Executive Director's Staff

Headshot of Facilities Services Director, Darren Hale

Executive Director's Office

Facilities Services Organizational Charts

Contact

Facilities Services Executive Director's Office 
Phone: 512-471-4110 
Fax: 512-471-7739 
FSDirectorsOffice@austin.utexas.edu

Ben Triplett portrait, Custodial Services Associate Director

Custodial Services (CS)

Ben Triplett 
Associate Director, Custodial Services  
benjamin.triplett@austin.utexas.edu

Ben brings 23 years of experience in custodial and commercial cleaning. Prior to joining Facilities Services, he held the position of the director of custodial services at Washington State University for nearly five years. Before that he was the assistant director of housing at the University of North Carolina for more than four years, and the assistant director for main campus at East Carolina University for over six years. He has also served as a maintenance manager for Wal-Mart for more than three years and as owner and president of Omega Maintenance Services for five years. Ben earned his Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ben is a graduate of the APPA Leadership Academy. He also was the recipient of the 2020 Washington State University President's Award for Health & Safety.

CS Leadership Team

Headshot of Associate Director of Facilities Operations & Maintenance, Scott Griffin

Facilities Operations & Maintenance (FOM)

Scott Griffin, P.E. 
Associate Director, Facilities Operations & Maintenance 
james.griffin@austin.utexas.edu

Scott has over 30 years of experience in facilities management. Before joining UT, he served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Colonel. During that time, he served as an Air Force civil engineer officer, where he held various positions including three commands and five combat deployments. He served in various capacities where he oversaw facilities and infrastructure operations and maintenance across numerous installations worldwide. Scott holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a Master of Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering mechanics from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is also certified as a Professional Engineer (P.E.).

FOM Leadership Team

Headshot of Assistant Director of Facilities Services Support, Debra DiMeo

Facilities Services Support (FSS)

Debra DiMeo 
Assistant Director, Facilities Services Support 
debra.dimeo@austin.utexas.edu

Debra brings over 36 years of experience in management and customer service. She joined UT Austin in Facilities Services in 2011 and began work on planning and organizing the department’s Facilities Service Center (FSC), which launched successfully in September 2013. Prior to UT, Debra worked for United Airlines for 31 years. During her time with the airline, she was the general manager of the 24/7-based Airport Operations in Austin. Her responsibilities involved oversight of more than 50 customer service representatives and management of the facility’s $2.2 million budget. She created cost-efficient work schedules and analyzed various metrics to ensure all operational and customer service goals were met or exceeded. She also standardized procedures to improve worker safety and efficiency.

FSS Leadership Team

Headshot of Associate Director of Landscape & Integrated Building Services, Bridget Blizzard

Landscape & Integrated Building Services (LIBS)

Bridget Blizzard 
Associate Director, Landscape & Integrated Building Services  
bridget.blizzard@austin.utexas.edu

Bridget has more than 31 years in design, construction, and facilities services experience, with 17 of those years in facilities management. In addition to her responsibilities as associate director, Bridget serves as the department’s emergency operations officer and special projects liaison. Prior to joining Facilities Services, she worked for Phillips Petroleum, Oregon Health & Science University, Matrix Architects Engineers Planners, Inc., and for the Houston Zoo as director of facilities. She brings a unique combination of experience from the manual drawing board to hurricane preparation for nearly six thousand animals. Bridget holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in anthropology from the University of Oregon and an Associate in Applied Science degree in drafting and design technology from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.

LIBS Leadership Team

Headshot of Facilities Services Finance Manager, Quentin Rodriguez

Facilities Services Finance

Quentin Rodriguez 
Financial Officer 
quentin.rodriguez@austin.utexas.edu

Quentin has more than 16 years of experience in accounting and financial management. Prior to joining Facilities Services, he worked in UT Austin’s Accounting and Financial Management for three years providing accounting and financial management support to Information Technology Services (ITS). Prior to UT, he was a contracts and grants manager for a non-profit, Caritas of Austin, for two years. Before that, he worked for Goodwill Central Texas for over 11 years, the last four of those years as director of financial analysis. He also worked for the federal government for 11 years prior to completing his formal education. Quentin holds an MBA from Cornell University and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics, minor in finance, from New Mexico State University.

Finance Team

James Smith portrait

Facilities Services Safety

James Smith
Safety Manager 
jsmith@austin.utexas.edu

James brings 10 years of experience in professional safety management. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) since January 2018. He is a member of the American Society of Safety Professionals, the National Safety Council, and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in safety management from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Before joining UT, he was a safety coordinator for the Facilities Management department at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA). He also worked 9 years in construction for general contractors.

Safety Team