Darwin Hamilton is an award winning fifth-generation Austinite, whose ancestral home, the historic Dedrick-Hamilton House that has served as office space for the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce and site of the African American Cultural and Heritage Facility.  He is one of the co-founders of the Reentry Advocacy Project (RAP)

For over a decade he has been an activist, advocate, strategist, mentor, leader, keynote speaker and author of his self-published memoir 25 Years Later: A Sentence from Crime to Redemption, Resilience, Advocacy and Leadership.  His memoir offers a rare and urgent perspective on the criminal justice system, blending raw storytelling with sharp policy insight. His op-eds have been published in the Austin American Statesman and by the ACLU of Texas.

As an author and speaker, he brings lived experience to the table with clarity, compassion, and strategic vision, offering actionable recommendations for change.  Whether addressing policymakers, practitioners, or community leaders. He illuminates the path from fear to hope and possibility, from survival to systemic transformation.

Currently he serves on the Oversight Board of Travis County's Public Defender Office, National Association of Public Defense Board of Directors, Trinity University and UTSA Philosophy & Literature Circle.  He is an alumnus of Leadership Austin - Essential program and JustLeadership USA 2018 cohorts.