Mujeres de la Diaspora Puertorriqueña
October 14, 2021 from 12:00PM to 1:30PM
- Elisabet Velasquez is a Boricua writer born in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Her work has been featured in Muzzle Magazine, Winter Tangerine, Latina Magazine, We Are Mitú, Tidal, and more. Her debut novel, WHEN WE MAKE IT, has been selected as an Indie Next selection and is available wherever books are sold.
- Marisel Herrera is a leader, author, speaker, consultant and Certified Coach with 25 years of experience who equips diverse audiences with tangible tools that empower their success. Her message affirms the power of education, resiliency, and culture to transform one’s life instilled in her through her journey from the projects of Spanish Harlem to academia. She currently consults institutions and trains college access and success professionals on evidence-based coaching approaches to outreach and retention. She holds a graduate degree in Education and received leadership and coaching certifications from several prestigious institutions. The author of 2 books: Puerto Rican Goldilocks: A Lyrical Journey Through El Barrio: a memoir about her first-generation journey and Lean Into Grace: Power Up for a Fierce & Fearless Life- a coaching book for women.
- Raquel Reichard is an award-winning journalist and editor whose work focuses on Latinx culture and body politics. She has been an editor at leading Latinx news outlets, like Refinery29 Somos, Latina magazine, Remezcla and mitú. Additionally, her writing has been published in outlets like The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, MTV, Bustle, Fader, Vibe and many others. A proud Nuyoflorican, she lives in Orlando, Florida, and has roots in Puerto Rico and New York.
- Nancy Rosado, is a Community Activist and Author of “Tossed to the Wind: Stories of Hurricane Maria Survivors.” Rosado is also a retired New York Police Department (NYPD) Sergeant with over 35 years of combined professional experience in mental health care, law enforcement, community affairs, workforce development and training. At this time she is employed at the University Central Florida’s UCF Restores program, a program that focuses on the treatment of PTSD and anxiety disorders as a consultant and outreach coordinator for the first responder community, survivors of the shooting at Pulse Night Club and their families as well as the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Diverse Student Voices
October 12, 2021 from 3:00PM to 4:30PM
- Christina Khan is a director at UCF Global. She is an international educator with over 18 years of experience in supporting, advising, and mentoring international students and scholars. She joined the University of Central Florida in June 2016 and serves as a director of UCF Global. She has previously served as Assistant Director of the Office of International Programs at the University of Texas at El Paso, the Assistant Dean and Director of International Student Services at Colgate University, where she launched the first Office of International Student Services and established programs and services to promote student success, resilience, and collective care, and as an International Student Adviser at The University of Akron. Christina is deeply committed to social justice, student advocacy, human-centered design, and creating space for dialogue and understanding. She received her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Central Florida and BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies as a first-generation college student from The University of Akron.
Federal Issues and Legal Disputes Impacting Puerto Rico
October 5, 2021 from 11:00PM to 12:30PM
- Neil Weare is the president and founder of Equally American. He is a civil rights attorney and non-profit leader committed to achieving equal rights for Americans living in U.S. territories. Raised in the U.S. territory of Guam, Neil worked for Guam’s non-voting Delegate Madeleine Bordallo prior to attending Yale Law School. In Spring 2021, he co-taught a legal seminar on the territories as a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, he taught a similar course in Spring 2021 at Yale Law School, and is co-author of a forthcoming casebook Law of U.S .territories. Outside of his territorial advocacy, he advises other non-profit organizations on a broad range of legal compliance issues, previously working as an associate at Loeb & Loeb LLP and Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC. Prior to founding Equally American, Neil was Litigation Counsel and Supreme Court Fellow at Constitutional Accountability Center. Neil clerked on the Alaska Supreme Court for Justice Morgan Christen, now a Judge on the Ninth Circuit. He was also a Thomas Emerson Fellow at David Rosen & Associates in New Haven, Connecticut. As a law student, Neil successfully argued CCJEF v. Rell, a landmark case before the Connecticut Supreme Court recognizing a right to adequate education for Connecticut schoolchildren. His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, CNN.com, Slate.com, and other media outlets. Neil also competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
