
Erika Payán Zanetti
Project Manager
Contact: epayan@austin.utexas.edu
Erika has a rich history at Texas Global, having first joined the education abroad team in 2001 and over the years holding various positions, both advising students and working alongside faculty to design and administer programs in Italy. In 2008, Erika accepted a position at Rice University, first as the assistant director, then later as the director of study abroad, where her main focus was developing and launching the Rice in Cuba program. Erika returned to UT Austin in 2015 when her spouse accepted a faculty position and Erika rejoined Texas Global as the assistant director for special initiatives. In 2021, Erika served as the contracts administrator for Texas Global working alongside the business contract administrators and the vice president for legal affairs to implement UT system-approved contracts for education abroad activities. In 2022 Erika accepted a position as the project manager reporting to the senior vice provost for global engagement.
Erika holds a Master of Arts in Italian Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Italian & Spanish from UT Austin. She is a musician and an active DJ, specializing in vinyl records collected from her travels around the globe. She holds citizenship in 3 countries: USA, Colombia, and Italy.