STAFF

UT-ORII Leadership & Staff

David Sholl

Interim Executive Director, UT-ORII

David Sholl is serving as UT-ORII’s interim executive director. He will lead the institute’s efforts to establish a hub for world-class discovery and innovation, interdisciplinary graduate education and talent development, while a national search for UT-ORII’s executive director is underway.

Shawn Campagna

Director of Scientific Programs and the Science Alliance, UT-ORII

Shawn Campagna serves as UT-ORII’s director of scientific programs and director of the Science Alliance. He is also a professor in the Department of Chemistry and director of Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spec Core at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Brynn Voy

Education Director, UT-ORII

Brynn leads UT-ORII’s efforts to expand UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s graduate research opportunities for students in the Bredesen Center, College of Engineering, College of Arts & Sciences and the Institute of Agriculture at UT Knoxville, and across the UT System.


Bridget Waller

Director of Communications, UT-ORII

As UT-ORII’s communications director, Bridget Waller leads media and community relations efforts, social media, website outreach, external marketing, internal communications, events and sponsorships.  

Jason Wood

Operations Director, UT-ORII

As UT-ORII’s operations director, Jason Wood is responsible for providing leadership, direction and management of the administrative operations of UT-ORII. He works closely with UT and ORNL colleagues to continue to strengthen the relationship between the two organizations to support the UT-ORII community.


Lisa Lee

Program Manager, UT-ORII

As UT-ORII’s program manager, Lee is responsible for the U.S. Department of Energy compliance, oversight and management of the UT-ORII’s programs, which include Science Alliance, the SMaRT summer intern program and the Governor’s Chair program.

Dakhota Little

Communications Associate, UT-ORII

Dakhota Little assists with UT-ORII’s overall outreach efforts, serving as communications associate. Little joined UT-ORII in 2022. Little has two years of experience in a product manager role and three years working in higher education

Amber Mathes

Business Manager, UT-ORII

Amber Mathes serves as UT-ORII’s business manager. Mathes is responsible for overseeing business support activities for UT-ORII. She also serves as financial manager for Science Alliance, a Tennessee Center of Excellence, which promotes scientific collaboration between UT and ORNL. 

Annamarie Russell

Operations Coordinator, UT-ORII

Annamarie Russell serves as the Operations Coordinator for UT-ORII. Russell has functional responsibilities in human resources, business administration, and event coordination.


Bredesen Center Staff

Allie Burns

Bredesen Center Academic Program Manager

Allie provides leadership and oversight for development and strategic planning for programming and student success. This includes working with stakeholders and university departments to advance the Bredesen Center’s goals for student outcomes.

Rebecca Christ

Bredesen Center Business Manager

Rebecca manages day-to-day business and administration of the Bredesen Center. She facilitates the departmental budget proposal, oversees all financial and HR processes, and coordinates with other administrative units across campus.

Yanfei Gao

Bredesen Center Interim Energy Science and Engineering Program Director

Yanfei Gao is the ESE Program Director and also holds an appointment as Professor with the Materials Science & Engineering Department. As ESE Program Director, Gao manages the ESE curriculum and supports ESE student progress through instruction of ESE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.

Timothy Guthrie

Bredesen Center Student Recruiter

Timothy Guthrie serves as the student recruiter for UT-ORII’s three interdisciplinary graduate programs in Energy Science and Engineering, Data Science and Engineering, and Genome Science and Technology, all at UT Knoxville. 


Rachel Roberts

Bredesen Center Student Services Coordinator

Rachel Roberts serves as Student Services Coordinator at the Bredesen Center providing academic advising and support to graduate students in the three interdisciplinary doctoral programs offered at UT-ORII in Energy Science and Engineering, Data Science and Engineering, and Genome Science and Technology.

Albrecht von Arnim

Bredesen Center Genome Science and Technology Program Director

Albrecht von Arnim is the GST Program Director. As GST Program Director, von Arnim manages the GST curriculum and supports GST student progress through instruction of ESE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.

Russell Zaretzki

Bredesen Center Data Science and Engineering Program Director

Russell Zaretzki is the DSE Program Director and also holds an appointment as Associate Professor with the Haslam College of Business. As DSE Program Director, Zaretzki manages the DSE curriculum and supports DSE student progress through instruction of DSE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.