AFF Staff - Austin Film Festival

Meet Our Staff!

Bringing writers, filmmakers, and the community together.

Want to work with us? Volunteer, Intern, or check out our job opportunities!

Click on the staff image to view their bio!

Barbara Morgan - Executive Director

Barbara Morgan serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Austin Film Festival. Since co-founding the organization in 1993, she has shepherded the festival from a weekend of films and panels into a week-long celebration of storytelling through film, television, and other emerging forms of narrative media. Known as the prominent festival that champions screenwriters and media creators, the Festival also boasts over a dozen internationally acclaimed film and screenplay competitions, diverse youth education programs, and a sprawling calendar of year-round events.

Leveraging the vast amount of footage recorded at these events since its inception, Morgan created the festivals On Story Project in 2009, and serves as the project’s Executive Producer. A conglomerate of mainly digital resources, On Story includes a television show (available on PBS affiliated stations nationwide), radio show (distributed by PRI and NPR affiliated stations), podcast series, a three-part book series (published in partnership with UT press), and extensive public archive, making the Festival experience free and open to the public at large. She has received 2 Lone Star Emmy’s for On Story episodes, Breaking Bad: A Conversation with Vince Gilligan and for the Season 8 episode Script to Screen: Arrival in 2018.

Morgan is an independent film producer, whose films have included Natural Selection, Antone’s: Home of the Blues, Portrait of Wally, and Spring Eddy. She serves on a number of boards, including Dell Children’s Blood and Cancer Center, and The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University. Morgan lives in Austin, Texas with her daughter, Hannah, and two dogs.

Barb@austinfilmfestival.com

Barbara Morgan

Executive Director

email Barb

Colin Hyer - Conference Director

Colin Hyer serves as the Creative Director of Austin Film Festival where he oversees all Festival programming. In addition to orchestrating the annual Writers Conference and year-round events, he works in tandem with the organization’s Film Department and Script Competitions Department to plan, promote, and maintain a connected program that celebrates and champions storytellers. He originally served as AFF’s Young Filmmakers Program Coordinator before stepping into the role of Conference Director in 2017. Originally from Wisconsin, Colin moved to Austin after graduating from Columbia College Chicago. Before joining Austin Film Festival full-time, he taught video production to youth for five years through non-profit organizations like Austin School of Film, Creative Action, and Austin Film Festival’s Young Filmmakers Program. Outside of the office, Colin enjoys reading Stephen King novels and playing with his dog Mayo.

Colin@austinfilmfestival.com

Colin Hyer

Creative Director

email Colin

Casey Baron - Director of Programming and Industry Relations

Born and raised in the small island of Dominica located in the West Indies, Casey Baron moved to Austin after graduating from Florida State University with a degree in English – Editing, Writing, and Media. While attending FSU, Casey worked for The Torchlight Program. During his time there, he was the Team Leader and Personal Assistant to film industry veteran Paul Cohen, the program’s Executive Director. Beyond that creative venture, Casey has also been an editor on a handful of literary magazines, including FSU’s The Kudzu Review and Miami Dade College’s AXIS Creative Arts Magazine.

Casey has been a part of the Austin Film Festival family for three years running; starting off as an intern before climbing the ladder to become the festival’s Shorts Programmer for its 25th anniversary, and Senior Film Program Director after that. He’s excited to jump into his new role as the Director of Programming and Industry Relations, and continuing the organizational and personal mission of championing storytellers. When he’s not racing to find interesting stories, Casey spends his spare time watching basketball and soccer, listening to music, and playing with his dog Niobe.

Casey Baron

Director of Programming and Industry Relations

email Casey

Karla Lugo - Script Competitions Director

Originally from El Paso, TX, Karla moved to Austin Texas in 2019 in the hopes of becoming part of the AFF Team. She now serves as the Script Competitions Director at the organization and hopes her deep love for film and writing will help foster and champion the writers who participate at the AFF Festival. In her free time you can find her binge-watching TV shows or hanging out with her pug Olivia.

Karla Lugo

Script Competitions Director

email Karla

Tim Gray - Film Program Manager

Five years ago, Tim was on his way to Austin with his car packed with everything he owned and his sights set on attaining a degree in film from the University of Texas. While in college, he was able to intern with the film department at Austin Film Festival. After spending a year after graduation bouncing between productions, he found his way back to the festival he loved in a new role as the shorts programmer.

If he is not watching shorts at home with his cat, you can find Tim exploring one of the many parks around Austin, enjoying a latte at a local café, or sleeping in the hammock on his patio.

Tim Gray

Film Competitions Director

email Tim

Trent Jones - Shorts Programmer

Trent was born in Frankfurt, Germany to an Army Family and moved around a lot as kid before settling down in Texas. Film was a constant connection to the world as he moved from base to base. He has spent the past 8 years working for festivals in Austin and falling in love with the atmosphere of cinema. He has a passion for helping filmmakers get their vision out into the world. When he’s not screening films he spends his time discovering new breweries around the city.