- Federico De Jesús is the founder and principal of FDJ Solutions, LLC. He is a Washington, DC-based consultant, has worked for more than 17 years at the highest levels of government, communications, and politics. De Jesús was the national Communications Director for Hispanic Media in the Obama for America 2008 Presidential Campaign where he helped to secure close to 70% of the Latino vote. He later performed the same role in the Office of the President-elect. Subsequently, he served for 4 years as a political appointee in the U.S. Department of Transportation as Associate Director for Governmental Affairs, where he was able to successfully shepherd 4 White House appointees through the Senate confirmation process and represented DOT on various interagency task forces.Prior to the Obama campaign, De Jesús worked for close to 8 years on Capitol Hill in several capacities. As the Director of Hispanic Communications in U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office, he helped craft the communications strategy during two crucial immigration reform legislative debates in 2006-07 and led the press operation during Sen. Reid’s first bi-partisan congressional delegation (CODEL) visit to Latin America as Majority Leader. De Jesús also served in a similar capacity for U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi for 3 years before that. In this role, he successfully helped to create and market the Compromiso Demócrata con el Pueblo Latino, which was the joint House/Senate Democratic agenda for Hispanic American families and was endorsed by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA). He also worked for Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY), and for former Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner in Congress Aníbal Acevedo Vilá.
More recently, De Jesús served as Deputy Director of the Governor of Puerto Rico’s DC office, where he helped to manage over 20 employees in DC, NY, and FL representing the interests of Puerto Rico before Congress, federal agencies, state and local governments, as well as business and civil society actors. In this role, he succeeded in helping to include key provisions in the Senate Finance Committee’s staff discussion draft relating to the Commonwealth’s tax treatment, drafted and placed op-eds in key national publications, secured the filing of an amendment to the comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate to significantly boost resources in the fight against crime on the Island, and led other initiatives on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico. De Jesús is also the co-founder of BoricuActivatEd, and BoricuActívate, 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) groups respectively, that seek to empower, educate, and encourage civic engagement across the Puerto Rican Diaspora.
He has an M.A. degree in Social Enterprise from American University’s (AU) School of International Service, and a B.A. in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government (CLEG) from AU’s School of Public Affairs. As part of his M.A. program, de Jesús successfully completed a practicum project in which he consulted for Hungary’s National Innovation Office, leading a team of 3 student consultants to produce a report on how to maximize the use of crowd-funding in Hungary. De Jesús appears regularly on Hispanic media & other outlets as a political commentator, and also remains active volunteering for several charitable causes, including: the Big Brother Big Sister Program of the National Capital Area, fundraising for disaster relief with the American Red Cross, and he currently serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) working with D.C. foster youth. De Jesús is a native of Puerto Rico and has been living in Washington, D.C. since 1999.
- Javier Balmaceda is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Center’s Federal Fiscal Policy team. His main area of focus is Puerto Rico, with a particular eye on federal initiatives to resolve the commonwealth’s fiscal and economic challenges. Prior to joining the Center, Balmaceda worked as a reporter for a wide array of publications including Debtwire and Forbes, specializing in finance, economics, and fiscal policy. He also devoted two years of pro bono work to Amnesty International in Puerto Rico, where he co-authored a number of studies on low-income communities, poverty, evictions, and socioeconomic development. He holds a double master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago.
The History and Implications of Latino Population Boom In Partnership with Alianza Center
October 1, 2021 from 1:00PM to 2:30PM
- Dr. Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz is the Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latina/o Studies, Northwestern University. His research and teaching interests include Latinx identity and politics, racial knowledge, and the modern state. His first book is Figures of the Future: Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change (Princeton University Press), which is based on his award-winning dissertation. He is currently engaged in two major projects: 1) a collaborative interview-based project on race and political trust and 2) an oral history and archival project on the afterlives of political repression against Chicago’s anti-colonial Puerto Rican activists and organizations.
