Episode 4.14 | TEXAS WOMEN : Maria
In this episode of Prickly and Blooming, Maria speaks with host Jessie Browning about launching IssueVoter, a non-profit organization that provides everyone an equal voice in democracy by making civic engagement accessible, efficient and impactful. Maria talks about her political experience that led her to this. She also shares what it was like growing up in Austin compared to now.
Episode Timeline:
[00:02] Intro
[03:11] Listener survey
[05:04] Meet Maria
[07:04] Maria’s relationship to Texas
[12:39] The plan after college
[14:53] Her experience with the legislature
[17:05] Working on a political campaign in Iowa
[23:56] Leaving New York
[27:24] IssueVoter
[35:15] Moving back to Austin
[44:16] What’s next with IssueVoter
[51:35] Maria recommends to visit Austin
[53:32] Jessie’s rapid fire questions
[1:00:56] Contacting Maria
Resources Mentioned:
Standout Quotes:
“People are not hearing about, like every single week, there are decisions being made, and we don’t know about them. And it’s true, some of these decisions don’t really affect you. I mean not every bill is going to always affect every single person’s day to day life, but they are bills that could be on issues that you care about and that do affect you and you don’t even know about them.” -Maria [20:03]
“Like any non-profit, like any tech non-profit, like any new venture, I would say there’s definitely been ups and downs. It’s not all like roses all the time, but big picture, I am really happy with what I’m doing and the impact we’ve been able to create in the world so far.” -Maria [31:28]
“When I say use IssueVoter, it’s not just like selfish. Use IssueVoter. We are starting to see and we know that it impacts people’s habits around civic engagement, when then the big picture, of course, is how we influence policy that affects our lives and create a better world and shape the world around us and have member of Congress truly represent their constituents. So that is the vision, like we want to truly have everyone’s voices be heard.” -Maria [52:56]
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