Budget and Planning - Staff & Contact Information

As the UT System chief budget officer, Derek has Systemwide responsibility for coordinating the preparation and maintenance of the UT System operating budget. His responsibilities include advising UT System executive staff on strategic matters that have budget implications, working as needed with UT institution budget officers on institutional budgets, long-range financial planning and preparing legislative appropriations requests. Other responsibilities include designing and implementing the budget process, systems, and policies, including changes to budgeting software, analyzing and preparing budget forecasts, plans, and ad hoc reports, and making recommendations to executive management.

Derek has almost a decade of higher education experience, most recently at the University of Central Florida where he served as Assistant Vice President, Budget Planning & Administration and prior to this role, he served as Assistant Vice President & University Controller at Florida Polytechnic University and Associate Director, Finance & Administration at Florida Atlantic University. Over the course of his career, he has honed his skills in a myriad of different roles with ever increasing leadership responsibilities that he brings to the position of Associate Vice Chancellor, Budget and Planning.

Since 2019, Susan Sherman has served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations in a shared role between the UT System Offices of Governmental Relations and Budget and Planning. Susan’s efforts are focused on state appropriations related issues including helping to shape policy and preparing detailed analysis. Susan also has responsibility for statutory and other legislatively required reports and is the UT System lead on the System’s Legislative Appropriations Requests.

This is Susan’s second stint at The University of Texas System, having served in the same role from 2010-2014. Susan has also worked in a similar role for the University of North Texas System.  Prior to joining U. T. System, she spent ten years working in the Texas Legislature, including six years with the Legislative Budget Board on the higher education team, where she administered the general academic formula funding model.

Susan has a B.A. and an M.Ed. from The University of Texas at Austin

Tammy Anthony joined U. T. System Administration in May 2022 after serving as Assistant Vice President for Budget and Financial Planning at U. T. San Antonio since June of 2014. Tammy has 34+ years of experience in Public Higher Education Finance, Budgeting, and Accounting. While at U. T. San Antonio her focus was on the preparation of the annual operating budget, the biennial Legislative Appropriation Request (LAR), the legislative and fiscal note process, and long-range financial planning. In addition, in 2017 Tammy was key in the development and the implementation of the first hybrid Responsibility Centered Management budget model for resource allocations which is called the UTSA Incentivized Resource Management budget model.

Prior to joining U. T San Antonio, Tammy was at New Mexico State University for 27 years. During her tenure at New Mexico State University, she held various positions with increasing responsibilities in areas such as liaison on annual external audits and federal sponsored program audits, strategic planning, primary member of the implementation team for Banner Finance and Human Resources ERP, preparation of the annual operating budget, annual legislative requests, annual fiscal legislative bill analysis, endowment accounting, gift accounting, and auxiliaries finance and operations. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Accountancy degrees from New Mexico State University.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family in Boerne and in Lubbock. Her hobbies include scrapbooking, reading, and time with friends.

Alan Werchan has been with the U. T. System since 1994, including serving in a budget role since 1998.  Within the U. T. System, Alan previously spent time in what is now the Office of Employee Benefits and in financial reporting.  Before joining the U. T. System, Alan spent six years as an auditor for a Big Four public accounting firm and a prominent Austin firm with a specialization in auditing and advising school districts and other local governmental entities.  In addition to Alan’s current service on the Board for Church Extension of the Texas District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and in leadership roles within his local congregation, he previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Regents for Concordia University Texas.

After attending Concordia University, Alan graduated in 1988 from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master in Professional Accounting.  Alan achieved the designation of Certified Public Accountant in 1989.  Professional memberships for Alan include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Association of State Senior College and University Business Officers.

Crystal Saenz has been with U. T. System Administration since 2008 and is currently the Assistant Director of Financial Analysis in the Office of Budget and Planning. She began her service in the Controller’s Office and held various roles in this office, which included debt service accounting, state and federal grant accounting, preparing financial reports for internal and external stakeholders, assisting with the review of the Annual Financial Report (AFR) for each of the 13 institutions under U. T. System, and submission of the consolidated AFR to the Comptroller’s Office. Crystal joined the Office of Budget and Planning in 2023 where her financial analysis and reporting expertise will be utilized to enhance the alignment of institutional budgets to actuals and forecasting and to better support the Long-Range Financial Planning efforts of all UT institutions.

