Mario Guerra

Mario Guerra did not plan to end up in higher education IT — he planned to be a teacher. But after earning a master's degree in educational technology from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, he found a way to do both: spend more than two decades helping the people who teach, learn, and support students at UT Austin get the most out of the tools available to them. Today he leads Enterprise Learning Technology and is working to bring AI language models into the classroom.

Tell us a little about yourself

I've been married to my wife for 25 years and we have 2 wonderful sons, both in their twenties. Family is central to everything I do. I'm a proud Corpus Christi native, and my roots in South Texas have shaped how I think about community and relationships. Outside of work, those values carry over into everything — I believe in investing in people just as much as in technology.

What's one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?

I originally went to college to become a technology teacher and high school educator. That plan shifted once I found educational technology — but the instinct behind it never really changed. I still think of my work as teaching, just at a much larger scale. Instead of one classroom, I'm trying to help an entire campus learn better.

What first brought you to UT and Enterprise Technology?

When I finished my Master's degree in Educational Technology at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, UT Austin was where the work was happening. The scale of the institution — the size of the faculty, the breadth of academic programs, the ambition of the campus — made it an extraordinary place to apply what I had studied. I've been here ever since.

How did your career path lead to your current role?

Over the last 23 years, I have worked alongside faculty, academic support staff, and students to deliver the best learning technology the campus has to offer. I started in the early days helping faculty learn how to use Blackboard — which tells you how long ago that was. From there I grew with the tools, the team, and the mission. Leading Enterprise Learning Technology now means I get to shape what learning technology looks like for UT at a moment when AI is redefining what's possible in the classroom.

What has been one of the most rewarding moments in your career?

There have been several rewarding moments over the years. The ones that stand out most are the times when a faculty member who was skeptical of a new tool comes back and says it changed how they teach. Those moments are why I do this work. The technology is the vehicle — but the real reward is the people.

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

I enjoy helping people and improving lives through the use of technology. That has been true from my first day here and it is still true now. When you can draw a direct line from a tool you helped deploy to a better experience for a student or a more effective class for a faculty member, that energy is self-sustaining. The mission of this university keeps the work meaningful.

What's the best professional advice you've received?

It's important to keep learning continuously. Technology evolves, and so do the people who use it. The moment you stop learning is the moment you start falling behind — not just technically, but in your ability to understand and serve the people you're trying to help.

What advice would you give to someone starting their career?

Build relationships early and often. They are the key to accomplishing most of the work we do in technology. The tools matter, but it's the trust you build with faculty, staff, and colleagues that determines whether those tools actually get used well. Invest in people as much as you invest in your skills.