Meet our Coaches
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Fall 2025 staff
Journalism coaches

Maryam Ahmed

Emily DeMotte

Grace Hurley

Analise Pickerrell

Ava Saunders

Aaron Sullivan

Hope Vanderburg

Emily Quigley
Public Relations and Advertising coaches

Aretxi Castro-Posos
Aretxi is a fourth-year student majoring in public relations with a minor in business. She is a member of Texas Media and Analytics, where she explores the intersection of strategy, storytelling and data. Aretxi’s passion for writing stems from her love of connecting with others through stories. After spending a lot of time in the writing program at Moody, Aretxi came to see how much writing can grow with the right support. She’s passionate about helping others experience that same growth in confidence.

Grace Hurley
Grace Hurley is a junior journalism major with a creative writing certificate. She was the Eats writer for BurntXOrange Magazine in her freshman and sophomore years, covering West Campus’ food scene and culture. Recently, she interned for Edible Austin Magazine as its creative development intern, covering restaurant openings and local culinary events. Her dream job is in food journalism, whether a restaurant editor or a food writer with a unique niche. She also serves as vice president of Alpha Omega Campus Ministry. When Grace isn’t working or studying, she enjoys coffee shop hopping, spending too much money on matcha lattes, trying new restaurants with friends and endlessly editing one of her seven unpublished fiction novels.
Communication Studies and Communication and Leadership coach

Muna Barreh
Muna is a rising senior majoring in political communication studies with a double minor in Arabic and social justice informatics. In addition to working as a writing coach, she interns at PoliChic, a nonpartisan organization that engages Texas women in elections and issue advocacy. Beyond her professional work, Muna is actively involved in campus life. During her time at UT, she has served as events coordinator for Black Muslims Alliance and co-founded Students of East Africa. Currently, she serves as a charter member and president of the National Council of Negro Women, UT Austin Section. Passionate about community engagement, Muna hopes to work in education before pursuing a law degree.
Radio-Television-Film coach

Catherine Vouvray
Catherine Vouvray is a third-year fellow in the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. Her primary area of study is screenwriting and her secondary, fiction. Her first feature film as writer/director, "Bootstraps," is finishing up post-production while her latest novel, "The Months of Payne: September," seeks a home. She has attended prestigious labs like the Stowe Narrative Lab, CineStory TV Lab and CineStory Feature Retreat, and was a fellow of the Middlebury Script Lab. She was the runner-up in the Del Shores Writer Search and a semifinalist in Universal Studios GTDI program with her feature rom-com and has placed in many other writing contests. Currently, she is hard at work on a feature screenplay musical.
Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences coach

Emily Rangel
Emily Rangel is a first-year graduate student in the MSSLHS program at UT Austin. As a recent UT Moody graduate herself, Emily has experience in various clinical, research, and academic settings, as well as in student life. Currently, she is a graduate research assistant. Emily is dedicated to supporting student growth, learning, and mentorship by meeting students where they are and helping them enhance their writing skills in meaningful contexts.
Contact the Writing Support Program
moodywriting@austin.utexas.edu
DMC 3.322