Local Nonprofits Gather for Civic Academy Workshop in Del Rio

Gage Brown, Community Organizer for the Border Organization, signs into class.

Community organizers, advocacy managers, and coalition leaders gathered at the Val Verde County Library this Saturday 2/15/2025 for Civic Academy. Essentially a government 101 course, the lecture was informational and nonpartisan. Former Mayor and Civic Academy lecturer, Bruno Lozano, is reaching out to people on both sides. He opened with the disclaimer, “I’m not here to discuss policy, I’m here to discuss how it works, how you apply them is up to you.”

Gage Brown, Community Organizer for the Border Organization, attended Civic Academy to learn more about municipal government and how to engage with local representatives. Her motivation, said Brown, “is to make sure they understand the agenda of me and my community instead of defining it for us.” Other students in the class came with nonprofits such as the Border Network for Human Rights, Southern AIDS Coalition, and Del Rio SAFE.

Roberto Lopez of the Texas Civil Rights Project discusses resources they have to share.

Former Mayor and Civic Academy lecturer, Bruno Lozano, instructs on micro and macro levels of government

This event is one of many in Del Rio that will be sponsored by the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP). Senior Advocacy Manager, Roberto Lopez, and bordertalk1 Digital Organizer, Saul Gamez, traveled down from the TCRP headquarters in Austin. Lopez said they wanted to bring everyone together to share the “tools, resources, and knowledge needed in order to make change.” However, it was made clear by the small class size that TCRP needs more involvement from the locals to achieve their goals.

These civic nonprofits are banding together to make a call to action. They are looking for leaders, artists, speakers, or anyone who might want to work together in years to come. “I want to educate people to engage locally because local is where change is going to happen fastest and most directly,” said Lozano, “at the end of the day, government begins with you.”

Civic Academy class photo -- Left to Right -- Miguel Garcia, DR SAFE, Gage Brown, Border Organization, Bruno Lozano, Roberto Lopez and Saul Gamez, TCRP and Sergio Lopez, Border Network for Human Rights.