Full Name
Chris Nayve
Job Title
Associate Vice president for Community Engagement at the Karen and Tom Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action
Institution
University of San Diego
Speaker Bio
Austin Galy serves as the Senior Director of Student Social and Economic Mobility at the University of San Diego’s Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness and Social Action (CASA). Austin is also the Co-founder of USD’s Torero Urban Scholars - a college reentry program for formerly incarcerated and justice impacted students. In his role, Austin works collaboratively to help create pathways for enhanced student mobility through local and national campus and community partnerships - partnerships whose mission is to provide more accessible and affordable education to economically disadvantaged students, all while investing in their career and workforce development. In this capacity, Austin collaborates with campus and community partners to develop resources and strategies for funding community service learning scholarship programs and other social mobility programming aimed at making the cost of education more affordable to formerly incarcerated students and others alike.

Having grown up on the Southside of Atlanta, Austin identifies as both justice impacted and a veteran - two identities that are largely influential and have helped shape the scope of his career in public service work and as a scholar-activist and advocate. As a practitioner, he leans heavily on his lived experience above all else to inform his approach and to build relationships and trust with the community.

Educationally, Austin holds a Bachelors in Sociology as well as his Masters in Peace and Justice Studies from the University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. His research and praxis focuses closely at better understanding the role of gender in structural violence. More specifically, the intersections of hypermasculinity and trauma as it relates to mental health and well being among formerly and currently incarcerated minors and adults, former gang members and/or other extremist groups as well as combat veterans. Beginning in January of 2025, Austin plans to return to school in pursuit of his EdD in Educational Leadership.