Alumni@Work

Amy Vidor received her PhD in Comparative Literature from UT Austin in 2019. She is currently the Head of Learning and Development at MELE Associates where she supports the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations. She created the professional development program and leads the office’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility initiative.

Dr. Aaron Conrado received his Ph.D. in microbiology and molecular biology from UT-Austin in 2018. He is currently serving as a Highly Qualified Expert at the Office of Stability and Humanitarian Affairs (SHA) in the Department of Defense (DoD). In this role, he supports SHA through working on peacekeeping policy, including UN reform, improving peacekeeper performance, building partner capacity, and leading DoD efforts toward the upcoming high-level Peacekeeping Ministerial in South Korea. Dr. Conrado formerly served as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow through The American Association for the Advancement of Science in the same office at DoD.

Hannah Gourgey received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Cultural Studies from UT-Austin in 2000. She has bridged work in higher education, public and workforce education systems change in Central Texas. She has held leadership roles in regional community-based organizations and currently serves as an independent consultant for the Aspen Institute on a statewide initiative in support of disconnected young adults and for E3 Alliance on a national Gates Foundation initiative in higher education transformation. She occasionally teaches graduate courses locally and has published in her fields of communication, education, and workforce development. Hannah also writes creatively when time allows.

Gigi Taylor received a PhD in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999 and an MA in Applied Anthropology from University of North Texas in 2019. She currently works as a Cultural Anthropologist in the strategic research division of Indeed in Austin. Gigi conducts cultural analyses on the hiring practices of US organizations. She has represented the discipline of consumer anthropology at panels at SXSW Interactive as well at both academic and industry conferences.

Thomas Czerniawski received his PhD in civil engineering from UT-Austin in 2020. He is currently working as an assistant professor at Arizona State University, where he does research and teaches in the fields of reality capture, computer vision, and spatial computing.