- Dr. Victor Vazquez Hernandez, a full professor of history at Miami Dade College and a historian whose work documents the Puerto Rican Diaspora. A son of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, Dr. Vazquez was born and raised in New York City. He has published numerous books and articles on the Diaspora. His most recent publication is Bociuas in the Magic City: Puerto Ricans in Miami, which can be ordered through arcadiapublishing.com.
Latinos in the Media/Arts
September 27, 2021 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM
- Nancy Alvarez is a News Anchor and Reporter for WFTV.com. She joined the Eyewitness News team in May 2010 and is currently co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning alongside Jamie Holmes. Her family is from Cuba and she was born and raised in South Florida, but considers Orlando a second home. In fact, she’s spent most of her career in central Florida. Her first on-air job was as the Brevard County bureau reporter for Central Florida News 13. Then it was on to WKMG where she spent five years as a reporter and received two Emmy nominations for her work in the station’s investigative unit. At both stations, she had the thrill of covering several space shuttle launches and landings at the Kennedy Space Center. One of the toughest moments of her career was standing near the runway at the space center in February 2003 waiting for Columbia and its crew to return from their mission. Covering that tragedy was an experience she’ll never forget. She was also in central Florida for Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jean, reporting nonstop during the now infamous 2004 hurricane season. After leaving the area for three years, she is thrilled to be back in Orlando and proud to be part of the team at WFTV. When she’s not working, she and her husband love spending time with her son Benjamin and daughter Julia. Her favorite spots include Cocoa Beach and a local hang out on a lake in Clermont. She is always looking for stories and loves hearing from viewers.
- Angel Sepúlveda is the Regional News Director for Noticias Univision Orlando and Tampa Bay and resides in Orlando Florida. Angel is versatile TV, digital content development, distribution and news editorial executive with 20 years entertainment, news, live events, live TV Production and digital content experience in both Latino and general markets. Angel has created, produced and distributed multi-platform content in more than 18 countries across the world, spanning across interactive, reality, scripted, documentary, sports and music. His expertise with content development for brands and advertising agencies has generated millions of dollars and makes him a vital member of any digital team.Angel was a consultant at Teleundo.com/NBC Universal specializing in digital media within the US Hispanic market. He produced Telemundo Network’s Live backstage show “LiveXstream” , a three hour live backstage experience to enhance the TV broadcast of the 2011 Latin Billboard Awards, among other digital projects and exclusive branded content for mobile giant Sprint.Preceding Telemundo, Angel was Vice President of Programming for Terra US where he oversaw the original content programming department. Angel developed groundbreaking entertainment for Terra USA and other digital portals such as the launch of the Árde el Cielo con Maná with Warner Music and unprecedented coverage of the Beijing Olympics, Winter Olympics content deals with ABC, NBA for Latin America . Angel spearheaded the landmark live coverage for the 2009 elections and the inauguration and created the most extensive coverage of any online provider in the U.S. Hispanic Market and Latin America in both Spanish and English. In addition, Angel and his team provided Terra.com users with original and bilingual content programs such as En Privado, as well as exclusive interviews with renowned actors, singers, artists and politicians among others. Contributing to the growth and expansion of Terra’s audience, he also worked diligently on the platform to bring a bilingual offering to better serve the growing population of second and third generation Hispanics in the U.S. After Terra . Angel joined Telemundo National News as a producer where he was able to be part of the amazing production team that covered the war against Iraq, The 25th Anniversary of John Paul II , Death of President Ronald Reagan and many other specials that shaped our course in history.
- Brigitte Snedeker is a News Producer for Hearst Television – NBC News, WESH 2 News, the NBC affiliate in Orlando. She is also on the executive board of the local “National Association of Hispanic Journalists” chapter. Brigitte graduated from UCF in 2017 with a double major in Radio/Television: Broadcast Journalism and Latin American Studies. She was born in Venezuela but moved to the United States at a young age. Her goal in media is to ensure Hispanic communities are covered in the English news cycle.
