About Adam
The son of two lifelong educators, Adam Powell was born in Austin. His parents moved the family to Leander just after his birth, as they could not afford to buy a house and raise three kids within Austin’s city limits on teachers’ salaries.
Growing up in the greater Austin area, Adam has had immense pride in his hometown as long as he can remember, with countless fond memories of the time he and his family spent in the city. While going through his K-12 education almost entirely at schools where his parents worked, he saw firsthand the importance of community through his parents' teaching.
After graduating from Vista Ridge High School, Adam went to Texas Christian University (TCU) where he earned a degree in History. During his time at TCU, he faced systemic racism as part of a small minority of Black students on campus. In response to this, Adam organized students and faculty at TCU to ultimately co-found two new academic programs: the African American and Africana Studies Minor, and Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies Department.
This experience led Adam to become a Union Organizer as his first full-time job in Boston, Massachusetts. During the only year that he’s lived outside of Texas, he successfully co-organized a graduate student workers’ union at Brandeis University. This ensured that underpaid and overworked graduate teaching assistants received large increases in compensation and benefits.
In 2017, Adam moved back to Austin with his now-wife to be closer to his parents, and began living in North Austin, which he does to this day in the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood. That same year, his father was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. While prioritizing family, Adam made sure his full-time work was focused on creating positive change. He first worked as a teacher recruiter, hiring dozens of educators to work with educationally underserved students across Austin. He also spent time as a state employee, where he contributed to COVID-19 relief by coordinating the distribution of millions of masks, PPE items, and vaccine doses for teachers and students.
Adam has also spent time outside of work on his love of community service. This has included serving as a Board Member for Austin’s SAFE Alliance, being elected Vice President of the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association, and being appointed as a committee member with CapMetro. He has also volunteered with many grassroots causes and nonprofits, including ReThink35, Shoal Creek Conservancy, NAMI Texas, Texas Freedom Network, and many others. Adam is also a passionate researcher and storyteller of Austin history. His TikTok and Instagram Reels accounts have received over two million total views on the subject. He’s also used this platform to spread awareness to local causes, businesses, and nonprofits, including CASA Travis County, OFC Creatives, Travis County Democrats, the Austin Common, and others.
In November of 2023, Adam married the love of his life, Mackenzie, in Austin. Mackenzie graduated from UT School of Law in 2023, and works at a local family law firm.
In his spare time you can find Adam at Austin FC games, local climbing gyms, enjoying the wide range of great local restaurants North Austin has to offer, or spending time with Peanut, his rescue dog from the Austin Humane Society.