Piper Stege Nelson, Executive Director of I Live Here, I Give Here
Piper Stege Nelson is a native of Austin, Texas. Prior to joining I Live Here I Give Here, she served as the Chief Public Strategies Officer at SAFE, a nonprofit dedicated to stopping the cycle of violence in Central Texas. There she managed the volunteer, community education, marketing & communications, earned revenue venture, and policy arms of the organization.
She recently ran for school board trustee in Austin and lost, but garnered over 10,000 votes. Her past roles include managing corporate partnerships for Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn initiative, serving as Deputy Director of Annie’s List, and being the Publisher of The Texas Observer. She has also supported women involved in politics internationally, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and served as legislative director for Texas State Representative Jessica Farrar. In 2021, she was named one of the BBC’s Top 100 Women.
After graduating from Carleton College in Minnesota, she was awarded a Fulbright grant, then went on to earn her master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She recently served on the Austin Commission for Immigrant Affairs and on the Lee Elementary PTA Executive Board, as the Board Chair of AIDS Services of Austin, and on the Austin Council of PTAs. She and her husband just spent a year living with their two kiddos in Granada, Spain, but are so happy to be home in Austin again.
This event is part of a series of guest speakers as part of our fall course, Nonprofit Governance, taught by Sarah Jane Rehnborg and Noel Landuyt. Guest speaker discussions are open to all UT Austin students, including those not enrolled in the course. Questions? Email sydney.wilburn@austin.utexas.edu
