ECHO, Strategies to End Homelessness in Austin

The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is the lead agency that plans and implements community-wide strategies to end homelessness in Austin and Travis County. They work closely with nonprofits and government agencies to coordinate assistance and housing for people experiencing homelessness in our community.:

About our speaker:
Ann Howard, 56, served for 7.5 years as the initial Executive Director of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), an alliance of over 50 governmental and non-profit groups working to transform the local response to homelessness. Ann left her ECHO post in August to begin campaigning full time for Travis County Commissioner of Precinct 3. Before leading ECHO, Howard served as Board Chair of CEDEN as it then merged with Any Baby Can, a non-profit group serving vulnerable children and families. She also has served as Chair of One Voice Central Texas, a coalition of social service agency executive directors, and was active in the successful 2013 and 2018 campaigns to win voter approval of City of Austin affordable housing bonds. A 27-year resident of Travis County, Howard holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology), Master’s of Public Affairs, and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. While at the LBJ and Law Schools, Howard focused on juvenile court reform with Barbara Jordan. Upon graduation, she served as council to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Joe Biden, where she worked on criminal justice reform.

Married to Dell executive John Howard for 30 years, Howard is the mother of three grown children and a longtime community volunteer. She is a former PTA president, youth softball coach, juvenile defense attorney and congregation president at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church.