Ms. Austin is the President/CEO of the Works, Inc, twenty-four, year old community development corporation. The Works, Inc (TWI) is the developer of single-family and multifamily properties in distressed neighborhoods. TWI is a operates a farmers’ market and green grocer; provides nutrition education; operates a mortgage loan fund; and does work around the comprehensive needs of children and families. The Works, Inc merged with Neighborhood Preservation, Inc in January 2022 expanding its services to include policy advocacy, the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy, the Blight Elimination Steering Team, promoting collaborative efforts to develop practical and sustainable resolutions to blighted properties and to the systems that lead to widespread neglect, vacancy and abandonment of real estate.

Ms. Austin is an outspoken and tireless advocate for the underserved in Memphis neighborhoods. She has spent her entire career developing hundreds of units of affordable housing; helping thousands of homeowners avoid foreclosure; eliminating blighted conditions; advocating policy change for equitable practices.

She earned her M.A. in Urban Anthropology at the University of Memphis and her undergraduate degree at Middlebury College. She’s the mother of one daughter, Lailah who is pursuing a career in the arts.

Ms. Austin is the Treasurer of the Memphis Fourth Estate (The Daily Memphian). She is also Assistant Secretary for the Methodist Healthcare Foundation and Treasurer of Urban Renaissance Partners. She serves as Chair of Mission Advancement on the management committee of the Urban Land Institute Memphis Chapter.