State Representative Lorena Austin is a fifth-generation Arizonan whose love for advocacy has been rooted in their district for over 100 years. As the grandchild of farmworkers and child of civil rights activists, they graduated from Mesa Community College with an AA in Sociology, holds a degree in Immigration Policy & Economy from the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University, and completed a fellowship with the Bohnett Foundation at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government this year. 

Rep. Austin’s diverse career spans public, private, and non-profit sectors, including roles at Verizon helping title one schools across the country with AR and VR technology, and with the Maricopa Community College District, where they served as student government advisor and created the Maricopa Student Senate established to provide student representation on the governing board.  

A committed community volunteer, Rep. Austin provided COVID-19 relief to their district and the Navajo Nation, and in their first term secured $40 million for the Arizona Promise Program which provides scholarships for low income students. As the first Chicane, non-binary person elected to a state legislature in the United States, Rep. Austin actively opposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that was ultimately vetoed. Rep. Austin currently serves on the Appropriations and Public Safety committees, and is the Democratic Ranking Member on the International Trade committee.