Our team
Alexandra Ulen
assistant designer
Born and raised in small-town Cabo, Mexico, Alexandra Pedrin-Ulen blends her background in hospitality to design interior spaces anchored in culture, detail, and connection. As part of the team behind Escuela, she helped bring a soulful Mexican ambiance to life through thoughtful material selections and spatial storytelling, ensuring every finish honors the dedication, heart, and craftsmanship poured into the space by the entire team. Alexandra views Escuela as a true labor of love shared by everyone involved, whose collective vision and hands-on craftsmanship give the venue its unique warmth and spirit.
Matthew Fain
Farm Manager
Matthew is an Austin native who comes from a long line of farmers. He began learning about regenerative agriculture in Mason, Texas, working with animals before turning his attention to plants at Escuela. As the restaurant’s first employee and Head Farmer, he leads the team in growing ingredients that connect the land to the kitchen, from native Texas plants to crops rooted in Mexican cuisine. His guiding belief is simple: know your grower or grow your own.
James Jones
Pit master
needed
Ben Lambert
pit master
Ben Lambert is an eighth-generation Texan from Uvalde and Leakey, Texas. He specializes in Central Texas craft-style barbecue, drawing on 15 years of experience tending fires at some of the world’s best barbecue joints, including Franklin Barbecue, Leroy & Lewis, and JNL Barbecue. His meticulous attention to detail shows in both his technique and the depth of his craft.
Christina Currier
Sous Chef
Christina Currier was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. After obtaining a degree in English and Journalism, she attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, Tx. Over the last 15 years, she has held positions at several Austin restaurants including Geraldine's, Holy Roller, Jeffrey's, and was the CDC at Comedor. Her focus is on creating a culture of sustainability, working with the land and farmers, and sharing Mexican Cuisine and cooking with her community.
Noel Hallagan
Sous chef
Noel was born and raised in San Antonio and has Tex-Mex cuisine running through his veins. Noel attended Culinary School at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio in 2012, after working in pizza spots throughout high school. Since then he has worked in the top restaurants in San Antonio and Austin, most recently being awarded a Michelin Recommendation. Outside the kitchen Noel enjoys spending time with his fiancée, going to concerts, new bars and restaurants and traveling around the world.
Brian Ramos
chef
Brian is a chef who believes great food is about more than what’s on the plate-it’s about creating an experience that the guests will remember. His cooking is driven by curiosity and the need to continue to grow and learn. With a focus on thoughtful, approachable food and a strong sense of hospitality, Brian strives to bring consistency and creativity to every dish.
executive chef
Karsten Spieth
Born in a large restaurant family in Southern Germany, Karsten learned to cook, and more importantly, to appreciate good food from a young age. He and his family moved to a small town in Central Texas when he was just eight years old, where there were two restaurants that blew his little mind. One was true, old-school Texas barbecue, and the other was a small, family-owned Tex-Mex restaurant. He was in love. After high school, Karsten attended, first, the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio during one of their formative years open, where he learned many techniques from Chefs that came from all over the world. He then decided that he would finish the rest of his schooling at the original CIA in Hyde Park, New York, where his view on food broadened further. Since moving back to central Texas, Austin to be specific, he has spent the last 15 years learning from the chefs of this city. He's been on the opening teams of restaurants like Fixe, The Brewer's Table, and the Arrive hotel.
Lead Bartender
Tomás Cantú
Tomas Cantu is a Rio Grande Valley native and a 23 year veteran in the hospitality industry, with 16 of those year spent behind the bar. A seasoned bartender who embarked on his journey into the world of cocktails nearly 10 years ago. With an unwavering passion for taste, innovation, and excellence; Tomas’ expertise extends beyond the bar, having ventured into the national and global stage through numerous cocktail competitions, securing victories and accolades. With an adventurous spirit and love for the hospitality industry and creating unique cocktails have aided in travels and taken him abroad, each experience adding layers of knowledge and insight in cocktails, spirits, their history and making processes.
beverage director
Kory Bosshardt
Kory moved to Austin in April 2023 in pursuit of further growth and opportunity in restaurants. A Florida man at heart, he somehow found himself on a farm in Texas and right at home. An artist who found his medium through hospitality, Kory believes in an organic approach, fostering genuine connections, crafting thoughtful cocktails, and shaping experiences that feel natural. His approach is guided by creativity, intention, and a desire to make hospitality feel effortless and genuine.
director of events
Ava L'Amoreaux
Ava has always had a deep love for people, and with more than a decade in the world of hospitality, that love has become the roots of the experiences she creates. Before joining Escuela, Ava spent four years with the renowned Discovery Land Company at the Driftwood Golf and Ranch Club. Immersed in Discovery Land's approach to luxury hospitality, she developed a deep appreciation for the mastery of attention to detail and the ability to create experiences that blow someone away. That same spirit is part of what drew her to Escuela: a place she describes as having intentionality in every atom, flavorful for the eyes and beautiful for the taste buds (yep, you read that right), and honestly a little bit magical. Aside from helping people create some of their happiest days, Ava’s own happy place is making things with her hands or being outside. She loves sewing and embroidery, hiking, spending time in nature, and gathering with the people she loves, especially her husband to be, Caleb. He says she makes a mean sourdough pizza!
Service manager
Nacole Willman
Nacole has built her career around the belief that hospitality is a form of care. It’s an expression of our deeply human need to feel seen, considered, connected, and at home in the world. At Escuela, she translates our vision into the systems, rhythms, and thoughtful details that enable our team to do their best work and ensure every guest feels genuinely cared for. At its best, hospitality is a quiet act of kindness that can soften the edges of a difficult day and shift a person’s inner state. She is inspired by the way flavor, scent, texture, design, ritual, and sincere attention can invite presence, evoke emotion, and reconnect people with themselves, one another, and the place around them. When these elements come together with intention, hospitality becomes more than an experience. It becomes a lasting memory and a feeling that stays long after guests leave.
Myles Barnett
Assistant General Manager
Myles is from Watseka, Illinois, a small farm town eighty miles south of Chicago. Growing up in a tight-knit community cultivated an understanding and appreciation for connection. A background in the restaurant industry has allowed him to grow through leadership, teamwork, and a commitment to continuous learning, all while helping build welcoming environments where both guests and staff can thrive. He is a believer that great hospitality is about making people feel seen, valued, and cared for. Outside of the restaurant, He enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring new restaurants and cuisines, traveling, and finding inspiration through food, culture, dad jokes, and new experiences.
Trevor O'Hickey
General Manager
Trevor brings years of hospitality leadership and a deep passion for connecting the land, the kitchen, and the guest. With a background in restaurant operations and service, he is devoted to creating experiences that feel both refined and deeply personal, while honoring the many hands behind each dish and every beverage. His approach for Escuela is grounded in genuine hospitality, a servant’s heart, and a commitment to building a place that fosters connection and community. Outside the restaurant, he is a husband, a father of four, and a small-scale farmer dedicated to stewarding his own flock of chickens and ducks.
Don Brinkman
co-founder
Terri Brinkman
co-founder, design director
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