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Staff Biographies
MICHAEL L. GILLETTE, Executive Director, joined Humanities Texas in June 2003. Prior to his appointment, he held the position of Director of the Center for Legislative Archives, with responsibility for the official records of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. In addition to the Archives position, which he held since 1991, Gillette also served as liaison to the Foundation for the National Archives from its creation in 1992 until 1997. He received a B.A. in government and a Ph.D. in history from The University of Texas at Austin.
After joining the staff of the LBJ Library in 1972, he directed the Library’s Oral History Program from 1976 to 1991. He also directed the President Election Research Project at the LBJ School of Public Affairs from 1988 to 1991. He was a member of the board of directors of the Everett Dirksen Congressional Leadership Center from 1993 until 1999. He has also served on the advisory board of the Law Library of Congress’s National Digital Library Program and currently serves on the advisory board of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University and the Board of Visitors of Southwestern University. Gillette is the author of Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History and editor of Texas in Transition, and Financing Presidential Campaigns, 1988 and 1992. He has also published numerous articles on politics and civil rights and has been an active member of the oral history profession.
JULIA AGUILAR, Program Officer, joined Humanities Texas in August 2003. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in the Plan II Honors Program and a B.S. in advertising, with a minor in business. She entered UT as a Minnie Stevens Piper Scholar and a National Hispanic Scholar. While a student at UT, she worked for the Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Jim Vick. During her four years with the Student Affairs office, she assisted with the UT Parents’ Association during meetings of the advisory board, managed their database of members, and recruited new members during summer orientation. She also supported cultural groups in the Austin area by working for both Ballet Austin and the Austin Symphony and spent the summer of 2000 studying art, architecture, and classics abroad in Italy. She serves as principal assistant to Executive Director Michael Gillette, supporting activities of the board of directors, the capital campaign, and the development of promotional materials for council-conducted programs and events.
BRENT BAGGETT, Exhibit Developer and Manager, joined Humanities Texas in October 2007. He received a M.F.A in Sculpture from Bard College in New York and a B.F.A. in Functional Design from Murray State University in Kentucky. Prior to joining the staff at Humanities Texas, he worked as studio facilitator and administrator for Mid-Ocean Studio in Providence, Rhode Island, and as art preparator for the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
MEGHAN CHANEY, Administrative Assistant, joined Humanities Texas full-time in September 2004. She grew up in Austin and attended Texas State University. She has worked previously as an office manager and accounts payable and receivable officer at various companies, including 10X Contracting, Spectrum Drywall, and Stipco Construction.
BROOK A. DAVIS, Grants Program Officer, holds a B.A. in history and political science from Texas State University-San Marcos. She joined Humanities Texas in September 2002 as an intern and in January 2003 was hired as a full-time administrative assistant. In January 2004 she was promoted to grants program officer and now supports the administration of Humanities Texas's grants program. She maintains the grants database system, tracks grant-funded programs, compiles program-related statistics, and assists Texas-based nonprofit organizations in developing effective grant proposals.
YVONNE GONZÁLEZ, Deputy Director, joined Humanities Texas as fiscal officer in May 1988. She served as director of finance from 1995 until October 1999, at which time she was promoted to the position of associate director and chief financial officer. She served as interim executive director for Humanities Texas from April through July 2002. A Texas native from Brownsville, she worked previously as a fiscal officer and consultant for nonprofit organizations funded in part by city, state, and federal grants. From 1980 to 1985, she served as fiscal agent for two City of Austin social service and housing grant award recipients. She holds a B.L.S. degree in accounting from St. Edward's University in Austin. As deputy director of Humanities Texas, she is responsible for the organization's finances, auditing, human resources administration, grant report, and compliance.
MELISSA HUBER, Exhibits Coordinator, holds a B.A. in art history from Arizona State University and will complete an M.S. in historic preservation at The University of Texas at Austin this spring. Prior to joining Humanities Texas, she worked as a technician at the Blanton Museum of Art and as a graduate assistant in UT's Architectural Conservation Lab. As exhibits coordinator, she coordinates the circulation of exhibits and the promotion of related programs.
MARTIN KOHOUT, Senior Editor, joined Humanities Texas in September 2006. He received an M.A. in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in English literature from Williams College. Before joining the staff of Humanities Texas, he worked at the Texas State Historical Association, where he edited the Handbook of Texas Online, the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, and a number of books. He has published an award-winning biography, Hal Chase: The Defiant Life and Turbulent Times of Baseball’s Biggest Crook, as well as a number of articles and reviews. He serves as principal editor for special projects and the upcoming newsletter and is the primary grant writer for the building capital campaign.
ERIC LUPFER, Director of Grants and Education, holds a Ph.D. in English (2003) and an M.S. in Information Studies (2004) from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College (1991). Before joining the staff of Humanities Texas in 2004, he worked at UT’s Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, where he curated an NEH-funded traveling exhibit on Isaac Bashevis Singer and codirected the center’s summer teacher institute. He has taught courses in literature and composition at both the high school and college levels. In the past several years, he has published articles and book reviews on American literature and publishing history, including an essay in the five-volume, collaborative scholarly work, A History of the Book in America.
JULIE PENNINGTON, Executive Assistant, joined the staff of Humanities Texas in September 2007. She previously worked as administrative manager and special events coordinator at the Texas State Historical Association and as administrative coordinator for the Philosophical Society of Texas. Prior to that she worked as a mentor for housing self-sufficiency with Garden Terrace and as an armed forces emergency services specialist with the American Red Cross in Austin. She has a B.A. in sociology with a minor in Asian American studies and a certificate of nonprofit management from The University of Texas at Austin. As executive assistant, her duties include assisting with capital campaign and development efforts and preparing grant proposals and workshops. She will also assist with statewide council activities, coordinate event planning, and assume responsibility for the Friends of Humanities Texas.
KATHRYNE B. TOVO, Director of Programs and Communications, oversees the traveling exhibits and other council-directed programs as well as Humanities Texas's publications and external communications. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. with Honors in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has taught history, literature, and writing courses at the university level and has collaborated on instructional design projects and publications within the university and in the private sector. Her current research interests range from author Mary MacLane to the twentieth-century "See America First" tourism campaign. In her spare time, she serves on several City of Austin and school district task forces and participates in education and community-related issues. She is a member of the 2008 Leadership Austin class.