Administrative Staff
Executive Director Melissa Chavez served as principal of UT Elementary School for three years before being named Executive Director, and prior to that served as assistant principal. She was a teacher in Austin ISD for 10 years before becoming an administrator, including assistant to the associate superintendent for Austin ISD.
Melissa has masters in educational administration and is currently a doctoral student at University of Texas at Austin in the department of Special Education. Melissa is the proud wife of Charles Soto and mother of Malcolm Soto, who attends kindergarten at UT Elementary School.
Principal Dr. Benjamin Kramer joins the UT Elementary staff as Principal from his most recent stint as a professor in the Educational Leadership Program at Texas State University. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Classics from Princeton University, a Master's in Education from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Education (Curriculum Studies) from UT-Austin. He has taught in Greece, in Ecuador, and as a Teach For America member (1991-1993), in Houston, Texas. He served as Principal of Mathews Elementary in Austin ISD from 1998-2004 and as the Assistant Principal at the International High School of Austin from 2005-2006. His awards include special commendation from the Austin Children's Shelter for his work with homeless students and the 2008 American Educational Research Association Outstanding Dissertation in Second Language Research.
Business Manager Julie Nance began her career in banking as a teller at a young age, and worked her way up to administration/management before serving as secretary bookkeeper for fifteen years in Austin Independent School District. Now she’s lucky enough to be the business manager of the best school in Texas. When not immersed in budgets and audits, Julie enjoys spending time with her husband and children.
Administrative Associate Rae Ann Buentello works in the business office assisting Julie Nance with financial accounts and payroll business. Prior to coming to UT Elementary, she spent three years doing registrar and administrative work with the Austin Independent School District. Rae Ann is currently a student at Concordia University and an active member of the Parent Forum Executive Board. Her daughter Taylor is in third grade at UT Elementary.
Registrar Emily Work has worked in the education field for twenty-four years, part of that time as an executive administrative associate for the Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in El Paso. She grew up in El Paso and is married to a retired football coach, Tom, and with two daughters and one son: Desiree (and husband Bryan), Aimee, and Benjamin.
Administrative Associate Pamela Ledbetter —bio coming soon.
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Licensed Psychologist Dr. Jennifer Hargrave, PhD, LSSP, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin Psychology program in 2004. Her dissertation examined neuropsychological skills related to writing. She has provided assessment and counseling services to schools in Austin, Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Round Rock. She also completed a year-long internship specializing in crisis intervention at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston, Texas. Since graduating from UT, she coordinated a NIMH research grant examining the treatment of childhood depression, while also working for Austin ISD and teaching graduate students at The University of Texas. Current research interests include implementing evidence based treatments in the school setting and developing counseling programs for children experiencing parental divorce. Her goal for this school year is to help design and implement the Social and Emotional Learning Program.
School Social Worker Kerri Fisher received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Howard Payne University, taught English as a foreign language, and recently received her master’s degree from the University of Texas School of Social Work. Kerri’s passions are families, education, and intercultural communication & collaboration. These concepts will guide her service with and to the students, families and staff of UT Elementary School.
School Nurse Renee Damron — bio and photo coming soon.
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Nurse’s Aid Denise Espinosa — bio coming soon.
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Network Analyst John Molina manages our network administration, information technology, and school web site and has been employed by the University for more than 10 years. Most recently, he was a LAN administrator at the University Development Office. Prior to that, he worked for the College of Liberal Arts as a graphic designer and desktop publishing specialist. John received his bachelor’s degree in Art History from UT Austin, College of Fine Arts.
Building Attendant Leader Joe Takacs has been at UT Elementary since 2005. He moved to Texas from Oxford, Connecticut. He lives in Round Rock with his wife and three children. Mr. Joe has been in the school systems for the past 16 years. Prior to this, he served four years in the United States Marine Corps. Mr. Joe is the biggest Pittsburg Steelers fan you will ever meet.
Building Attendant Robert Kittling — bio coming soon.
