Austin Women of Distinction Spotlight - Alex Winkelman

Alex Winkelman

In 2009, Alex Winkelman started CharityBash—an innovative non-profit whose mission is to influence and inspire young professionals to be involved in the community.  Three years later she was named executive director of Citizen Generation incorporating CharityBash with several similar efforts —all focused on making philanthropy fun, accessible and affordable.  Alex, who has not yet celebrated her 25th birthday, comes from a family strongly invested in the value and practice of philanthropy-- her parents, Suzanne and Marc, and her siblings, Eli and Jacob, have all made distinguished themselves as community leaders.

Alex’s first major project was “Dining for Darfur,” for which she organized a night-out and convinced 40 local restaurants to donate a portion of their sales to Darfur humanitarian aid. She then joined the national team of “Tents of Hope,” a year-long campaign utilizing creatively designed tents set up across the country to serve as fundraising and educational centers on the plight of African refugees.  Alex holds a degree in social entrepreneurship from St. Edwards’s University, and is active on behalf of many charities including Austin Pets Alive, Emancipet, Ballet Austin, and the Candlelight Ranch and looks forward to participating in Dancing With the Stars/Austin for the Center for Child Protection in December.  In March 2012 the Winkelman family was recognized for outstanding leadership by the Anti-Defamation League.