RTF Staff
In addition to the staff listed below, RTF is fortunate to receive the support of the Moody College technical staff. For information, please see https://moody.utexas.edu/technology/staff.
Administrative Staff
Rachel Walker
Administrative Manager E-mail: rachel.walker@austin.utexas.edu New to the department as of January 2017, Rachel Walker assists the Department Chair, managing all of the administrative functions of the Department. She is responsible for the instructional budget, course scheduling, human resource management, department scholarships and internships, faculty promotion and award nominations, and miscellaneous projects of all kinds. Rachel also works closely with the communications coordinator to develop department publications and large-scale events and acts as a liaison with the College's academic advisors for academic planning and course management. Rachel earned her B.A. in English from the University of Texas. An avid music fan, she can often be found in the front row of a live show around Austin. She lives in a log cabin east of town and loves fussing over her chickens, ducks, cats, honeybees and Great Pyrenees dogs.
Office: CMA 6.120D
Phone: 512-471-4058
Wendy Stuessy
Financial Administrator E-mail: Wendy.stuessy@austin.utexas.edu Wendy serves as a full-time accountant and purchaser for all the department accounts.
Office: CMA 6.120B
Phone: 512-471-4136
Marisela Campos
Office Manager E-mail: marisela.campos@austin.utexas.edu Marisela Campos recently received her B.S. with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin RTF program in Spring 2019, where she focused on producing. Some of her producing credits include short films, The Adventures of… from director Sophia Loffreda, and The 11th Order from director Joshua DeFour. She is excited to join the department and hopes her unique perspective as a recent graduate will allow her to connect and support faculty, staff, and students.
Office: CMA 6.120
Hours: M-F 8 am - 5 pm
Phone: 512-471-4191
Bert Herigstad
Office Manager, outgoing E-mail: bert.herigstad@austin.utexas.edu Bert has been with the Department of Radio-Television-Film since the fall of 1997. He is the office manager and handles many routine administrative tasks. Bert is most proud of meeting a troubled student or faculty member and leaving them with hope.
Office: CMA 6.120
Hours: M-F 7:45am -4:45pm
Phone: 512-471-4191
Lee Sparks
Media Librarian/Administrative Assistant E-mail: Lee.Sparks@austin.utexas.edu Lee, a 1997 Summa Cum Laude graduate of RTF, has served as the RTF Media Librarian since 1998. In addition to serving the RTF Graduate and Faculty communities, he coordinates RTF film and video class screenings and is the RTF Media Library purchasing agent. Lee also manages faculty travel, visiting speaker arrangements, reimbursements, pro card purchases, and vendor payments. Recreationally, Lee is an avid consumer of American comic books and hates the pretentious term 'graphic novel.' When not enjoying genre films from other countries, he cleans up after his cats.
Office: CMA 6.168
Hours: M-F 10 am-4 pm
Phone: 471.1906
Elana Wakeman
Communications & Programs Coordinator E-mail: ewakeman@austin.utexas.edu Elana manages all content updates for the RTF website, coordinates department-sponsored summer camps and workshops, manages social media outreach, coordinates the Longhorn Denius showcase and other RTF initiatives, and produces promotional materials for departmental events. She comes to RTF after working as Publications Manager at UT's Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk and earning her M.F.A. in film production from Florida State University. She also holds a B.A. in English from Duke University.
Office: CMA 6.104
Phone: 512-471-6617
Roxy New
Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator
E-mail: roxy.new@austin.utexas.edu
Office: BMC 2.600
Phone: 512-471-1553
Roxy New joined Moody College in June of 2017 as an advisor for Communication Studies, and transitioned to her position as Academic Advising Coordinator for RTF in February 2019. Prior to her time at UT, she spent three years working in undergraduate student advising at the University of Oklahoma, where she received her B.A. in Social Work and her M.S.W., Master of Social Work. She is currently serving as the Co-Coordinator of Moody College Orientation and the Co-Coordinator of Moody College Honors Day.
In her spare time, you can find Roxy attending a weekly showing at the movie theater, exploring the Austin food scene with friends, or spending time outside with her cat.
Calvin Athy
Associate Undergraduate Academic Advisor
E-mail: Calvin.Athy@austin.utexas.edu
Office: BMC 2.502
Phone: 512-475-6374
Calvin Athy joined the RTF advising team in June of 2019, moving from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he served as a Resident Director and Peer Advisor Coordinator for two years. He received a B.A. in Psychology from Spring Arbor University and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Sioux Falls.
He enjoys watching sports, playing video games, visiting different trails with his dog Rocket, and playing soccer. Calvin is also an avid coffee, tea, and sparkling water drinker and loves learning of new places to try!
Tessandra Lancaster
Assistant Undergraduate Academic Advisor
E-mail: tessandra.lancaster@austin.utexas.edu
Office: BMC 2.504
Phone: 512-475-6374
Tessandra Lancaster has been an Advisor in the Moody College since 2016, first for Communication & Leadership and now for RTF. She received a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in College Student Development from St. Edward’s University. She currently serves as Chair for the Pride and Equity Faculty/Staff Association (PEFSA) here at UT and sits on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit organization.
Some of her many interests include camping, reading, playing video games, attending music festivals, and meditating. She especially enjoys connecting with RTF students about the kinds of media they have been personally affected by.