- Katie Coronado is a Journalist and Associate Instructor of Journalism, Radio, TB and Hispanic Media. She is a Special Advisor for Latin America UCF Global Perspectives at University of Central Florida. Katie is a journalist and an instructor of broadcast journalism. UCF’s NSCM appointed her to the instructor position in 2011, after working in NBC and Telemundo affiliates for more than a decade. Her area of specialization is in broadcast journalism with a focus on Hispanic media. She currently teaches news writing, Hispanic Media-related courses, as well as on-air delivery. As part of her commitment to educating the next generation of journalists, she launched the university’s first Spanish-language skills course, Knightly Latino, which offers students an outlet to cover issues of interest to the Latino community in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Her work led to the creation of the first Hispanic Media Certificate at UCF.Some of Katie’s interests include researching the current state of media in Cuba and Latin America. One of her most impactful accomplishments in academia, was to lead a group of student journalists to Cuba to produce a multi-media project in collaboration with students at the University of Cienfuegos.She received a Partners of the America’s grant that allowed her class to travel abroad in 2018 and has a pending grant to work in Mexico. Her appointment as Special Advisor for Latin America and media for UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives brought her back to television. As part of her assignment, Coronado is co-host of the Central Florida PBS affiliate program about international topics, Global Perspectives.Some of her international work includes collaborating with faculty, departments, and colleges to identify international opportunities. She also establishes international partnerships which support academic programs, dialog, and collaborative research. Her most recent work in Cairo, Puerto Rico and Mexico led to virtual faculty and student collaboration including implementing student news correspondents from Spain and Puerto Rico with a focus on the pandemic and its global impact. Her freelance work includes multi-media content production, media coaching and media consulting for U.S. and Latin American media corporations. Additionally, she is co-editor and author of the first academic textbook about Hispanics in Media in the U.S. titled: LatinX Voices, Hispanics in Media in the U.S. which is now available to universities through Routledge publishing.
- Dr. Gisela Carbonell is a Curator at Rollins Museum of Art at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009), an M.A. in Art History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2002), and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (1997). Prior to the Cornell, she was Director of Curatorial Affairs at Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. She was previously Associate Professor of Art History and Humanities at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, and Curatorial Assistant at the Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois, where she discovered her passion for museum work in academic settings. With a background in art history and political science, Carbonell is interested in the intersections of art and politics in modern and contemporary art. Her most recent projects include the exhibition Gallardo/Budoff: Growth, Breadth, and Terrain (2021), which explores the multilayered narratives contained in the relationship between humans and nature; an ongoing series of themed tours in Spanish, Arte y café con la curadora; and the development of a collection of works by Puerto Rican artists from the island and the diaspora.
- Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz is an Associate Professor of Studio Art and Affiliate Faculty in Graduate Studies in Women’s and Gender Studies. She is an internationally recognized artist and award winning UCF associate professor. Honors include: 2021 Skowhegan Alumni Residency, 2018 UCF Research Incentive Award, 2017 UCF Luminary Award; 2016 Franklin Furnace Grant for performance; 2016 United States Artist Fellow nominee; 2015 Orlando Museum of Art Florida Prize in Contemporary Art finalist; Exhibitions include Identify: Performance as Portraiture series, Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Project 35: Last Call, Garage Museum, Moscow, Russia, Manifesta 8, Murcia, Spain 2010, Performa 05 Biennial, Artist Space, NY; The S Files 05 and Artist in the Marketplace 25, Bronx Museum of the Arts; Gallery @ Hostos; The L Factor, Exit Art, New York.
