Oni K. Blair joined the ACLU of Texas as executive director in June 2021. She continues to, lead the organization forward through a particularly challenging environment with attacks on voting, reproductive, immigration, and LGBTQ rights, among other issues.
Oni comes to the ACLU of Texas after serving as executive director of LINK Houston, a non-profit organization advocating for robust and equitable transportation for all Houstonians. She helped shape a $7 billion transit plan to increase equitable bus access; compelled the mayor to fix Houston’s dangerous intersections and launch a zero-fatality safety campaign; aligned advocates of affordable housing and transportation; and won $51.5 million for communities of color adversely impacted by highway expansion.
Before her work at LINK Houston, Oni was a Foreign Service Officer (U.S. diplomat) with the U.S. Department of State. As a diplomat she managed large teams and worked extensively on human rights policy and humanitarian assistance. At the State Department’s headquarters in Washington, DC, she directed a human rights office and worked as a special assistant to the U.S. Deputy Secretary. She also served at the U.S. embassies in Jordan, Pakistan, and Iraq.
Oni is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a fellow of the Truman National Security Project. She is a former Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow, International Career Advancement Program (ICAP) Fellow, and a Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center non-resident fellow (2021-2022). Oni earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
