Director’s Welcome
My name is Bridget Blizzard, and I am the Director of Facilities Services Support (FSS). Effective August 17, 2026, Facilities Services Support and Campus Support Services merged into a single division, bringing centralized departmental support together with building logistics, keys, and resource recovery under one team.
Our team provides centralized support to the department’s operational divisions, which includes a major role in developing and implementing strategic initiatives, policies and procedures, communications, employee engagement, training, analytics, and serving our customers through the Facilities Service Center. We also deliver services directly to the university community through event support, moving services, lock and key services, solid waste and recycling, surplus property, and the Zero Waste Program.
FSS strives to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to support a positive impact on our staff and clients, while minimizing disruptions to university operations. We collaborate across the university on outreach, accountability measures, recognition, and service delivery issues in support of Facilities Services’ vision of becoming a world-class organization providing exceptional service, anytime, anywhere.
We are committed to the university’s goal to significantly reduce waste on campus through our Resource Recovery branch’s Zero Waste Program.
The division is comprised of six branches:
- Building Logistics and Keys
- Facilities Service Center
- Facilities Services Business Analytics
- Facilities Services Training
- Resource Recovery
- Strategic Program Support
Building Logistics and Keys
Resource Recovery
FSS Management Team
Bridget Blizzard
Director, Facilities Services Support
bridget.blizzard@austin.utexas.edu
Bridget has more than 34 years in design, construction, and facilities services experience, with 20 of those years in facilities management. In addition to her responsibilities as director for Facilities Services Support, Bridget serves as the emergency operations center representative for the department. 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. This combination of experience from the manual drawing board to hurricane preparation for nearly six thousand animals has developed Bridget’s passion for facilities. 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.
Michael Costa
Assistant Director, Building Logistics and Keys
michael.costa@austin.utexas.edu
Michael brings 30 years of experience in the electronic access, locksmith, and security services industries. He joined UT Austin with Facilities Services in December 2016 as the technical trades supervisor for the Lock and Key Services shop. Before then, he was the lead locksmith at Texas State University for over five years. Prior to that, he was a business owner and manager for 12 years. He has earned 40 certifications for electronic access, locksmith, security services and crime prevention. Michael has completed advanced leadership training and has received awards for his performance, including the university's presidential recognition with an Outstanding Staff Award.
Linda Humphreys
Assistant Director, Business Analytics
linda.humphreys@austin.utexas.edu
Linda brings over 27 years of experience in information technology (IT) support for higher education. She comes to us after serving as an IT project manager for the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin. Prior to that, she was a business intelligence/data systems manager at Rice University, where she implemented the first iteration of the university's enterprise data warehouse, building academic data models. She also served 17 years at Rice as a data systems manager for Facilities Engineering and Planning, where she implemented FAMIS and provided database administration, interface design, and hardware support. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in chemical engineering from Youngstown State University and a Master of Science in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University at Athens.
Staci Pope
Assistant Director Facilities Service Center
staci.pope@austin.utexas.edu
Staci has 30 years of customer service experience. She joined the Facilities Service Center (FSC), just prior to its launch and contributed to the center’s evolution from the ground up. Beyond Facilities Services, her relevant management experience began over 30 years ago in the banking industry and continued on as she held positions in the mortgage and property management industries and with The University of Texas at Austin’s law school. As project manager with Premier Wall and Windows, Inc., she managed 8-10 direct reports on any given project, while working collaboratively with other project managers, architects and designers. She also attended Texas Tech University.
Sharon Wilkes
Assistant Director, Facilities Services Training
sharon.wilkes@austin.utexas.edu
Sharon Wilkes brings over 30 years of experience in education and training to her current role. She joined Facilities Services in April 2024 as an organizational trainer, where she played a key role in supporting the training efforts critical to the successful implementation of the UT Works program. Prior to joining UT, Sharon built an accomplished career with Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD), progressing from assistant principal to principal and ultimately serving as director of academics. Earlier in her career, she served as an assistant principal with Austin ISD and taught in Spring Branch ISD. Sharon holds certifications in e-learning instructional design and Articulate 360, as well as certifications as a superintendent and in English as a Second Language (ESL). She is an active member of Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Delta Pi, the Association for Talent Development, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. A proud Longhorn, Sharon earned both her Bachelor of Science in education and her master’s degree in educational administration from The University of Texas at Austin.
Mark Engelman
Assistant Director, Resource Recovery
mark.engelman@austin.utexas.edu
Mark has over 25 years of experience in business management and sales. Prior to moving to Texas from his home town in Michigan in 2007, he worked in sales, training, purchasing, and management for a leading supplier of janitorial supplies and equipment. Upon moving to Texas, he held the position of vice president of product sales and development for a national barbershop franchise. In October 2010 Mark began his career with Facilities Services as a crew leader in Custodial Services. He became the supervisor of Surplus Property in 2016, and then was later promoted to the assistant manager. Mark attended Ferris State University.
Gene Averkiou, PMP
Assistant Director, Strategic Program Support
gene.averkiou@austin.utexas.edu
Gene has over 15 years of experience overseeing all phases of program development, implementation, management, and capacity assessments on behalf of leading academic institutions. Prior to joining UT he was a project manager at New York University. Before that he was a project manager at City University of New York for five years and an operations and project manager at University of Florida for more than 10 years. He earned a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification from the Project Management Institute and a Human Subjects Research for Social & Behavioral Faculty and Scholars Certification as part of a Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. Gene earned a graduate school Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate from the University of Florida, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in history.
Need Service?
Facilities Service Center
Main: 512-471-2020
UT Works
General Inquiries: facilities@austin.utexas.edu
Events & Moving:
fs-events@austin.utexas.edu
Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
After Hours (Building Operations Operators answer Main line):
5 p.m. to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, weekends and holidays