Texas Forward Podcast

This week's podcast is part two featuring Rafael Jimenez, President, and Kyahn Mata Secretary of Lone Star Community College organization Pizza and Politics. We turned the tables and let them ask us the questions. Hosts Julie Kornegay, Emily Spivak, and Brent Veazey, with Rafael and Kyahn, discussed a variety of topics, including:What it looks like to have a Political Party where their ideological...

🍕 Join us for a thought-provoking conversation as Julie and Emily sit down with Rafael Jimenez and Kyahn Mata, representatives from Lonestar Community College's Pizza and Politics Club. In this enlightening discussion, we delve into the origins of the club, exploring why it was created and the pivotal role it plays in fostering open conversations on political matters.🗣️ Discover how Rafael and Ky...

🎙️✨ Join us for a captivating episode as Julie engages in a thought-provoking conversation with the dynamic Sarah Stogner, a devoted mom, small business owner, and passionate lawyer. Sarah is on a mission to bring justice to the residents of Ward and Reeves County by running for District Attorney of the 143rd district.🌟 Dive into the heart of Sarah's activism as she shares insights on her viral...

Brian sat down with Austin’s very own Paul O’Brien. O’Brien is a startup veteran and a seasoned marketer with an early career at Yahoo! and HP. From there, Paul led the early growth of startups such as Outright.com (Acquired by GoDaddy), Zvents (Acquired by eBay’s StubHub), and MicroVentures (Venture Capital). Paul works in Venture Capital Economic Development, serving investment in entrepreneurs....

Our guest today needs no introduction: the co-chair and the face of the Forward Party, Andrew Yang. Andrew was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries and the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Yang left the Democratic party, stating that he was "more comfortable trying to fix the system than being a part of it," and founded the Forward Party in October 2021. Prior to...

Rick Hubbard is a long-time activist, author, retired attorney, & former economic consultant. He is currently walking across the US (Walking to Fix Our Democracy) to bring attention to the much needed political reforms he is fighting for. At 82 years old, Rick continues to be as active as ever, proving you're never too old to start, and it’s never too late to work toward change. Rick and Brian...

Lee Bratcher is the President and Founder of the Texas Blockchain Council. The TBC helped spearhead two pieces of blockchain legislation that were passed in the 87th Legislative session and signed into law. Lee graduated with his Ph. D. in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Texas. Previously, he was a political science professor at Dallas Baptist University, teachin...

Cody Grace is a former candidate for the District 6 Texas Lege. He has spent over 20+ years in the IT industry and is currently the President of WayPoint Digital Networks. A native of Tyler, TX, Cody continues to find ways to give back to his community. Brian and Cody discussed a variety of topics including gun violence in Texas, the current fight over public education, teacher pay, and school vou...

This month’s volunteer spotlight features Cesar Garcia. Cesar currently serves on the Communications Committee and has played a major role in building the Texas Forward Party website. Prior to joining the Comms Committee, Cesar worked to establish local non-profit partnerships in Austin and was the top performer in our first street team event. Brian spoke with Cesar about community building within...

William Taggart is the CEO & Founder of Cavern Energy Storage, a cutting edge startup focused on developing underground pumped storage hydroelectric technology using salt dome caverns. A Mechanical Engineer by trade, he has spent over 30 years working and consulting in the oil and gas industry and has traveled across the globe solving complex problems. He is currently heading up the Texas Forw...

Nitish Mirchandani is the Policy Chair for the Forward Party of Texas. He worked as a Public Diplomacy Intern for the US Embassy in India and has supported campaigns at both the state and federal level while earning his Masters in International & Global Studies. Nitish spoke with Brian about his experience growing up in India as an American citizen and moving to the US as a freshman in high sc...

Laura Wheat was the Mayor of West Lake and President of the West Lake Academy for 16+ years, has sat on countless boards including the Gladney Center for Adoption, currently serves on the Forward Party Executive Committee and the Co-CEO of Joanna Czech Skincare. Laura sat down with Emily to discuss the power of local politics and how the two major parties are working against it, how beating breast...

This month’s Volunteer Spotlight features Mitul Gouni. Mitul is a Junior in High School from Allen, TX and has been actively volunteering for the Texas Foward Party Communications Committee & Immigration subcommittee, working on research, social media, and policy. Mitul and Brian covered how Gen Z looks at American politics and the future ahead, what it was like being a student during the COVI...

