Full-Time Staff
Susie Smith
Director
Susie is from Texas and received a B.S. in Speech Communication from The University of Texas at Austin in 1987. Her career has focused in the areas of membership, development and event planning at organizations such as Barton Creek Country Club, Riverplace Country Club and destination management company, Circa Austin. Susie found her way back to the Forty Acres in 2008, serving as associate director for constituent relations in the College of Natural Sciences. In 2011, she was named director of Texas Parents and charged with developing strategies to enhance and expand Texas Parents services for all UT families. As mom of three active kids ages 20, 16 and 16 (yes, twins!), she enjoys being her kids' biggest fan in all that they do. Quite simply, Susie loves being a mom and sees her position at UT as an opportunity to draw on her and others' parental experiences to help UT parents and their students.
Favorite UT Austin Fact: Back in the day, class Adds and Drops were done manually with index cards and tables circling the multiple levels of the Erwin Center.
Shannon Cantlay
Assistant Director for Family Orientation and Events
Shannon grew up just outside of Dallas, Texas in the city of Frisco. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Louisiana State University (LSU) and a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University. Shannon has worked with parents and family members at several universities before landing back in her home state at the University of Texas at Austin. She also spent some time as a traveling leadership consultant visiting 20 different universities. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys going to the dog park, watching movies, and taking in the sights and sounds of Austin.
Favorite UT Austin Fact: The famous Big Bertha drum, “The sweetheart of the Longhorn Band” weighs over 500 pounds and is almost a century old.
Lindsey Lundberg
Assistant Director for Communication
Lindsey was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her Bachelors of Art in Mathematics from Azusa Pacific University (APU) in 2013. She spent a few years after graduation living overseas before moving back to California to work at APU assisting in Finances and office management. Since then, Lindsey has moved to Texas with her husband. Outside of work, Lindsey enjoys cooking, crocheting and traveling to different countries all over the world.
Favorite UT Austin Fact: The university holds one of only 21 remaining complete copies of the Gutenberg Bible and the first permanent photograph.
Jamie Rainelli
Office Manager
Jamie was born in Germany and raised in the Midwest. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Indiana in Business Administration Management. Most recently, Jamie has enjoyed working with alumni and parents at one of our nations service academies. Outside of work she enjoys the outdoors, cooking, spending time with her family, and attending college sporting events.
Favorite UT Austin Fact: Smokey The Cannon was built in 1953 and is shot every time the school’s football team score a touchdown.
Gloria Peña-Spener
Membership Associate
Gloria was raised in El Paso, Texas and moved to Austin in 2015 to attend The University of Texas at Austin. She earned a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Spanish from UT Austin in May, 2019. Before becoming the Membership Associate, Gloria worked for Texas Parents as a Student Office Assistant and was a member of the piccolo section in the Longhorn Band. She also took time to study Spanish in Spain. Outside of work, Gloria enjoys hiking on the Greenbelt, hanging out at Zilker Park, and attending Texas football games.
Favorite UT Austin Fact: If you see the albino squirrel on your way to an exam, you’ll get an A.
Student Staff
Kennedy is a sophomore Communication & Leadership major from Santa Fe, Texas. She began working for Texas Parents in 2018 as an Office Assistant. Kennedy is a member of Texas Students Against Gun Violence, and The Orange Generation (an off-campus organization she co-founded). Kennedy loves concerts, reading, and running. She hopes to become an RA in the following years.
Lauren is a senior Public Relations major from Mansfield, Texas. She began working for Texas Parents in 2017 as an Office Assistant. Lauren is a member of the spirit group Absolute Texxas and a copyeditor for her PR class website, News & Junk. Lauren enjoys going to local Austin music shows, tex-mex food and painting.
Shay is a sophomore Human Dimensions of Orgainzations major from Fort Wort, Texas. She began working for Texas Parents in the Fall of 2019 as an Office Assistant. Shay is an active member of the Chi Omega sprproty and s a weekly volunteer at Dream Outside the Box. Outside of school and work, she enjoys going to Barton Springs with friends, watching movies and attending college sporting events.
Alex is a senior Arts & Entertainment Technologies major from Austin, Texas. He began working for Texas Parents in 2019 as an Office Assistant. Alex is the Membership Vice President for Campus Events + Entertainment. Outside of work, Alex enjoys cooking/baking, digital art, and theatre.