EP. 39 Stronger Together: Leadership, Advocacy, and the Future of Community Action

In this episode of Thinking CAAP, Beck Moore and Heather Holloway welcome Amanda Shelton, CEO and Executive Director of the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies (TACAA), for a conversation about Community Action, state association leadership, storytelling, advocacy, and the evolving needs of local agencies.

Amanda shares her journey from working at a local Community Action Agency in Harris County, Texas, to leading the statewide association that supports agencies across all 254 Texas counties. Together, Beck and Amanda compare the Community Action landscape in Texas and Pennsylvania, including differences in geography, public and private agencies, disaster response, funding, and how local needs shape local solutions.

The conversation also explores how Community Action tells its story, why economic impact matters, and how agencies can better communicate the realities of poverty, affordability, and the Benefits Cliff. Amanda emphasizes the importance of knowing the audience, choosing the right messenger, and helping people understand that most families are much closer to instability than they may realize.

Beck, Heather, and Amanda also discuss the changing role of state associations, the pressure of advocacy, the importance of data, the relationship between state offices and local agencies, and the growing need to think differently about AI, intake systems, administrative burden, and human-centered service. The episode closes with a reminder that Community Action is stronger when networks move together, learn from each other, and continue telling the story of why this work is important.

For more about Texas Association of Community Action Agencies: https://www.tacaa.org

Discover more about the Thinking CAAP podcast: https://www.thecaap.org/the-thinkingcaap-podcast-blog