Alumni@Work

Susan Zakaib received her PhD in History from UT-Austin in 2016. She is currently working as a freelance grants’ consultant through her own business, called Fund Your Movement, where she supports movement building nonprofits to grow their grant funding through grant writing, coaching and training.

Michelle received her PhD in Human Development from UC Davis in 2017 and was a postdoc at UT Austin from 2017-2019. She is currently working as an Evaluation Analyst I at Austin Independent School District (AISD), where she plans and conducts program evaluations for the Multilingual Education Team and Creative Learning Initiative. She has published 4 evaluation reports in her time at AISD (among 16 total publications) and launched an innovative “data party” with stakeholders to disseminate her findings. She has been awarded both national and international grant funding for her independent research proposals throughout her graduate and postgraduate career.

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.