Four Years After Hurricane Maria: How Climate Change Impacts Latinos (Virtual)
September 22, 2021 from 11:00AM to 12:30PM
- Dr. Fernando I. Rivera is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida. He has previously served as Interim Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence, UCF Global Faculty Fellow and Provost Faculty Fellow. He has also served in different taskforces related to Accelerating Latino Student Success and Hispanic Serving Institutions. His research interests and activities are in the sociology of health/medical sociology, disasters, and race and ethnicity. His published work has investigated how different mechanisms are related to certain health and mental health outcomes with a particular emphasis on Latino populations. His disaster research has explored the investigation of factors associated with disaster resilience, restoration and resilience in coupled human-natural systems, and climate migration. Other publications have investigated the Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida. He has co-edited Disaster Resilience: Interdisciplinary Perspective (2012), co-authored Disaster Vulnerability, Hazards, and Resilience: Perspectives from Florida (2015), and edited Emerging Voices in Natural Hazards Research (2019). He was guest editor for a special issue of Population and Environment on Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria. He is currently a guest co-editor for a special issue of Journal of Emergency Management “ Analysis of Pre and Post Disaster Management and Recovery in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria”. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. He also completed a NIMH sponsored post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University.
- Maria Revelles is the Program Director of Chispa Florida. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Madrid, Spain, Maria is a community organizer that has created a network of stateside labor, community, cultural, and human rights groups committed to fighting for a better future for Puerto Rico and empowering the Puerto Rican diaspora. Over the years, Maria Revelles has led some of the most successful union organizing campaigns across the United States and in Puerto Rico, starting in the early 1990′s with the United Food and Commercial Workers and after the year 2000 with UNITE and SEIU Unions, developing and organizing strategies and workshops on diversity, and education and solidarity projects with unions in the Dominican Republic and Haiti for women mostly in the Free Trade Area. She has also directed Integrated Voter Engagement Campaigns for Hispanic/Latino communities and minority-oriented efforts such as Let My People Vote / Voto de Fe, an initiative to pass Amendment 4 (ending felony voter disenfranchisement of 1.4 million Floridians). The program engaged 800 congregations and conducted close to 100,000 direct conversations with voters.
Maria Revelles has been the President of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Action League of Onondaga County in Syracuse, New York, she was a member of the Mayor’s Women Commission, and a member of ACTS (Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse). She is also a Board Member of the Near Westside Initiative and was the first Latina to serve on the Board of the Housing Authority of the City of Syracuse.
A strong believer in equality, empowerment and justice for minorities and the Puerto Rican community on the Island and stateside, she and her family relocated into Orlando, Florida, where a majority of Puerto Ricans arrived as climate change refugees after Hurricane Maria and the economic collapse of the Island . Currently she works on justice and climate issues, organizing and empowering the Puerto Rican Diaspora and communities in Florida, creating networks nationally and globally.
- Marcos Vilar is the Executive Director of Alianza for Progress. Marcos is a political strategist and national leader of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. Marcos has worked in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and several cities in Florida as well as in Puerto Rico, where he has designed and implemented innovative and successful programs and campaigns in government, labor and non-profit settings. He has worked on civic engagement campaigns in Florida since 2011, focusing on the Puerto Rican and Hispanic community.
- Joel A. Montilla is the founding shareholder and managing attorney of The Montilla Law Firm, P.A. He is half Puerto Rican and half Dominican; he grew up in Central Florida having graduated from UCF with a degree in Business Administration in 2008.Attorney Montilla has served as a member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Florida from 2015 until 2018 when he was voted to serve as the Vice President of Central Florida between 2018 and 2020. He worked with a diverse set of community leaders on numerous initiatives for Hurricane Maria including a push for temporary legal reciprocity for Puerto Rican practicing attorneys in Florida who were displaced as a result of Hurricane Maria, as well as funding to establish a legal clinic in Central Florida aimed at servicing the Central Florida Puerto Rican Diaspora as a result of Hurricane Maria. He has served on numerous advisory boards regarding water and Puerto Rico throughout Central Florida including serving as an advisory board member of the UCF Puerto Rican Research Hub since 2019 working closely with Dr. Fernando I. Rivera in understanding Central Florida trends within the Puerto Rican Community including issues concerning water quality and water quantity.Attorney Montilla currently serves as Legal Consultant for leadership of IDEAS For Us, Inc, and maintains active engagement with the UCF Coastal Program in support of Dr. Graham Worth’s initiatives for the program’s short-term and long-term goals for coastal communities. He has also worked closely with Marcos Vilar of Alianza for Progress in assessing and strategizing on ways to empower the Puerto Rican community to take part in the policies and processes that can help improve quality of life. As a result of his work, Attorney Montilla is engaged in political conversations from the US Congress down to the local commission regarding water quality and quantity; importantly, between black and brown communities. Attorney currently serves as a member of the Florida Ground Water Association, the National Water Association, and the Water Environment Federation where he aids in legislative and regulatory affairs.
