Austin, get ready to celebrate 30 years! Please join us to gather with our incredible community, reflect on our work, and look ahead.
Texas Freedom Network’s 30th Anniversary Epic Evening
When: Saturday, December 6, 2025, 6-10 PM
Where: Address given upon registration
Honoring our 1995 Founder’s Circle and recognizing Danielle Bryant, Cameron Samuels, and Mireya Garcia for their incredible advocacy at the Texas State Legislature during a difficult legislative session and for their unwavering dedication to representing all Texans.
Dr. Danielle Bryant is an educator, researcher, and community organizer whose work bridges classrooms, civic engagement, and grassroots advocacy movements. A former Austin ISD Assistant Principal and current Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Austin, she has spent her career advancing equity, democracy, and joy in public education. Dr. Bryant has trained hundreds of teachers in building community, helped lead statewide advocacy to protect public schools from privatization, and authored human rights recommendations adopted by the City of Austin. Her doctoral research at Texas State University explores storytelling as a tool to strengthen democracy, reflecting her belief that personal narratives can move policy and transform systems. Whether testifying at the Capitol, organizing neighborhood house meetings, or registering voters, Dr. Bryant’s work advances justice through community-powered action that also guides Texas Freedom Network’s work.
Cameron Samuels (they/them/theirs) is co-founder and Executive Director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a movement demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking. With SEAT, Samuels has spearheaded grassroots opposition to anti-LGBTQIA+ mandates in Texas school districts, introduced legislation to elevate student rights, partnered with the Biden-Harris Administration to center youth leadership, and testified before the U.S. Senate at a hearing on book bans.
President Barack Obama recognized Samuels for their efforts against book banning, and in 2023, Samuels received the Trailblazer Award from the Human Rights Campaign. In 2022, Samuels was named Banned Books Week’s inaugural Youth Honorary Chair, a Seventeen Magazine Voice of the Year, an NBC Pride 30 trailblazer, and one of Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21 and GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 changemakers.
Mireya E. Garcia (she/her) is a community advocate and policy strategist currently serving as the Program & Communications Director for State Representative Charlene Ward Johnson. With more than four years of experience in legislative affairs and grassroots organizing, she brings a deep commitment to equity-driven policymaking to her work in Austin, Texas.
A proud Rio Grande Valley native, Mireya earned her B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). Throughout high school and college, she organized around progressive state and local issues with Texas Rising, sharpening her passion for youth civic engagement and community-centered advocacy.
After graduating, Mireya interned in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative at the White House, contributing to initiatives that advanced equitable and inclusive trade policy. She later joined the Biden–Harris Administration as a Political Appointee in the U.S. Department of Education, supporting the Administration’s K–12 policy efforts.
Mireya returned to the Texas Legislature as Legislative Director for Rep. Ron Reynolds, leading policy portfolios on environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and public education during the 89th Legislative Session.
In addition to her policy work, Mireya is a published author, recently co-authoring a book chapter examining social movements in the Rio Grande Valley. Grounded in the resilience of her community, Mireya is driven by a commitment to ensuring that historically underserved communities like her own have the resources, representation, and opportunities they need to thrive.
Cocktail reception with live music by Dennis Jay
Featuring MC Becky Bullard from Democrasexy
