Oni K. Blair joined the ACLU of Texas in June 2021 as executive director, leading the organization forward through a particularly challenging environment with attacks on voting, reproductive, 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. 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 has led teams to impact policies and advance rights at the local, national, and international levels. Oni is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Truman National Security Project, and a 2021-2022 non-resident fellow of Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the Harvard Kennedy School. 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.
