Free Writing Workshops with Austin Poet Laureate Zell Miller III

Zell Miller III

Aspiring and experienced writers alike are invited to explore creativity, identity and self-expression during a free three-part writing workshop series led by Austin’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Zell Miller III, at Spicewood Springs Branch Library. Presented through Badgerdog Creative Writing, a program of The Library Foundation in partnership with Austin Public Library, the workshops require no […]

Badgerdog offers online college essay writing workshops

College Essay Writing

From Story to Submission: The College Essay Workshop | Online via Zoom Writing about yourself is hard. Most college essays end up sounding like a AI wrote them — or a very bored teenager. Badgerdog’s week-long intensive changes that. On the writing side, students will work with instructor Nour Al Ghraowi, a writer who has led […]

College Essay Writing Workshop

Are you a high school student with college on your mind? Over the course of this five-day online workshop, high school students will move through a generative writing process that guides them through brainstorming, drafting, and revising college application essays. By the end of the week, each student will have studied the craft of the […]

In the community, Badgerdog celebrates voice new and old

This spring, our Badgerdog program brought the joy of creative writing to Valley View Elementary in Westlake, where our Teaching Artist Teresa Johnson led in-school workshops with two 3rd-grade classes. As the school prepares to merge and close its doors, students captured their favorite memories in heartfelt poems and stories — memorializing Valley View in a chapbook, a […]

New! Badgerdog College Essay Writing Workshop

When: 9 a.m. 12 p.m. August 4-8 Cost: $250 Only 10 spots available. Reserve your place now! Are you a high school student with college on your mind? Need help with your application essay? Over the course of this five-day online workshop, high school students will move through a generative writing process that guides them […]

Jena Stude

Interim Treasurer

Jena Stude is Vice President of Development at Good + West Residential. Prior to joining Good + West in 2021, Jena was an Investment Manager at Blueprint Local, a real estate private equity firm, overseeing direct real estate investments in Texas. Before Blueprint Local, Jena was an Associate Director at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) from 2013-2019. Jena previously held similar positions at Ascension Health, a large non-profit hospital system based in St. Louis, Missouri and the University of Arizona Investment Office. Jena holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.

Frank Livaudais

Board Vice President

Frank Livaudais is also Vice President of Enterprise Engineering for Cloudflare, an internet security company in downtown Austin. An avid runner and reader, he has run more than 250 marathons (including races in all 50 U.S. states, six countries, and four continents). Frank tries to read 100+ books a year. He lives in Austin with his wife Shelley, son Christopher and one fairly naughty vizsla.

Tom Oney

Board President

Tom Oney is Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). He oversees LCRA’s Human Resources team and all of LCRA’s public-facing and advocacy functions, including Communications, Community Resources, Environmental Affairs, Public Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs. Tom also advocates before the Texas Legislature on behalf of LCRA and led LCRA’s public policy team during the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Texas legislative sessions.

Tom was born and raised in Waco, Texas, and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Baylor University in 1996. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1999. Tom currently represents LCRA on the board of directors of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas and serves as president of the board of directors of both the Austin Library Foundation and Green Doors, an award-winning non-profit benefiting homeless people in Central Texas.