Speaker Profile

Zohaib “Zo” Qadri was elected to represent District 9 in 2022. He proudly represents the neighborhoods of Downtown, Rainey St., Old West Austin, West Campus, Hyde Park, Travis Heights, Bouldin Creek, Mueller, Cherrywood, and more. Zo is eager to tackle Austin’s housing crisis, to fight for an expanded and equitable transit system, and to protect and uplift our most vulnerable citizens. Zo firmly believes that everyone deserves a voice and access to the abundance of opportunities in our beautiful city.

The first-born child of immigrants, Zo moved to Texas at the age of 12 with his parents and two younger sisters. His younger brother was born 5 years later. Initially hoping to follow in the footsteps of his parents, Zo moved to Austin to pursue a career in medicine by starting a degree in biology at the University of Texas and starting a degree in biology. After witnessing first-hand how the local cost of living crisis is inflicting on Austin’s most vulnerable residents, Zo was inspired to improve his adopted community and decided to switch paths by studying the humanities. Zo later received a Masters of Public Administration from Texas State University and a second graduate degree from Rice University in Global Affairs.

After finishing his graduate studies, Zo plunged head-first into community advocacy and political campaigns. In 2018, he helped direct political outreach to AAPI voters during Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 U.S. Senate run. Zo later merged his academic knowledge with real world experience in the legislative process during his time as a legislative assistant in the Texas House of Representatives. Zo’s leadership skills and love of coaching others to reach diverse voters led him to South Carolina during the 2020 Democratic Primary, where he helped lead Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign as a Regional Organizing Director.

In his career, Zo has taken on multiple projects, ranging from advising activist groups and advocacy campaigns on utilizing technology to achieve their goals, to building strategic alliances to accomplish tangible results for progressive campaigns and issue-oriented organizations.

During the challenging years following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zo volunteered with local community groups such as Austin Needs Water, the Central Texas Food Bank, and Del Valle Community Coalition to ensure underserved communities throughout Austin had their basic needs met. He also has previously served on the Advisory Committee for the Travis County Democratic Party, and the boards of Austin Muslim Democrats, Asian Democrats of Central Texas, and Emgage USA. He currently serves on the board of Ground Game Texas.

Zo currently lives in Downtown Austin with his wife, Wafa, a physician assistant at Baylor Scott & White, and their cat, Daisy Mae.