Texas Civic Engagement Table

Background

The Texas Civic Engagement Table was a local advocacy organization which advocated for creating a network of nonprofit organizations to increase civic engagement efforts within the state. As of 2025, the organization no longer appears to be in operation. ¹

According to its website, the organization advocated for bringing together “socially responsible” left-of-center nonprofits “to achieve synergies in their purposes and to increase civic engagement through strategic campaigns and projects.”  ²

The organization was founded in 2010 by Alexa Wesner, a Democratic Party donor and early supporter of the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign. In 2013, Wesner was appointed as U.S ambassador to Austria under the Obama administration, and she served in the role until 2017.  ^{2  3}

Financials

According to online nonprofit tracker Datanyze, at one point the Texas Civic Engagement Table reported revenue of $617,000 with nine employees.  ²

In July 2012, the Ford Foundation provided a $300,000 grant to the Texas Civic Engagement Table. ⁴

Activities

According to online nonprofit tracker site Datanyze, the Texas Civic Engagement Table categorized its work into four areas: “Increasing the vote share of traditionally disenfranchised voters and socially responsible voters; Creating a socially responsible issue environment; Developing progressive leaders in our organizations and in the community; and Increasing the return on investment in partner groups through shared services and economies of scale.”  ²

In 2013, the Texas Civic Engagement Table partnered with VoteRiders, and Empower The Vote Texas Education Fund to sponsor “Voter ID Clinics” in Texas. The first was held in September that year to educate voters about the state’s voter ID laws which it claimed would lead to voter disenfranchisement.  ⁵

Leadership

Alexa Wesner is the founder of the Texas Civic Engagement Table. Wesner has also founded similar left-of-center advocacy groups such as Be One Texas, Engage Texas, Progress Texas, and the Texas Research Institute. In addition, she founded Hire TECH, a recruiting and consulting company focused on high tech startup companies, and Recruiting Labs, a web-based recruiting group. ⁶ In 2008, she founded Blue Texas, a super PAC that donated roughly $1 million on state legislative races during the 2008 election cycle. In addition, she previously donated to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as well as to both the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns. During the Obama administration. Wesner was appointed to positions including the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2009 and U.S Ambassador to Austria in 2013.  ³

Lesley Nicole Ramsey was the executive director of Texas Civic Engagement Table from 2010 through 2014.  ⁷ Prior to this, Ramsey worked as the chief lobbyist and executive director for the Texas Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. She was also a founding board member of the Lilith Fund, Texas Women’s Coalition, and the Religion and Labor Network of Texas. ⁸

Sondra Halton was a former “voter empowerment” director for the Texas Civic Engagement Table. In addition, she is a lawyer who has previously worked with the Texas Democratic Party as well as several left-of-center advocacy groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice and the Campaign Legal Center.  ⁹

Andrew Willis Garces was a former program manager for the Texas Civic Engagement Table. Prior to this, he was the co-founder of the Diverse City Funder. ¹⁰

Janelle Matous is a former finance director for the Texas Civic Engagement Table. ¹¹