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.
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Colin Hyer - Creative 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.
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Casey Baron - Chair of the Uplifting Storytellers Initiative Advisory Board
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.
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Carla Click - Managing Director
A fifth-generation Texan, Carla has a B.S. in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas. Her work experience covers communications, film and television, fine arts, graphic design, and nonprofit sectors. Carla loves good storytelling, history, preservation and design. Her student films are part of a Texas film archive, and she prints her own designs on a 150-year-old letterpress. Carla has been an AFF volunteer and attendee for many years, and joined the staff in 2022. One of her favorite things to do is swing dancing to Austin’s live music. Over a glass of wine, ask her about learning the importance of listening from Norman Lear.
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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.
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Alyssa Alvarado - Screenplay Department Director
Alyssa Alvarado serves as the Screenplay Department Director of the Austin Film Festival where she oversees Screenplay Competition and Coverage program. Born in El Paso and raised in Houston, Alyssa moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas at Austin graduating with a B.S . in Radio-Television-Film. Before joining Austin Film Festival, she lived in LA for a couple of years and worked for the Producers Guild of America. Outside of the office, Alyssa enjoys working out, going to concerts and the Austin nightlife.
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Grace Donaldson - Script Manager
Grace Donaldson serves as Austin Film Festival’s Script Manager, where she serves as the reader supervisor for the screenplay competition. A recent University of Texas graduate with a Radio, Television, Film degree, Grace is eager to further her career at an organization whose mission is to further the art and craft of storytelling. Before joining the AFF team full-time, Grace worked as a production runner with the Longhorn Network and ESPN, where she found a passion for the fast-paced world of live media production. When she’s not in the office, you can find Grace writing, playing guitar, or watching movies.
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Hannah Mason - Young Filmmakers Program Director
Hannah Mason is the Director of the Young Filmmakers Program at Austin Film Festival, where she oversees the Digital Storytelling Program, the Young Filmmakers Competition, the Festival Scholarship Program, and the Summer Film Camp Program. Originally from San Antonio, Hannah moved to Austin after receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Before joining the Austin Film Festival team, she worked for various non-profits in Austin, such as the ZACH Theatre, Impact Arts, and more. In her spare time, she can be found watching movies at the Alamo Drafthouse or watching large amounts of reality television.
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Elizabeth Mims - On Story Executive 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.
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Elizabeth Mims
On Story Executive Producer
Andy Volk - Lead Film Programmer
Growing up in Tucson, Arizona Andy found a deep passion for film between his uncles endlessly quoting Monty Python and theater-hopping to escape the summer heat. That obsession turned into a B.A. in Film Studies from Seattle University, where he worked for Seattle International Film Festival and freelanced in the industry. His documentaries garnered awards across the festival circuit in 2021, bringing him to Austin where he quickly found a home in the vibrant ATX film scene. As Shorts Programmer, he’s driven by supporting emerging filmmakers and sharing stories with the potential to cultivate positive change. When not watching or making movies, Andy is off playing the drums, reading about the cosmos, or running around taking photos.
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Marissa Padden - Film Administrator
Marissa is currently serving in her second year as AFF’s Short Film Programmer. However, she is no stranger to the festival! In the past four years she has also served as the festival’s Theater Operations Manager and Conference Coordinator. She is a Nebraska native who graduated summa cum laude from Texas State University with a B.A. in Communication Studies. In addition to her work with AFF, she is also an independent film producer and award-winning actor and voiceover artist. When she isn’t working or pursuing her passion for the arts you can find her spending time with friends, reorganizing her room (again), or planning her next trip to Uganda!
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Samuel Garcia - Film Marketing Coordinator
Making his way from South Texas, Samuel grew up watching the TCM, B-Horror, and 70s indie underground movie marathons his grandmother would put on in their family living room before deciding that he wanted to be a storyteller. After graduating with an English degree from UT Austin and a background in communication he’s able to scratch that itch for eclectic narratives with his coworkers at AFF as an assistant to the film department and serving as Film Marketing Coordinator. When he’s momentarily unhanded from the iron filmic grip on his life, he likes to make playlists on spotify, play video games at 3am, and try to finish his first novel.
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Khoi Banks - Marketing Coordinator
Khoi grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where she then attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. While at VCU, she studied Public Relations and ran D1 Track and Field. Khoi moved to Austin in 2022 to work for Austin Film Festival and be around people who are just as passionate about television and film as she is and loves the culture that AFF has created over the years for the writing community. She loves to watch TV, listen to music, photography, and read in her spare time when not in the office.
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Travis Broughton - Marketing Director
After twenty-plus years in the music industry, Travis Broughton joined Austin Film Festival as Marketing Director. He worked for an independent music promotion firm for the past decade, helping many artists in multiple genres begin and further their careers. Before that, Travis did marketing and promotions for radio stations in Austin and Albuquerque, NM. He lives in Round Rock with his wife, two daughters, and Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
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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.
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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.
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Mayonnaise Hyer
Conference Canine