Board of Directors

FCIE is guided by a Board of Directors, a governing body that establishes strategic objectives and provides the organization with overall direction. The board is comprised of leaders from both public and private universities within Florida.

Lisa Eli

FCIE President

Assistant Vice President, Global and Continuing Education
Valencia College

Lisa Eli serves as Assistant Vice President, Global & Continuing Education at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, where she has worked for 25 years.  Her areas of oversight include international student recruitment, admissions, and advising, study abroad and faculty exchanges, global initiatives, as well as Continuing Education language programs and student services.  In 2001, she assisted in establishing the college’s Intensive English Program and English for Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL).  Since then, she has helped the Continuing Education language department grow into a successful multi-campus operation with over 12,000 enrollments per year.   She worked on the accreditation of the Intensive English Program by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation in 2010 and led re-accreditation in 2016.  In 2013, Lisa gained responsibility for international education programs and services, and helped international student enrollments grow from 388 in fall of 2013 to 1243 in fall of 2018.  As a result, Valencia now ranks 6^th in the nation for hosting international students.  Lisa holds a BA in hospitality management from Michigan State University and an MA in liberal studies from Rollins College, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Dr. Vilma Fuentes

FCIE Immediate Past President

Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs
Santa Fe College

Dr. Vilma Elisa Fuentes serves as the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe College where she provides leadership for the College’s international education and baccalaureate programs.  She has directed or helped administer multiple federal grants with an international focus, including a Capacity Building Grant, 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant, and 10 Community College Administrator Programs (CCAPs). She earned a Ph.D. in political science with a regional specialization on Latin America in 2003 and an M.A. in International Studies in 1997.  Dr. Fuentes began teaching at Santa Fe in 2003 and earned a NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008. She helps host numerous international scholars and delegations every year and has led study abroad trips to Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. She has hosted five Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence at her college and has served as program co-director for CCAPs with Egypt, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine, and a group of Latin American countries.

Dr. David Moore

Dean, International Education
Broward College

At Broward College David is responsible for the creation and development of academic affiliations, articulations, and exchanges with colleges and universities overseas, as well as overseeing study abroad programs. He also serves Broward College as the liaison to the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and School (SACS). In a career in education that began as a classroom teacher of social studies in 1977, Dr. Moore moved to the collegiate level as an administrator in 1981. He has spent the last 34 years in college level academic administrative positions. He served as the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Clearwater Christian College (CCC) in Clearwater, FL for 17 years before moving to St. Petersburg College (SPC) to serve for five years as the Director for Dual Credit and International Studies. Under his tenure, the program added student enrollments and study abroad destinations and developed a collegiate high school. David holds a B.A. in Education from CCC, and both the M.A. in History and Ph.D. in Higher Education Curriculum from the University of South Florida.

Dr. D.R. Matthews, Jr.

Consultant

Dr. Lesley Clack

Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Health Sciences
Florida Gulf Coast University

Dr. Lesley Clack is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. She also serves as leader of two Faculty Led Study Abroad Programs in Comparative Healthcare Systems and Global Health Systems which travel to Europe in the summer. Dr. Clack has been involved in the development of international education experiences for healthcare students for the past five years. Dr. Clack has presented research at several conferences abroad, has authored presentations and publications related to her international experience, and has collaborated with colleagues abroad as a contributing author on textbooks.

Dr. Michael McDonald

Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs, Chief International Officer
Florida Gulf Coast University

Michael McDonald is the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief International Officer for Florida Gulf Coast University. Prior to taking up this role, he served for two terms as President of the Florida Gulf Coast University Faculty Senate and as a Trustee on the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees. Dr. McDonald is a Professor of Anthropology and a founding member of the FGCU faculty. Prior to joining FGCU, he served on the faculty of Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland. Over the course of his career, Professor McDonald conducted ethnographic research in the Caribbean, Central America, Ireland and Croatia. He has authored two books and received several awards for teaching, service and scholarship including a Fulbright Scholars Award to Croatia in 2012. He has led numerous study-abroad projects to locations in Europe and Central America and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa. A native of Lakeland, Florida, he received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida and a Master’s and Doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Gabriela Esteves

Director, Global Student Programs 
Miami Dade College

Gabriela Esteves serves as the Director of Global Student Programs at Miami Dade College (MDC), the largest college in the nation. She joined the College in the Fall of 2019, a few months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and oversees the study abroad programming at MDC. Her primary responsibility is to assist faculty and students interested in MDC’s Faculty-Led study abroad programs. She provides guidance and support to faculty throughout the multiple stages of developing, leading and wrapping up the study abroad programs; as well as advisement to students interested in any of the study abroad options offered at MDC.