- Dr. Frances Colón is the Senior Director for International Climate Policy at Center for American Progress where she leads a program to drive international ambition and action to meet global mitigation and adaptation goals. Colón is the former Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State where she promoted integration of science and technology into foreign policy dialogues, global advancement of women in science, and climate policy for President Obama’s Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2004 from Brandeis University and her B.S. in Biology in 1997 from the University of Puerto Rico. Colón was a City of Miami Climate Resilience Committee member and a 2020 Yale-OpEd Project Public Voices on the Climate Crisis Fellow. She is a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability, and she co-chairs the Academies’ Global Science Diplomacy Roundtable.
Estamos Aquí (Virtual)
September 16, 2021 from 11:00AM to 12:30PM
- Dr. Fernando I. Rivera is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida. He has previously served as Interim Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence, UCF Global Faculty Fellow and Provost Faculty Fellow. He has also served in different taskforces related to Accelerating Latino Student Success and Hispanic Serving Institutions. His research interests and activities are in the sociology of health/medical sociology, disasters, and race and ethnicity. His published work has investigated how different mechanisms are related to certain health and mental health outcomes with a particular emphasis on Latino populations. His disaster research has explored the investigation of factors associated with disaster resilience, restoration and resilience in coupled human-natural systems, and climate migration. Other publications have investigated the Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida. He has co-edited Disaster Resilience: Interdisciplinary Perspective (2012), co-authored Disaster Vulnerability, Hazards, and Resilience: Perspectives from Florida (2015), and edited Emerging Voices in Natural Hazards Research (2019). He was guest editor for a special issue of Population and Environment on Puerto Rico before and after Hurricane Maria. He is currently a guest co-editor for a special issue of Journal of Emergency Management “ Analysis of Pre and Post Disaster Management and Recovery in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria”. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. He also completed a NIMH sponsored post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University.
- Dr. Cyndia Morales Muñiz is Director of HSI Culture and Partnerships. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and stewards national partnerships that advance UCF’s Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) objectives. Dr. Muñiz works with senior leadership to develop and implement HSI policies and procedures across divisions and academic colleges. She also serves as the university representative for organizations who have a dedicated interest in Latino student success and Hispanic/Minority Serving Institution Success (i.e. Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Excelencia in Education, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, etc.). Dr. Muñiz joined the UCF community in 2008 as a doctoral student and has since worked in the College of Undergraduate Studies, College of Graduate Studies and the division of Student Development and Enrollment Services. She joined the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2017 as Assistant Director of Hispanic Initiatives and Professional development, chairing UCF’s HSI Task Force in preparation for HSI designation, launching UCF’s Vamos Knights brand, and assuming signatory responsibility for HSI verification requests. Dr. Muñiz is the founding President of the Latino Faculty and Staff Association (LaFaSA) at UCF, having served from 2015 – 2021, and launched the CREAR Futuros Mentoring Program, and UCF’s Latino/a/x Graduation Celebration – Nuestra Graduación. Dr. Muñiz earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Binghamton University, a master’s degree in Sociology at St. John’s University and a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at UCF. Her efforts and accomplishments have been recognized by UCF, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, the Puerto Rican Chamber of Central Florida, La Prensa Newspaper, the Orlando Business Journal, the Women’s Executive Council of Orlando, the Council for Latino Workplace Equity and the College Board.
