Meet Our Team

This team values honesty, integrity and respect. We are committed to ending systemic oppression. We work to leverage the power of the arts to improve lives and the community. 

 
Photo of Thomas Robbins, Executive Director

Thomas Robbins

Executive Director
Vocalist
Billy Bob Thornton’s doppelganger
Not to be confused with the author Tom Robbins
Look for Tom in the credits of Field of Dreams (1989)!

“As with prayer, every artistic expression lifts the soul beyond earthly existence.”
—Pope John Paul II

 
Photo of Kelsey Ritchie, Operations Director

Kelsey Ritchie

Operations Director, because Master of the Universe is not available as a job title
Veins run with Margarita Mix
Visual Artist
Answers phone, "Buddy the Elf, What's your favorite color?"

“‎I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.”
–E. B. White

 
Photo of Jenna Viehauser, Education Coordinator & Marketing Manager

Jenna Viehauser

Education Coordinator / Marketing Manager
Visual Artist
Rocks unusual lipstick colors
The Bee’s Knees
Makes life a little more spooky and we’re here for it

“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.”
–Rumi

 
Photo of Amy Wightkin, Paramount Theatre Manager & Administrative Assistant

Amy Wightkin

Paramount Theatre Manager / Administrative Assistant
Multi-instrumentalist
Glasses model
Invents her own DQ Blizzard flavors

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
—Maya Angelou

 
Photo of Terri Bergstrom, Program Assistant

Terri Bergstrom

Program Assistant
Jewelry Artist
Wonder Woman
Pumpkin Spice Terri

“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few.”
—Emily Dickinson

 
Photo of Lora Lee Bauer, Paramount Theatre Assistant

Lora Lee Bauer

Paramount Theatre Assistant
Paints in watercolor and acrylics
Desert dry wit
First job ever / last job ever: clean the Paramount
Thinks she is Miley Cyrus

“Explain to me how you having a problem with me is my problem.”
—Dan Pearce

 

Cora Feist

Retail Associate / Box office / Custodial staff
Visual Artist
Practically perfect in every way
Excellent taste in locations for photo shoots
Irresistible giggle

“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep… Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”
—Ernest Hemingway

 
Photo of Pen McVay, Retail Associate & Class Instructor

Pen McVay

Retail Associate / Instructor
Digital Illustrator
Happy little gremlin
Antihero

"Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined."
—Toni Morrison

 
Photo of Sarah Sullivan, Clay Cavern Studio Assistant

Sarah Sullivan

Clay Cavern Studio Assistant
Aspiring coloring book designer
Yes, she’s related to John

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
—Joseph Campbell

 
Photo of Erin Adamson, Custodial staff

Erin Adamson

Custodial Staff
Award-winning poet
Volleyball and track athlete
Cool as a cucumber

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.”
—Walt Whitman

 

Austin Area Arts provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.