Austin is a PhD student in sociocultural anthropology. In the past, his research has focused on political subjectivity, social movements, and the semiotics of protest. His work currently centers on the political ecology between humans, the state, wolves and wolf-dog crosses (commonly known as "hybrids") in the contexts of the exotic pet-trade, wildlife sanctuaries, and wildlife management agencies. Austin takes an intersectional approach to his research and strives to unpack how domestic and wild canines and other non-humans are anthropomorphically racialized, sexualized and politicized, and how such processes can ratify or deny claims to subjectivity. 

Prior to graduate study, Austin was an activist and organizer in the Fight for $15 movement, Food Not Bombs, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and other grassroots causes. From 2016-2018 he was the Education Coordinator at Mission:Wolf, an educational wildlife sanctuary in southern Colorado for rescued wolves, wolf-dogs, and horses.