After almost three decades working in international human rights, civil rights and higher education policy, Robin Lerner is running as a candidate for House District 49 in the Texas Legislature, which represents UT and West Campus.

Lerner previously worked in the U.S. Senate and the State Department, focusing on human rights, refugee programs, women’s issues and international education. Lerner has also been an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union and acted as the president of the Texas International Education Consortium, a non-profit that provides higher education consultations.

After President Donald Trump won a second term, Lerner said she worried about the future of democracy and her daughters’ generation. This prompted her to run for District 49 after learning its current representative, Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin), would be running for governor.

“With people stepping away from politics right now, we need people brave enough to step in,” Lerner said. “It’s gonna take a diplomat right now.”

Lerner is one of eight candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for District 49, including former City Council member Kathie Tovo and Montserrat Garibay, a former U.S. Department of Education assistant deputy secretary. The March 3 democrat primary winner will run against Arshia Papari, Green Party candidate and UT student, since there are no Republicans in the race.

Lerner said her first priority once in office will be to focus on higher education and K-12 student success. She said she will roll back what she called a “snitch line” at UT, which is a new reporting system that allows students to anonymously report faculty if they believe they violated Senate Bill 17 or Senate Bill 37.

“Faculty need to have their voice back,” Lerner said.

Lerner said she wants to fund public schools and is against the school voucher program, which lets families use taxpayer dollars for private or homeschool education.

“We need to articulate support for public education as ‘How are we preparing for higher ed, military and career?’” Lerner said. “This has to be in coordination with our universities … and get our universities to also advocate for robust public school funding.”

Environmental protection and using universities for climate resilience innovation are a central part of Lerner’s campaign. She said Texas can implement low-cost solutions, like solar farms, and create more shade in urban spaces to address hotter and drier conditions.

Lerner wrote in an email statement that she will protect the LGBTQ+ community by enforcing existing nondiscrimination laws and stopping future legislation like Texas Senate Bill 8, which restricts bathroom use for the transgender community. She said taking “things to court before we can legislate” is an important part of these protections.

“My office — and me personally — would need to be a voice for and a vector for any time that there is discrimination happening against LGBTQ+ communities, to call that out and then to enforce against it,” Lerner said.