NCJW-SA 2026-27 Annual Opening Meeting

About this event

Join with us as we kick off an exciting and impactful new year with NCJW-SA’s Annual Opening Meeting. Your vote is one of the most powerful tools you have to change the future of our community, our state, and our democracy. Whether you are a lifelong voter or simply want to better understand the issues shaping elections in Texas, you will leave this session with a deeper understanding of the voting process, the laws that affect our elections, and practical ways to strengthen our democracy through informed civic engagement. Come be part of the conversation. Learn. Ask questions. Be inspired. Because every voice matters — and every vote counts. Speakers Lydia Camarillo is President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP) and the William C. Velasquez Institute. The SVREP is the oldest Latino voter registration, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that empowers and mobilizes Latinos throughout the U.S. to vote. She has a lengthy history of registering, educating, and promoting voting among the nation’s growing population of Latino citizens. Under her tenure, the number of eligible Latino voters has grown from 5.4 million to 20.5 million. Al Kauffman is a prominent civil rights attorney and tenured professor of law at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. He is nationally recognized for his nearly 20-year tenure as a senior litigator for the Mexican American Legal & Education Defense Fund (MALDEF) where he successfully championed and won landmark cases regarding Latino education, voting, school finance, and employment rights. Doors open at 6:30 PM. NCJW-SA invites you to bring a donation of rice, flour, beans, vegetable oil, or lentils to our Opening Meeting. All donated items will benefit the Center for Refugee Services and help support refugee families in our community.