Ambassador Alexa Wesner was born in Washington DC and grew up in Reston, Virginia. The daughter of immigrant parents, a German mother and Latvian father, she was the first in her family to attend a US high school and university. Ms. Wesner was a high school all-American in track and cross-country, ranking second in the nation in both the 1600 and 3200 meter distances. She was also a varsity swimmer. Ms. Wesner graduated from Stanford University in 1994 with a B.A. degree in biology. She moved to Austin, Texas to join Trilogy Software in the early days of Austin's technology boom. In 1997, she founded HireTECH, a recruiting and consulting company focused on high tech start-ups, also serving as president and CEO. In 2000, she founded her second company, Recruiting Labs, a web-based recruiting venture. After a successful career as a high-tech chief executive and entrepreneur, Ms. Wesner turned her attention to politics and community development as both a fundraiser and a hands-on entrepreneur driving progressive causes on national, regional, and local levels. In local and state venues, Ms. Wesner is the founder of The Texas Civic Engagement Table, Engage Texas, Progress Texas, and the Texas Research Institute, designed to provide a lasting progressive infrastructure in Texas. The spectrum of activities spans civic engagement, organizational collaboration, voter empowerment, voter turn-out, primary research and both direct and collaborative messaging. Her ambitious efforts have earned support from various national foundations and unions, among others. She has served on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the boards of Lifeworks (homeless youth), Breakthrough (a path to college for disadvantaged youth), Arthouse (contemporary art), The Blanton Museum of Art, GenAustin (raising self-esteem in and empowering young girls) and the Austin Film Society. She has served on the board of advisors of the Austin Museum of Art, and the Downtown Austin Alliance's Parks Committee to preserve Austin's downtown parks and urban spaces. Ms. Wesner is an avid triathlete and runner. She has three children, Natalie Keep (11), Tennyson (6) and Livia (4) who inspired her to enter public service. She is married to Blaine Wesner, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur.