The Florida Consortium for International Education is comprised of a team of leaders from several state community colleges and universities.
The goal of the FCIE Executive Committee is to promote international and intercultural education in Florida’s institutions of higher education. If you are interested in becoming a committee member, please contact us!
Lisa Eli
FCIE President
Assistant Vice President, Global and Continuing Education
Valencia College
407-582-6649
leli@valenciacollege.edu
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 6th 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.
AnneLiese Busch
Executive Director
Associate Dean of International Programs, International Programs Office
University of Tampa
(813) 257-3867
buscha@ut.edu
AnneLiese Busch has a BA in French and History and a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University, and an MA in International Affairs from New York University. She lived in Lima, Peru from 2009-2015, where she was the director of the Center for American Education at the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola and the dean of Broward College in Peru. She administered the AA degree program offered through Broward College, the BS degree program in Business Administration offered through USF, the BS degree program in Hotel and Restaurant Management offered through the University of Houston, the BS degree program in Industrial Engineering offered through the University of Central Florida, and several bachelor degree programs in business offered through the University of London. She also served as the director of internationalization at the Universidad de Ingenieria y Tecnologia. She is now the director of the Center for Global Engagement at Seminole State College and looks forward to growing the center to incorporate additional opportunities for international study and travel for Seminole State College students. AnneLiese is currently pursuing her doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Leadership with Colorado State University and hopes to graduate in 2017.
Dr. Vilma Fuentes
Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs
Santa Fe College
352-395-5030, F-252
vilma.fuentes@sfcollege.edu
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.
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.
Currently, Don Matthews is a consultant for the Florida Consortium for International Education (FCIE) and Intercultural Education Programs in Brazil. He was the Director of Planning (June 2011 – July 2012) at Daytona State (DSC) as part of the Institutional Effectiveness efforts of DSC responsible for implementing the college’s unit planning software, Strategic Planning on Line and assessed the unit outcomes of the various departments at the college for the successful SACS accreditation visit in 2013. He was part of the team that developed the college’s Quality Education Plan on student engagement first year experience, currently being implemented (2020). And in addition he was the project evaluator for Valencia college’s USIFLE USDOE program 2014-2016.
Matthews received the Werner Kubsch Award for outstanding lifetime achievement in International Education at the Community College, February 2004. He earned his master’s degree, PhD in Higher Education Administration & Supervision degree, and Certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida and BA degree in history and political science from Presbyterian College. His major research and publications have dealt with the community college concept and its applicability in Latin America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Oliver McSurley
Assistant Director, Study Abroad
University of Central Florida
407-882-2300
oliver.mcsurley@ucf.edu
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.
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.
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.
Dr. Mary Risner
Associate Director, Outreach and Business Programs
University of Florida
352-273-4723
mrisner@latam.ufl.edu
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.
Dr. Kiki Caruson
Interim Vice President, USF World
University of South Florida
813-974-0709
kcaruson@usf.edu@latam.ufl.edu
Kiki Caruson, PhD leads the University of South Florida’s global engagement across the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee campuses, including study abroad programming, international student and scholar services, academic pathway programs, the management of international partnerships, the Global Discovery Hub, initiatives that support research and scholarly mobility, Peace Corps programming, global alumni outreach, as well as international development activities. 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 across faculty, students, alumni, and global partners. Dr. Caruson is the author of numerous publications including “International Research Partnerships,” in NAFSA’s Guide to International Partnerships: Developing Sustainable Academic Collaborations edited by Jane Gatewood, 2019; “Building International Research Capacity: The SIO Perspective,” in NAFSA’s Senior International Officer Guide edited by David Di Maria, 2019; and Globalizing University Research: Innovation, Collaboration, and Competition published in 2017 by the Institute of International Education (IIE). In 2016, Dr. Caruson received the inaugural Big Ideas Award from the Society for Research Administrators International (SRA-I) for the creation of a peer-resourced, web-based Global Research Toolkit.
Dr. Caruson is an alumna of the USIEF India Fulbright Program for senior international education administrators (2013) and is an active scholar, teacher, and mentor. She has led student groups to Panama, India, and Peru, and has twice received USF’s Outstanding Teaching Award. A faculty member in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Caruson maintains an active, interdisciplinary research portfolio; is an advisor and mentor to graduate and undergraduate students; and has served in leadership roles in a number of professional organizations affiliated with her academic discipline, international education, and research administration.