District 2 · Southeast Austin
Vanessa Fuentes
Former criminal-justice and healthcare-policy advocate who in 2025 was elected by her colleagues as Mayor Pro Tem.
Former criminal-justice and healthcare-policy advocate who in 2025 was elected by her colleagues as Mayor Pro Tem.
Vanessa Fuentes earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations and her master’s in public leadership from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining council she worked on criminal-justice reform at the Texas Capitol and on healthcare policy at the American Heart Association.
She served as president of the Young Women’s Alliance and on the executive team of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was elected to council in 2020 and reelected in 2024; her colleagues elected her Mayor Pro Tem for 2025.
Her legislative track record emphasizes worker protections, housing stability, and child-care access. She has been recognized with the National Elected Official Award from the National Association of Social Workers and named to the National League of Cities’ 40 Under 40 list.
District 2 covers southeast austin Austin and includes neighborhoods such as Dove Springs, Pleasant Hill, Goodnight Ranch, Easton Park, Del Valle, Onion Creek, Franklin Park. Council members are accountable to the residents of their single district as well as to the city as a whole — that is the core idea of the 10-1 system.
Standing committees do most of the early-stage policy work before items reach the full council. Chair and vice-chair roles confer meaningful agenda-setting power.
Sponsored the city’s $22/hour minimum wage for municipal employees and expanded paid parental leave.
Authored the requirement that every Austin apartment have functional air conditioning.
Flood-mitigation and flood-insurance pilot programs for Onion Creek and Dove Springs.
Dual-language pre-K expansion and child-care access initiatives.
Enhanced Library Card pilot — a city-issued ID accepted as identification regardless of immigration status.
Sponsored the city’s adoption of artificial-intelligence governance standards.
Austin residents can contact any council member, but for district-specific issues (zoning, code enforcement, neighborhood concerns) the District 2 office is the right starting point.
