Stephanie Bazan is an award-winning leader, mom, community advocate, philanthropist, and public speaker with a long-standing career in communications. Stephanie has been a communications professional for more than fifteen years and was recently the Chief Communications Officer & Crisis Communications Advisor at the law firm Schulman, Lopez, Hoffer & Adelstein, LLP. She previously served as the Director of Communications & Programs for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GAHCC) where she advocated for small and minority owned businesses and positively impacted the lives of many leaders through her elevation of the nationally ranked Hispanic Austin Leadership program. Prior to joining GAHCC, she was the Director of Marketing for LifeWorks – an Austin non-profit. She has also taught writing and design courses in the School of Humanities at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2022, she was a candidate for Austin City Council and advanced to run-off with a majority of the vote in the general election. Stephanie serves in a leadership capacity on numerous boards for Austin-based non-profit agencies, and volunteers for organizations related to youth and education. She currently serves on the Steering Committee of the Austin Community Foundation Hispanic Impact Fund, and was the 2021-22 Grant Chair who led the effort to grant $365,000 to local nonprofits that focus on advancing the health, educational and economic well-being of Hispanics in Central Texas. Stephanie is a graduate of Leadership Austin, past president of the St. Edward’s University Alumni Association, and chapter member of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas and the LBJ Future Forum, a public policy discussion forum.She was appointed to the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Board in 2023 and is on the advisory committee for Explore Austin.She earned her B.A. in English Writing & Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX and a M.A. with distinction in Creative Writing from the University of Leeds in the U.K. Stephanie graduated from The University of Texas at Austin LBJ Women’s Campaign School in the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2021.Stephanie, a Tejana and native Austinite, is a soccer enthusiast who enjoys adventures with her family.