Leading the Way in Travis County

Leading the Way in Travis County

Cities United’s Leading the Way Tour serves as a powerful vehicle for advancing comprehensive, community-driven public safety solutions. At each stop, the tour uplifts effective practices, strengthens local ecosystems, and fosters national learning across partner jurisdictions, creating opportunities for shared innovation and collaboration. Travis County—with Austin as its largest city, accounting for nearly 75% of the county’s population—stands out as a jurisdiction actively redefining public safety through community-led innovation, bold leadership, and strategically aligned public investment. By convening key stakeholders, the tour provides a space to learn, support, and build partnerships that drive sustainable, justice-centered impact.

The Leading the Way Tour seeks to:

• Highlight effective, comprehensive public safety practices and models – recognizing the programs, strategies, and approaches that deliver meaningful results.
  
  
• Foster cross-sector collaboration – bridging government, community organizations, and local institutions to create coordinated systems of support.
  
  
• Amplify community-led solutions – centering the voices and expertise of those most affected by public safety challenges.
  
  
• Enhance local capacity – strengthening organizational infrastructure, technical expertise, and leadership pipelines.
  
  
• Evaluate progress and impact through the Cities United Roadmap Framework – providing tools for measurement, reflection, and continuous improvement.
  
  
• Assess and foster young leader engagement – ensuring that the next generation of leaders is empowered, involved, and shaping public safety strategies.
  
  

In Travis County, the tour built upon existing momentum and deep-rooted partnerships with trusted community organizations such as ATX Peace, Jail to Jobs, Life Anew Restorative Justice, and the African American Youth Heritage Foundation. These groups have long been embedded in the work and bring experience, credibility, and community trust to the table. Their engagement highlights the importance of leveraging local expertise and reinforcing the networks that can sustain long-term change.

Support from leaders such as District Attorney José Garza further bolstered the tour’s impact, helping convene elected and appointed officials to reimagine public safety through a lens of community care, equity, and restorative justice. These engagements demonstrate the potential for government leaders to act as conveners, champions, and partners, aligning resources and authority with the expertise of community organizations.

Travis County is advancing a dynamic movement across the components of a redefined public safety ecosystem. Collaborative programming, cross-sector alignment, and targeted public investment reflect real, tangible progress. From initiatives that interrupt cycles of violence to workforce development programs, restorative justice interventions, and young leader engagement, the county is demonstrating how a comprehensive, community-centered approach can transform both policy and practice.

The Leading the Way Tour in Travis County also highlighted the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. By observing, evaluating, and sharing promising practices, the tour encouraged the county to refine strategies, expand partnerships, and ensure that programs are sustainable, data-informed, and responsive to community needs. As a result, Travis County is not just implementing programs—it is shaping a model for what public safety can look like, offering lessons for jurisdictions nationwide.

Through the leadership of local officials, the dedication of community organizations, and the energy of emerging young leaders, Travis County is demonstrating that aligned action, innovation, and a focus on communities are essential to building safer, healthier, and more hopeful communities. The Leading the Way Tour amplifies this work, providing both recognition and a roadmap for continued progress, ensuring that the county’s efforts serve as a national example of community-led public safety.