Signature Events

Jean Lauer (she/her/they)

Professor + Director of Short Film Programming

Jean Anne Lauer completed her Ph.D. in Radio-Television-Film at UT Austin. She is a professor in the Depts. of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities and Radio-Television-Film at Austin Community College. Jean began working professionally in film festivals at the International Pitching Market for the Guanajuato International Film Festival (Gto, Mexico, 2004 through 2013) and was a programmer for and then director of Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (Austin, TX, 2008 to 2022). Currently Jean is Director of Short Film Programming at Fantastic Fest (Austin, TX) having worked in a variety of roles behind the scenes from 2013 to present.

Lee Reed Zarnikau (she/her)

Senior Editor + Author

Lee Reed Zarnikau has been working with words for over twenty years. Her editing and writing experience includes freelance work with a wide range of independent authors, businesses, and nonprofits, plus over twenty years’ experience in sustainability strategy and communications. She has a BA in English and an MBA in Sustainable Development from the University of Texas at Austin and a certificate in editing from the University of Washington. A lifelong Texan, Lee has travelled to twenty-six countries across five continents, but has only managed to live in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Lee writes book club fiction, middle grade mysteries (Constellation Clues: The Cipher of the Seven Stars), and has self-published a picture book that she both wrote and illustrated.

Eric Lupfer (he/him)

Executive Director

Eric Lupfer became executive director of Humanities Texas in August 2019. He served as the organization’s director of grants and education from 2004–2019. Formerly a high school English teacher, Lupfer holds a PhD in English (2003) and an MS in information studies (2004) from The University of Texas at Austin and a BA with high honors in English from Bowdoin College (1991).

Melissa Huber (she/her)

Director of Programs and Communications

Melissa Huber joined Humanities Texas in December 2007. She holds a BA in art history from Arizona State University and an MS in historic preservation from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining Humanities Texas, she worked at the Blanton Museum of Art and in UT’s Architectural Conservation Lab. Her combined focus on collections, exhibitions, and historic buildings developed in her previous role as conservation assistant for the Arizona State Museum Preservation Division at The University of Arizona in Tucson.

Stephen Jannise (he/him)

Director of Film Programming

Stephen Jannise is the Director of Film Programming & Content Strategy for the Paramount Theatre. He curates 100+ films every year for the annual Paramount Summer Classic Film Series, Panic at the Paramount horror series, and other year-round events, providing film notes and stage introductions for each film and managing box office reporting and print traffic. As Content Strategist, Stephen also manages the Paramount’s weekly email content and supports fundraising communications.

Tim Rogers (he/him)

Director of Education and Engagement

Tim Rogers is the Director of Education and Engagement for Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. Originally from the St. Louis area, Rogers has Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Composition and Music Theory from the University of Missouri at Columbia, a Masters Degree in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Masters Degree in Education Policy Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park. In his role at Texas Performing Arts, he combines his educational background in music and education policy to help create lasting learning experiences for students and community members of all ages.

Nat Miller (he/him)

Director of Youth Programs

Nat Miller has directed ZACH Theatre’s education programs for 12 years now. His professional experience in the field includes ten years of teaching a variety of acting classes for First Stage Children’s Theater, the second largest children’s theater education program in the country and three years as the Education and Outreach Director at Paramount and State Theatres in Austin, TX. Nat received his M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth at The University of Texas at Austin, and a B.F.A. in theatre from Southern Methodist University, one of the top ten theatre schools in the country.

April Kessler (she/her)

Research Analyst & Partner

April Kessler has been skillfully resolving complex research requests for clients at Bizologie since 2014. Before joining Bizologie, April was a research analyst for Austin Ventures and the Business Librarian at UT Libraries and McCombs School of Business. She also served as a researcher for Baker for Business at Harvard Business School and taught the Competitive Intelligence course at the UT School of Information. April earned her MS in Information Studies from UT Austin and her MBA from Wichita State University. In addition to her research practice, she also has a decade of experience in marketing and public relations.