Trent Jones

Shorts Programmer

email Trent

Marcey White - Development Director

Marcey began working with Austin Film Festival to establish sponsorships for the On Story Project public television and podcast series. As Development Director she delivers custom sponsor and partner opportunities for the most effective marketing platform! Prior to her move to Austin in 2019 Marcey’s advertising and sponsorship career included positions with Baltimore’s NPR Station WYPR, Maryland Public Television/The PBS Sponsorship Group, and CBS Radio.

Marcey White

Development Director

email Marcey

Nicholas Martin - Marketing Director

Nicholas Martin

Marketing Director

email Nicholas

Lily Vega - Marketing Coordinator

Lily Vega

Marketing Coordinator

email Lily

Olivia Crouch - Project Manager

Born and raised in Austin, Olivia Crouch moved to Chicago to pursue a BFA in Film Editing with a minor in Documentary Production from DePaul University. After graduation, she returned to her hometown to pursue a career in live music and event production!

Olivia originally joined the Austin Film Festival team as an intern before coming into her role as Office Manager. She is excited to be a part of an organization that works towards championing storytellers. In her spare time, you can find Olivia hiking, playing cards at Barton Springs, and spending time with her dog Mojo.

Olivia Crouch

Project Manager

email Olivia

Sage Kosiorek - Director of Script Competitions

After a deep love for film developed in college, Sage decided he needed to move to a place with a bustling film environment. He had heard great things about Austin, Texas and so decided to move there in 2016. That same year, he began working in various capacities for Austin Film Festival, which after a few years led to the Director of Script Competitions role, and now stepping into the Operations Manager role. His passion for the arts, particularly writing and film, and getting the opportunity to build relationships with people in these fields are what keep him going.

Sage@austinfilmfestival.com

Sage Kosiorek

Operations Manager

email Sage

Kelsey Walker - Young Filmmakers Program Director

Originally from the small town of Refugio, TX, Kelsey Walker moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas where she graduated with a B.S. in Radio-Television-Film. After her time at UT, she spent a few months teaching English and Social Studies at Refugio ISD.

Kelsey currently serves as the Young Filmmakers Program Director at Austin Film Festival. She oversees the four key initiatives for the Young Filmmakers Program: Digital Storytelling, Summer Film Camp, Festival and Conference Scholarships, and the Young Filmmakers Competition. Kelsey is dedicated to providing opportunities to students and helping them express themselves through arts education!

In her free time, Kelsey enjoys spending time with her cat, Oliver, listening to music, and being in the sun!

Kelsey Walker

Young Filmmakers Program Director

email Kelsey

Jamal Knox - On Story Radio & Podcast Producer

Jamal Knox is an Austin-based audio engineer and musician. He has been working in the live music scene since 2009, playing for local and national acts as well as providing audio-visual and post-production services for bands, companies & artists. He joined the Austin Film Festival On Story® team in 2012 and most recently served as the Lead Radio Editor. Jamal is a lover of animals, storytelling, and parts unknown and is a skilled multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer. In his free time he participates in events for various arts organizations, produces music and travels.

Jamal Knox

On Story Radio & Podcast Producer

email Jamal

Elizabeth Mims - On Story Producer

Elizabeth grew up in Austin, Texas and graduated with a BFA from CalArts. Her 2012 film Only The Young was theatrically released by Oscilloscope and won numerous awards including the Silverdoc’s Sterling Silver Award for best US documentary, American Film Institute Audience Award, and was nominated for a Spirit Award. Elizabeth directed The Normal Guy an ad that won Austin Addy’s best in Show in 2021. Elizabeth was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Indie Film and worked as the Senior Film Programmer for the Austin Film Festival for over 5 years. She works in film represented by UTA as a writer, director, editor and producer.

Elizabeth Mims

On Story Producer

You?

Join us! There are numerous Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

Roy Morgan - Canine Relations

If you visit, you’re likely to run into Roy Morgan.

He’s a big fan of head pats, belly scratches, and great filmic storytelling. Follow us on social media — especially instagram — to get more updates from this cool canine.

Roy Morgan

Director of Canine Relations

Mayonnaise Hyer - Conference Canine

Mayonnaise started at Austin Film Festival in 2016. She assists in planning the annual Writers Conference and Year-Round Events and provides security for the office and staff.

Mayonnaise Hyer

Conference Canine

MoJo Mallard - Pup Project Manager

Keeps the office running.

MoJo Mallard

Pup Project Manager

The folks [at AFF] share our passion…Which is, of course, why they are so damn adept at crafting a conference that manages to satisfy the needs and desires of all of us attending.”
-Scott Rosenberg, screenwriter

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