On May 16th we host Randi Shade for our monthly luncheon. She’s an extraordinary woman who has worked with Texas Governors Ann Richards and George W. Bush, serving as the founding executive director of the Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. She’s served on a variety of committees and boards, helping organizations all over Austin including the Association of Women in Technology-Austin, Austin Clean Energy Initiative, Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, Central Texas Better Business Bureau, Foundation for Women’s Resources Committee of the Board, Greater Austin Chamber of  Commerce, Leadership Austin, OneStar Foundation, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority’s Texas Education Foundation, TexChange, Texas Hillel Foundation, UT Commission on 125, and the Volunteer Center (now Hands on Central Texas.) As you can see, she knows the value of good communication! Join us on on Wednesday to hear her view on modern communication.

AWC Austin: What do you consider to be your greatest career achievement?
RS: Hard to say for sure, but I am extremely proud of having launched AmeriCorps for Texas. I was the youngest person in the country to have the job I had at that time, and my leadership resulted in Texas being awarded more money for AmeriCorps programs than any state in the nation. That experience led me to each and every career achievement I’ve had since then, so I have to put it at the top of my list.

AWC Austin: Why is communication today an important part of any professional woman’s career?
RS: Communication is an important part of any career, and as far as I know, it always has been.

AWC Austin: Where do you think Austin will be in the next five to ten years? or Where/How do you see our city developing over the next five to ten years?
RS: Austin has always been a community that inspires new ideas and treasures the offbeat and the weird. Austin will continue to attract original thinkers and entrepreneurs, and be one of the most desirable places for people to live. People who lived in Austin before the 1980s will continue to lament growth and change and be nostalgic for the Austin they remember. The mythology of those bygone days and the trade-offs that come with growth and change are a huge part of what has created the Austin we have today. I expect that trend to continue. Growing pains will happen, and so will change — good and bad. It is part of being a vibrant place.

AWC Austin: What do you enjoy most about living in Austin?
RS: Ever since my first visit to Austin as a 10 year-old, I sensed an energy here that was right for me. Austin inspires my interest in learning new things, and it has been a great place to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and community involvement opportunities. Austin is laid-back yet success-oriented. It is beautiful and messy at the same time. I was once asked what inspires my style and I said — Austin — because Austin is part Hoffbrau and part Flemmings, and that’s me. I love that I have been able to have the life I have in Austin, and I am not sure I could have ever created the life I have if I had chosen to live some place else.

There’s still time to sign up for this months luncheon, so be sure to secure your spot today and we hope to see you this week!