Meagan Bennett

Senior Consultant

Meagan Bennett works in Government and Public Services at Deloitte Consulting where she serves as a Business Analyst to determine and meet client requirements with software solutions. Previously, she had an 18-year career in Intelligence for National Security related government agencies and in the Middle East.

Quinn Moorer

Campus Recruiting Specialist

Quinn is a Virginia native who has been in Austin for 4.5 years. She is passionate about access to education and connecting students with the best job opportunities. She has been a Campus Recruiting Specialist for 2 years and enjoys recruiting UT Austin Longhorns for positions in Deloitte’s Austin, TX office. In her free time she enjoys reading, walking, and trying new restaurants.

Sanjana Tripathi

User Experience Researcher II

Sanjana  graduated with a Master’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin in May 2021.

“The focus of my Master’s program was to work on my skillset, attitude and personality that would help me become an empathetic Qualitative UX Researcher.

I truly believe that empathy and actively listening/observing to people and environment makes me a better person and a better UXR every day. It is a practice I have developed over the years through meditation and mindfulness and continue to work on it daily. Being an introvert, listening and observing have been my superpowers, which particularly make me excited for one-on-one user interactions.”

Cathy Malerba

Executive Director, Research & Evaluation

Dr. Malerba is the Executive Director of Research & Evaluation for Gibson Consulting Group. In this role, she leads a thoughtful, creative team of researchers who share a passion supporting the work of K-12 educators and school leaders.

Gibson has a growing national presence providing evaluation services to school districts, long-standing partnerships with state education agencies, regional educational service centers, and other research firms. Through the business consulting side of the practice, Gibson is uniquely positioned to include program efficiency and effectiveness audits in our evaluations, helping clients better understand their systems, and providing a path forward for improved outcomes.

Stacia Long

Research Scientist

Dr. Stacia Long, a Qualitative Research Scientist at Gibson, has thirteen years of experience in education, including as a high school English teacher, a teacher educator, and a qualitative researcher.

Dr. Long’s expertise is in K-12 language and literacy education and qualitative research methodologies. During her time at Gibson, Dr. Long has served as a project manager and qualitative analyst for large-scale evaluation studies for school districts, including evaluations of transformative literacy initiatives, tutoring programs, as well as evaluations for pilot or newly implemented programs.

Semonti Basu 

Measurement & Evaluation Director

Semonti is responsible for conducting research and analysis to facilitate grant operations at the foundation. With a background in educational research and evaluation, Semonti has worked in the public education sector as a researcher, program evaluator and technical assistance facilitator. Prior to joining the foundation in 2011, she was with the Austin Independent School District, where she worked closely with program staff to implement a districtwide initiative to address behavioral and academic needs of all students.

Jacqueline Whearty

Policy Manager

Jacqueline (Jacque) Whearty is a Policy Manager at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center. In this role, she leads and the Economic and Family Supports team in conducting rigorous and comprehensive literature reviews, tracking important child and parent policies, and evaluating the state policy levers that promote equitable outcomes for families in this area. Jacque holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a B.A. in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College.

Bita Razavi-Maleki 

Strategy & Innovation Associate

Dr. Bita Razavi-Maleki is a proud double alumna of UT Austin, having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies and her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from UT. With a robust academic foundation and a wealth of experience spanning social work, education, and research, she has honed her expertise in education policy. Currently, she serves as the Strategy and Innovation Associate at Texas Education Agency, where she creates new and innovative solutions to help districts consolidate their education technology and data platforms to better support Texas’s 5.5 million K-12 students and their educators.

Reyda Taylor

Strategic Advisor

Reyda Taylor is a Strategic Advisor at Travis County in Justice Planning. Reyda first joined Travis County in 2022 as a Fuse Corps Executive Fellow focusing on digital equity. Prior to her work supporting Travis County, Reyda led and co-led data ecosystem and participatory evaluation initiatives, as the Senior Consultant for Data and Evaluation at Mission. Reyda particularly loves the entrepreneurism of new initiatives, especially at the intersection of research and data, founding her own business PKE Insights, co-founding Capacity Catalyst, and co-founding the Texas Applied Anthropology Summit.