An alumnus of the College of Charleston, Austin Center spent eight post-university years in New York City, honing his artistic talents and teaching in the mediums of drawing, painting, ceramics, and sculpture at the Children’s Museum of the Arts. This led to his work being exhibited across the United States and internationally as he continued to master his craft before returning home to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2003 – continuing as an exhibiting artist and forming Austin Center Studio.
It was during his time in Chattanooga that he was trusted with overseeing the growth of Acuity Merchant Services, a credit card processing company that serves community banks across the South, before selling the company in 2021.
Austin has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Bright School – the oldest elementary school in Tennessee. Additionally, he is currently Community Relations Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, and former Chair of the Board. He also served on the advisory board of the Children’s Rights Institute, the Lawfare Project, and the Board of the Association of Visual Arts.
Through the building of new affinity groups, such as the young-minded professionals’ group Avant-Art at the Hunter Museum and early-childhood curricula at Thompson Street Coop in SOHO, Austin has maintained a focus on art, education, and community cultivation through all his efforts. In 2019, he helped lead a delegation from the University of Tennessee to Israel to help facilitate and form partnerships with Israeli universities and continued his involvement with education through his work with World ORT as an executive committee member of ORT America and a representative of the World ORT Council of Governors.
It is with all of these foundational moments of human compassion in mind that Austin now spearheads anc Group Consulting. Committed to building bridges of community and partnering with nonprofit entities to ensure sustainability, anc Group has become a vessel for Austin to continue his legacy in altruism, while helping to educate and uplift the next generation of leaders and organizations. Currently Austin has been hired by the City of Chattanooga as the Public Arts Collection Specialist – overseeing the city’s vast collection of public art and ensuring its legacy for future generations.