Gabriela is dedicated to bridging the access gap for community college and first-generation college students in study abroad.  She serves the Campus Advisor for the Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship, Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) and the Boren Awards and has increased the number of MDC applicants to these scholarships significantly.  In 2021, MDC was recognized as a Gilman Program Top Producing Institution, one of 20 institutions nationwide and the only in Florida, in the Associate Institution, 20-year Gilman Top Producer category. Gabriela is passionate about empowering underrepresented students and has served on the national review panels for several scholarships, including the ones mentioned above.  She also collaborates closely with the U.S. Diplomat in Residence for Southern Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to promote career opportunities in Diplomacy. Gabriela has been in the field of International Education for most of her career in Higher Education. Prior to joining MDC, she worked at Florida International University (FIU) for 12 years serving in various Academic and Enrollment Services roles.

Gabriela started her undergraduate studies in France, obtaining the equivalent to an AA degree from the University of Toulouse – Le Mirail. She transferred to FIU to complete a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in International and Intercultural Education.

Pamela Jones

Professor, Spanish and ESL/EAP
Polk State College

I am a full-time professor of Spanish at Polk State College and an adjunct professor of both Spanish and ESL/EAP at Valencia College. At Polk State College, I currently serve on the International Education Committee. I first joined this committee while serving as Professor of ESL/EAP. However, 2 years ago, I transitioned into Foreign Languages and lead my first Study Abroad trip last year. I plan on leading a trip every year in order to provide wonderful travel opportunities for our students and community. Approximately 6 or 7 years ago, I had the pleasure of serving on the Steering Committee at Valencia College under the supervision of Jennifer Robertson. My contributions to FCIE will consist of being a liaison between colleges, learning more about the mission of FCIE, and perfecting my role as a leader in international education.

Matt Michel

International Education Coordinator
Santa Fe College

Matt Michel is the International Education Coordinator for Santa Fe College, where he also teaches Spanish and business law. He holds a PhD in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Florida as well as a JD from the Levin College of Law and Master of International Business from the Hough Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma, and the Florida Bar.

Marcela Murillo

Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Foreign Languages
Santa Fe College

Dr. Marcela Murillo serves as an Assistant Professor and Spanish Discipline Coordinator at the Department of Humanities and Foreign Languages at Santa Fe College, Florida. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Spanish Literature and an M.A in Women’s Studies, Gender and Sexualities from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on femininities, gender representation, and Andean literature. As an educator, she is interested in the incorporation of technology and internationalization of her Spanish and Latin Humanities classes. She has conducted virtual exchanges with universities from Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil. She is pursuing a Master’s in Educational Technology to further her knowledge in the integration of technology in the classroom.

Oliver McSurley

Assistant Director, Study Abroad
University of Central Florida 

Oliver McSurley is the current Assistant Director for Study Abroad at the University of Central Florida. He is responsible for the management and strategic development of all student mobility initiatives at the university. Additionally, Oliver is a member of the senior leadership team for the International Affairs and Global Strategies division, a member of the university-wide International Affairs Committee, and an active participant in meeting UCF’s vision for comprehensive internationalization. Prior to coming to UCF, Oliver worked as a Senior Program Manager for the Education Abroad Network, a study abroad provider organization based in Chicago. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing all phases of programming for study abroad opportunities in Australia and China for that organization. Oliver’s passion for international education and global citizenship is rooted in his own study abroad experience at the University of Queensland (Brisbane, AUS) in 2002. Upon returning home he completed an undergraduate degree in History (University of Illinois-Chicago) and a Masters in Education (DePaul University), after which time he taught at the secondary level on Chicago’s south side.

Dr. Mary Risner

Associate Director, Outreach and Business Programs
University of Florida

Mary Risner (Ed.D.) is a faculty member and Associate Director of Outreach and Business Programs at the University of Florida Center for Latin American Studies. She develops and manages initiatives that integrate the study of world languages and area studies across the K-16 curriculum through innovative uses of technology for teaching and learning. Her areas of interest are in Languages for Specific Purposes and internationalization of professional school curriculum through virtual exchange and experiential learning. She is excited to be part of the FCIE and help promote its mission of internationalizing higher education throughout our state.

Kiki Caruson, PhD

Vice President, USF World
University of South Florida

As Vice President for USF World, Dr. Kiki Caruson leads global engagement for the University of South Florida across three campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee, including: study abroad programming, international student recruitment, admissions, and scholars’ services, management of international partnerships, Peace Corps programming, international alumni outreach, as well as philanthropic activities supporting global learning.

Dr. Caruson is an expert regarding the best practices for promoting strong relationships between university research and international offices and the data and metrics associated with successful global engagement.

Dr. Caruson is an alumna of the USIEF India Fulbright Program, leading student groups to Panama, India, and Peru. She has twice received USF’s Outstanding Teaching Award. A professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies at USF, Dr. Caruson maintains an active, interdisciplinary research portfolio and has served in leadership roles in several professional organizations affiliated with her academic discipline, international education, and research administration.

Dr. Caruson received a bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Northampton, MA, a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, and her doctoral degree from the University of Georgia.