Candace Aylor is a tenacious advocate for children’s mental health issues. The Austin resident has backed initiatives in the Texas State Capitol, pushed for change in state agencies, and challenged local lawmakers.
Most of this work she does pro bono, so there isn’t much money for a traditional office. In order to secure a place she knew she’d love, a space at WeWork, she had to be creative. She hit on the idea of financing it through a GoFundMe campaign.
“I can’t just stop doing the work because I can’t pay for a place,” Aylor says. “The work is worth way more.”
Aylor does more than push for effective legislation about mental health. She’s also a nurse, and has helped train her peers to do similar advocacy work. And she blogs about upcoming hearings to keep parents around the state up to date.
On top of that, she’s a consultant for University of Texas School of Social Work and Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health.
But advocating on behalf of families in the state legislature is just one of her passions. She’s also an advisor at TEDxYouth@Austin, one of the area’s first youth-run TEDx events for young people.
“It’s one of the longest running and largest events we do each year,” Aylor says. “I’ve been involved as a mentor for two years. All the mentoring I do in the beginning is so the kids will be able to run the event.”
She’s worked with a variety of young entrepreneurs, including fellow WeWork Congress member Campbell Erickson. The 17-year-old has already launched several startups of his own.
Since securing her space at WeWork, Aylor says she can do the work she loves in a place she loves. She says the WeWork vibe helps her convince other mental health advocates to come up with creative solutions.
“The environment and energy at WeWork helps open up their minds,” Aylor says. “They think of tackling the mental health legislation differently by thinking outside the box.”
Photos: Adam Saraceno