- Dr. Natalia Leal Toro is the Assistant Director Academic Advancement Programs and Latino Faculty and Staff Association (LaFaSA) President. Natalia has spent 15 years strategically developing and leading initiatives that help first generation, low income, and underrepresented students succeed in higher education and beyond. In her previous role as MASS Assistant Director, she coordinated the First Generation Program and campus wide initiatives. Before working at UCF, Natalia served as Director of Hispanic Latino Cultures at the University of Florida, and Program Director for Multiculturalism at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Latin American & Caribbean Affairs from Rollins College, Masters of Education from the University of Florida, and Doctorate of Education in Higher Education and Policy Studies at the University of Central Florida.
- Lisa Cruz is an Associate Director Academic Support Services SLAS/UCF Connect Center with 15 years of experience working with transfer students. Ms. Cruz holds a master’s degree in Career and Technical Education from UCF. Lisa is committed to helping students and staff to pursue their academic and career goals. She is one of the founders of the ConeXiones program, which intentionally assists Hispanic students in connecting with resources and mentors when transitioning and attending UCF. She loves spending time with her family, especially her two grandsons!
- Nataly Chandia is the Associate Vice President of UCF Global at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Since 2003, she has been responsible for strategic vision and operational efforts of international student and scholar services at UCF. Chandia attended the University of Central Florida where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology/Criminal Justice and a Masters of Liberal Studies Degree in Public Administration. She also holds an Advance Certificate in Public Administration from UCF. Chandia is currently working on a Doctorate degree in Education with a focus on Leadership and Organizational Innovation from Marymount University.
- Dr. Andrea Guzmán joined UCF as Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in July of 2021. Prior to this, she served as Associate Vice President for Student Outreach and Diversity at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) since 2014. In this role, she lead efforts to provide a campus climate that supports diversity and inclusion, student success, personal development, and integrated student learning experiences. In addition, Dr. Guzmán assisted the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management in implementing continuous improvement efforts, goal setting, strategic plans, assessment, and professional development programs within the division. At FAU, Dr. Guzmán provided direct leadership and administrative oversight to the Center for Inclusion, Diversity Education, and Advocacy (IDEAs), which includes the Office of Hispanic/Latina/o/x Initiatives and FUTUROS Success Program, the Office of LGBTQ+ Initiatives and Allyship, the Office of International Education and Programs, the Office of Black Student Success and Initiatives, and the Office of Diversity Education and Training. She also oversaw the Office of First-Generation Student Success; the Military and Veterans Student Success Center; Student Activities and Involvement; Student Government; Fraternity and Sorority Life; Student Media; the Office of Leadership Education and Development; and the Weppner Center for Service Learning. Dr. Guzmán chaired the university-wide Diversity Platform Council at FAU since its inception in 2017 until her departure in 2021.She was awarded the “National Role Model Administrator Award” from Minority Access, Incorporated, and the “Patriotic Employer Award” from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2017.She was also showcased on the Latina Leadership Collective as a “Latina Woman in Leadership” and has presented at international, national and regional conferences along the topics of first-generation student success; Hispanic/Latina/o/x student success; diversity, equity and inclusion; navigating institutional politics; and imposture syndrome. Under her leadership, Dr. Guzmán developed three university-wide centers at FAU, a number of student success programs for marginalized populations, and several symposiums to advance and sustain diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for faculty, staff and students. In 2020, Dr. Guzmán was instrumental in writing for and securing over $600,000 to support first-generation, low-income, and marginalized student populations. She continues to partner with internal and external stakeholders to identify funding that not only advances diversity, equity and inclusion goals of the institution, but addresses larger systemic barriers impacting marginalized populations. Additionally, Dr. Guzmán is currently a mentor in the Kelly/Strul Emerging Scholars Program, which serves low-income first-generation college students and has mentored many students in the Red Jacket mentoring program and in graduate programs.Prior to joining Florida Atlantic University, Dr. Guzmán worked for Wayne County Community College District in Detroit, Michigan for 12 years, where she last served as Chief Academic Officer and Provost of Health Sciences. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, listening to music, going to the beach, and reading.