Before joining the U. T. System, Crystal worked in the Office of Sponsored Projects at U. T. Austin where she managed the post-award administration and financial reporting of over 600 federal, state, and private sponsored awards. Prior to that she began her career as an accounting associate in the commercial property and health insurance industry. Collectively, she has almost 20 years of higher education experience and 25 years of financial reporting experience.

Crystal graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and holds an MBA with a concentration in accounting from St. Edward’s University. In her spare time, she serves on various school board committees, enjoys attending her daughter’s volleyball and basketball games, and spending time with her husband, daughter, and their two foster failure dogs.

Pam Villafuerte joined U. T. System Administration in 2014 assisting a major system conversion and supporting the UT Institutions in their Research and Grants operation. She joined the Office of Budget and Planning after holding various positions within the UT System, with evolving responsibility in the areas of grants, appropriation control, and financial shared services. With extensive years of experience in higher education and research administration, she hopes to expand her areas of expertise to better serve the state of Texas.

Before joining the UT System, Pam served as a Research Administrator and Manager at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, where she collaborated in the reorganization of the grants operation, oversaw a large portfolio of sponsored projects, and lead a major receivables overhaul.

Pam began her career in grants at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, at which time she became a Certified Research Administrator by the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC).

As part of her enthusiasm for diversity and equality, she was chosen to be in Deloitte’s first CLIMB fellowship program for making Accounting diverse and Equitable at Carnegie Mellon University.

She holds an MBA from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and graduated with honors with a BA in Finance and Accounting from Monterrey Tech.

Pam proudly speaks three languages and enjoys connecting with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. She likes traveling, paddleboarding, and arts & crafts

Theresa Carney has been with U.T. System since 2003, playing a key role in developing and maintaining System Administration’s annual operating budget and providing related support to the organization’s senior management and department heads. Theresa has over 20 years of experience working with state and corporate budgets.

Prior to coming to work for U.T System Administration, she worked for Advanced Micro Devices, assisting with financial planning, capital forecasting, and expense budgeting and analysis supporting two international divisions. 

Theresa began her career at Texas Guaranteed, where she supported senior management in all areas related to budgeting and expense analysis. She also served as the subject matter expert for federal financial reporting to the U.S. Department of Education.

Theresa graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Sherill Franke began her service to The University of Texas System in 1993 in the Office of Human Resources.  In 1996 she transferred to the University Lands Accounting Office (ULAO).  During her time in ULAO, she participated in implementing the first document imaging software which transformed the way documents would be stored at UT System.  She was also part of the team which implemented the first electronic oil and gas reporting system for University Lands for which the team was awarded the Chancellor Excellence Award. In 2001 Sherill joined the Office of the Controller which included the budget section where she served until her retirement in 2018. During her time in the Controller’s Office she was appointed by her peers to represent them on the inaugural UT System Administration Employee Advisory Committee and was awarded a second Chancellor’s Excellence Award.  She was a member of the UT System 2004 Class Two Management and Leadership Development Program where the team’s project was to develop a website to consolidate information pertinent to employees which was named UT4U!  Since retiring, she has returned to the Office of Budget and Planning serving as a part-time Project Manager.

Jeannett Mueller has been with The University of Texas System since 2014 and is currently a Senior Accounting Associate in the Office of Budget and Planning. She is responsible for reconciliations, tracking and recording budget reports, and coordinating the printing and distribution of the Annual Operating Budgets for U. T System and System’s institutions.

Before beginning employment at U. T. System, Jeannett spent 30 plus years as an Accounting Associate and Accountant for financial and insurance companies as well as government agencies. 

Jeannett is a native of Panama where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Maria La Antigua University.

She joined Austin’s Folklore y Ritmos de Panama dance group in 2001 and has been an active member ever since.  Her commitment to the dance group extends beyond dancing as she is in charge of the budget, finances, bookkeeping, and preparation of the Core Funding Award from the City of Austin.

She enjoys kayaking, fishing, and teaching Sunday School at her church.  Jeannett and her husband Kevin live in Buda and occasionally visit Alpine and Ft. Davis.