Trent Newell is a member of the Texas Forward Party Executive Committee and Project & Developer Coordinator for the National Forward Party. Trent spent 7 years in the US Navy as an Intelligence Officer before transitioning to a career in Finance. Trent sat down with Julie to discuss bringing back competition in politics and changing the political incentive structure, what a Grassroots strategy...

Toni Wing-Jenkins spent 30+ years as a teacher in Texas & Louisiana public schools, 3+ years at a private Christian pre-school, and has taught at DoD schools in Germany. Currently, Toni is serving on the Texas Forward Party Executive Committee and she continues to be a passionate advocate for teachers and improving public education in Texas. Today's discussion included her insights on standard...

As the 2023 Texas Legislature Session comes to a close, our podcast team Brian Lee, Julie Kornegay, and Emily Spivak looked into several notable bills that made headlines this session. The topics covered include: The fight over School Vouchers and Teacher pay (SB100)Addressing the deficiencies in the Electric Grid (SB6)New fees for Electric Vehicle owners (SB505)Imposing harsher penalties for Gun...

Dylan MacInerney is the Vice President of The Mach1 Group, an award-winning, Austin-based public relations firm, specializing in public affairs, crisis management and media training. Dylan spent 4+ years working as a staffer on Capital Hill and has worked in variety of public sector roles. We discussed how social media has changed communication, how the Forward Party can hone our messaging and sep...

This Week's Volunteer Spotlight features Alex Paluch. He has canvassed with our Austin-based Street Teams, currently serves as the Admin of our Discord Server and spent several years working for a large political consulting firm before getting involved with the Forward Party. We spoke with Alex about his experience knocking on doors canvassing for political campaigns, how the two major parties uti...

Lucie Repova is the host of the Think with Lucie podcast, a State Lead for the Forward Party of California, and the Founder of Iris, an AI-driven community engagement platform used by Braver Angels and several other independent minded organizations. Born in the Czech Republic, Lucie shared her unique insights on the importance of Free Speech and Democracy, her journey as an entrepreneur and how sh...

In Part Two of our podcast series from the 5th Annual Ally Energy Workforce of the Future Summit, Brian sat down with Governor Christine Todd Whitman & Katie Mehnert. Both Governor Whitman and Katie are deeply knowledgeable about the Energy sector, and shared their insights on current and future job opportunities in CleanTech, how the US can overcome competition from China to lead the world in...

Governor Christine Todd Whitman is the Co-Chair of the Forward Party, served as Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and was the head of the EPA during the Bush administration. This is Part one of a two-part series we recorded at the 5th Annual Ally Energy Workforce of the Future Summit. Our Communication Director Julie Kornegay, sat down with the former Governor to discuss the state of politi...

Rev. Leslie Jackson is the Senior Pastor of St. Peter United Church of Christ in Houston, Texas. Rev. Jackson is a veteran of the United States Navy and spent several years working in the private & non-profit sector before he was ordained. This was a truly inspiring conversation that will resonate with anyone who feels like they don't fit neatly into the rigid buckets our society, or the two m...

Katie Mehnert is the Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy. She served as Ambassador to the United States Department of Energy during the Trump Administration and on the National Petroleum Council by the Biden Administration. Katie is a globally recognized as an author and speaker and has been featured in Forbes, Scientific American, CNN, Newsweek, CNBC, and SXSW. In 2020, she published her first book “G...

Brent Veazey is the co-owner of Assisted Living Locators in Houston Texas, where he and his wife Pauline, help vulnerable seniors navigate the complexities of Medicare and get access to the care they need. He spent 15+ years working in the health insurance industry, in both the corporate and non-profit worlds, including stints w/ Cigna and the YMCA of Houston. Today's discussion touched on a wide...

David Green is a Sr National Organizer for Rank the Vote. Formerly, he was a Deputy Chapter Lead at Voter Choice Massachusetts and a Co-founder of the MA Yang Gang. David travels throughout the country building support for grassroots Ranked Choice Voting movements and working with policy makers to make RCV a reality. As a part of his month long journey throughout Texas, he stopped by to join the p...