Monitoring and Engaging in the Texas Legislative Session

The 89th Regular Texas Legislative Session will convene on January 14, 2025. Although most nonprofit organizations are not positioned to maintain a regular and active presence at the Capitol, many may find that the policy and budgetary decisions made by the Legislature impact their work and/or the populations they serve. Luckily, there are free online tools that make it possible for nearly anyone to monitor what is happening at the Capitol from afar, and there are also numerous opportunities each session to engage with state policymakers at the Capitol in person. This learning opportunity will provide an overview on how busy nonprofit organizations can monitor and influence state policy as efficiently as possible.

Nonprofit Austin reserves the right to postpone this learning opportunity if there

is inadequate registration.

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Christine Gendron is an experienced and entrepreneurial leader, a systems thinker, connector, collaborator, and capacity builder. She has nearly 20 years of leadership experience serving as a resource for nonprofits, policymakers, government, and philanthropy organizations on strengthening outcomes for children, youth, families, and underserved populations.

Christine previously served as the Executive Director of a statewide association and advocacy organization for eight years. She stepped into that role when the organization was struggling, defined a new strategic direction, streamlined administrative functions, established partnerships with stakeholders across the state, and raised new funds, ultimately tripling the organization’s annual budget. She led legislative advocacy efforts that secured legislation and new state appropriations, led the coordination of high-profile capacity building initiatives for direct care providers, and oversaw the provision of training on best practices for thousands of professionals. She served as an advisor on legislative and regulatory policy, among other topics, for leaders at 60+ direct care member organizations.

Christine has also served as Vice President for two larger nonprofit organizations, through which she was responsible for advocacy/lobbying, program development, and capacity building. She was previously a Senior Research Associate for the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where she evaluated programs for public agencies. She is a skilled and experienced facilitator, and she has helped numerous organizations and initiatives with assessment, consensus building, engagement, and planning.