ABOUT

A battle-tested strategist, campaigner, and policy expert, Austin has been a presence in California policy and politics for over a decade, maintaining relationships and the trust of state and local elected officials, as well as staff, regulators, and key influencers.

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Austin is an ideal teammate. He brings thought leadership and executional excellence to legislative needs, experience in coalition building, negotiations with regulators and the executive branch, coordinating business and legal stakeholders, and communicating with national media and national consumer bases. He is also a skilled political operative having managed in-district candidate campaigns, a top-tier corporate PAC effort, and the most high-impact ballot initiative in state history. 

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Austin was raised in a union family. His father, grandfather, and brother are members of Operating Engineers Local 12 - which sparked his interest in politics. He began his career in the Capitol under the mentorship of Speaker John A. Pérez, and later worked for Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. Austin organized students to help pass the Middle Class Scholarship Act, which has provided tuition support for a generation of CSU and UC students. He also established an innovation grant program at UC laboratories to provide financial assistance to promising start-up businesses, and coordinated efforts that enacted the state’s first cybersecurity policies. 

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After the Legislature, Austin joined the public affairs team at Uber leading California policy, regulatory, and political work. During this stretch Uber brought stability to the rideshare industry, and expanded into delivery, trucking, micromobility, health care, public transportation, and autonomous vehicles. Austin spearheaded the years-long debate over the future of work, and the gig industry’s efforts to extend benefits to 1099 workers while protecting their choice to work independently, culminating in California's successful Proposition 22 (2020) campaign, which won by nearly 20 points and has since served as a model in other states.

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Austin holds degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Davis where he played quarterback for the Aggies. He lives in Sacramento with his wife, Taylor, their son, Hudson, and their three huskies: Madison, Clinton, and Hoover.