About Margaret Justus

Margaret Justus is a former broadcast journalist and Austin-based media consultant with over 30 years of experience in strategic communications. A native of Kansas City, she has lived and worked in Texas for nearly four decades, including Houston and Austin.

Justus has served as communications lead for ten Texas political campaigns, specializing in public speaking, media relations, government affairs, and crisis communications. She excels at preparing clients for public events, engaging the media, and shaping positive narratives while mitigating potential pitfalls. From 1989-1994, she was deputy press secretary for Texas Governor Ann Richards and later served as communications director for the Texas Clinton-Gore reelection campaign in 1996.

In 2019, she was executive director for Transit for Austin, building one of Central Texas’s largest and most diverse coalitions to support a comprehensive public transit program.

Her clients have included the Mueller Foundation, Foundation Communities, the Texas Lyceum Poll, the Justin Nelson campaign for Texas Attorney General, Texas Impact, Vanishing Postcards, and Annie’s List.

Justus is also recognized for her work honoring Governor Ann Richards. She successfully raised statewide private donations and persuaded nearly every major Texas city to display street banners celebrating Richards’ life and legacy— from Congress Avenue in Austin to El Paso.

In 2022, Justus collaborated with Austin philanthropists to publish The One Ann Only: Wit and Wisdom from Texas Governor Ann Richards, a photo art book distributed by the University of Texas Press. The book was featured at the 2022 Texas Book Festival and recognized by the Texas Observer as one of the best nonfiction books of the year.

Justus is also a founding board member of the Giris’ School of Austin, competes in 5K runs, and sings jazz standards in two Austin bands.