Staff Directory

Ana P. Bribiesca Hoff, '12 BA, ’20 MA is the Director of Alumni Relations at the University of the Incarnate Word. Before joining the Office of Alumni Relations, she served as the Director of Development for the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering. Ana's Incarnate Word journey began in 2005, after her family relocated from her hometown of Mexico City to San Antonio where she attended Incarnate Word High School and later the University. Throughout her academic journey, Ana actively contributed to the UIW community. She was a student-employee with the Office of International Admissions and played a pivotal role in a student-led non-profit initiative, Project Africa. Ana has been with the UIW Development Department since 2014.

Susan Lavenant serves as the Associate Director of Alumni Relations for Signature Events for the University of the Incarnate Word.  Her primary responsibilities in this role include creating, coordinating, and enhancing signature events to promote alumni relations which are designed to connect alumni with the University.

Lavenant is a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio where she earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources. Her and her husband, Javier are proud UIW parents from the class of 2023 of their two sons.

She previously worked at Trinity University as the Assistant Director of Special Events under Alumni Relations and Development, Corporate Office of Vision Works in the Human Resources department and Pearson in the Human Resources department.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, volunteering and trying new BBQ restaurants.

Clarissa Gauna (Gown-ah) joined the University of the Incarnate Word as the Athletics Administrative Coordinator in January 2021. In this role, Gauna worked with the Athletic Director and senior staff on a daily basis to manage the administrative affairs of the department. Then, in July 2021, she moved into the Development Coordinator role where she ran the Cardinals Club, the fundraising arm of UIW Athletics. Currently, she serves as an Alumni Relations Manager, focusing on chapters, programs and reunions.

Prior to UIW, spending nearly three years with Texas Athletics, Gauna was a marketing intern/gameday leader who engaged with fans while overseeing other marketing interns, managing the schedule and ensuring game-day assignments were understood. In working with the marketing team for baseball, she created the Texas Baseball 360 External Plan for the 2020 season.

A San Antonio native, Gauna graduated from Incarnate Word High School before spending a year at the University of Texas at Tyler as a collegiate cheerleader. She spent the next three years on National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Staff and obtained her bachelor’s in sociology with a sports media certificate from the University of Texas at Austin in 2020. Clarissa obtained her master's degree in sports management from UIW in May, 2023.

Krystal Cantu-Cuate began her journey at the University of the Incarnate Word in March 2024 as the Secretary for the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. After ten months, she transitioned to her current position as Alumni Relations Manager, where she focuses on Communications and Special Projects.

Originally from the Rio Grande Valley, Cantu-Cuate moved to San Antonio after high school and earned her bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is now pursuing a master's degree in communications at UIW.

With a background in social media marketing, Cantu-Cuate has had the opportunity to work with notable companies such as Facebook, Nike, Reebok, and On-Running. As a mother of two boys, she enjoys spending time with her family and exploring new areas of Texas.