Alumni@Work

Stephen Jannise received his M.A. in Media Studies from UT-Austin in 2010. He is currently working as Director of Film Programming at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, where he curates the annual Summer Classic Film Series as well as other films/series throughout the year. He has overseen the program through the addition of digital projection to its 35/70mm capabilities and a recovery from COVID closures, and he has steadily grown attendance over the years by drawing wider audiences from Austin’s growing population.

Jean Anne Lauer received her PhD in Radio-Television-Film from UT-Austin in 2016. She is currently working as a professor in the Dept. of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities and the Dept. of Radio-Television-Film at Austin Community College. She is also Director of Short Film Programming at Fantastic Fest (Austin), with previous experience in leadership at Cine Las Americas (Austin) and the International Pitching Market at the Guanajuato International Film Festival (Gto, Mexico). Jean specializes in Latin American and Mexican American history and media, World Cinema studies (including “genre” studies), and Festival and Museum curatorial practices.

Eric D. Waters received his PhD in Communication Studies from UT Austin in 2016. He is currently working as a Management Consultant at Accenture, where he drives transformational change management outcomes for clients through learning and leadership development to activate people, technology, process, and behavior change.

Nikidrea Rey is a mother and US Army veteran currently working as a Foreign Affairs Specialist within the Europe and NATO Division in SAF/IA. Ms. Rey is the Country Director for Finland and Sweden with a focus on the High North. She previously worked as the Country Director for Ukraine, coordinating multiple Presidential Drawdown packages and Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative tranches for Department of the Air Force equities. In additional to her primary duties, Ms. Rey also serves as a Gender Advisor and works to integrate Women, Peace, and Security into defense cooperation.

Abhi Bhat received his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from UT-Austin in 2015. He is currently working as a Senior Scientist at Evonik corporation, where he is responsible for developing new polymers for powder based additive manufacturing. His team is successfully developed a novel powder making process, and has launched several new products using this technology.