofit management at Emory University.
In 2017, Georgia Tech gave him its "Distinguished Alumni Award;" that same year, Governor Nathan Deal issued a Commendation recognizing Austin for his contributions to the State of Georgia.
Austin lives near Kerrville, Texas.
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