The UCF College of Arts and Humanities welcomes new faculty members joining our college in fall 2024!
Department of English
Jane Aman, Visiting Lecturer of Literature
Jane Aman is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of English. Previously, she taught writing as a Postdoctoral Lecturer at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She has also taught literature and composition at the University of Texas at Austin and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2023, where she specialized in late-nineteenth century American literature. Her research focused on the “Washington Novel,” republican etiquette, citizenship, and political literature. She is also interested in American realism, regionalism, Indigenous literature, and disability studies.
Kianna Greene, Lecturer of Creative Writing
Raised in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, Kianna Greene is a poet and writer and earned her MFA in Creative Writing from UCF. Nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in The Coachella Review, Maudlin House, 3Elements Review, and Ruminate Magazine. Kianna is an alumna of The Kenyon Review’s Writers Workshop and currently serves as an Associate Poetry Editor for The Florida Review. More about her can be found at kiannagreene.com.
Siew David Hii, Lecturer of Creative Writing
Siew David Hii is a fiction writer, essayist, and poet. Hii’s creative work appears in journals such Electric Literature, The Georgia Review, Story, New Orleans Review, The Pinch, and elsewhere. They are the associate poetry editor of Shenandoah.
David Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
David Lerner Schwartz is an assistant professor in the Department of English where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students. He holds a PhD in creative writing and literature from the University of Cincinnati, an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and a BA in English and international relations from Tufts University. Schwartz won the Robert Day Award for Fiction from New Letters and has been a finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter Prize, The Florida Review Jeanne Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award, and The Masters Review Chapbook Open. His work can be found in Ecotone, Witness, New Ohio Review, Los Angeles Review, Literary Hub, New York magazine, The Rumpus, SmokeLong Quarterly, and more. The recipient of fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Niehoff Center for Film and Media Studies, Schwartz previously served as the writer in residence at St. Albans School. www.davidlernerschwartz.com.
Joseph Shack, Assistant Professor of English
Joseph Shack is a medievalist specializing in the literature of early medieval Britain and its neighbors, with a particular focus on vernacular English, Welsh, Irish and Scandinavian prose and poetry. He received his undergraduate degree in English Literature and History from New York University before earning an M.A. in Medieval Studies from the University of York, an M.A. in Welsh and Celtic Studies from Cardiff University, and, finally, a PhD in English and Celtic Literature and Languages from Harvard University. His work may be found in the North American Journal of Celtic Studies, The Medieval Globe and The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. His current book project examines the traditions of gnomic poetry in early medieval Wales and England.
Matthew Stapleton, Visiting Lecturer
Matthew Stapleton is a Visiting Lecturer of Technical Writing in the Department of English at UCF. He earned his BA and MA focusing on rhetoric and writing at Clemson University and completed his PhD at UCF with a dissertation on COVID-based communication in universities. Dr. Stapleton’s current research topics include Long COVID and emerging pandemic communication by institutions.
Department of History
Brian Miller, Professor of History
Brian Craig Miller has been appointed as professor and chair of the Department of History. Before joining UCF, he served as the Dean of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Fine Arts at Mission College and as an associate professor and chair of the history department at Emporia State University. He holds a B.A. in History from Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. and PhD in History from the University of Mississippi. Miller is the author of four books and several articles, including John Bell Hood and the Fight for Civil War Memory and Empty Sleeves: Amputation in the Civil War South. He has also served as the editor-in-chief and book review editor for the journal Civil War History. Miller is actively involved in community outreach and advocacy for the humanities and has contributed to various equity and technology initiatives. He is known for forging partnerships with local historical organizations and community groups and is committed to supporting curriculum development, enhancing community partnerships, and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the department. Read the full announcement about his appointment here.
Ashley Moreshead, Lecturer
Ashley Moreshead ’02, ’05MA earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCF before getting a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Delaware. She has been teaching for the UCF Department of History as contingent faculty since 2015. She has also taught history for Valencia College’s West Campus and developed assessment materials for the AP U.S. History program. Her research on gender and religion in the nineteenth-century United States has been published by the Journal of the Early Republic and Early American Studies.
Jessica Robkin, Assistant Professor
Jessica R. Robkin is an archaeologist and public historian with specializations in cultural heritage management, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional studies, modeling and simulation, and geospatial research. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, her graduate degree from Florida Atlantic University and her doctoral degree from UCF. Robkin’s research focuses on applying multidisciplinary approaches to the study of ancient urban social organization and cultural heritage protection during times of political unrest by incorporating cutting edge technologies with traditional methods. Her fieldwork has taken her across the U.S. and overseas to the MENA region. With training in both terrestrial archaeology and emergency heritage response, she has worked with local, state, and federal governments, as well as military officials at all levels, to identify and stabilize at-risk heritage sites. She is a researcher on the DATCH Project, the Chronopoints Project, and is an Assistant Director and the Geospatial Coordinator for the Kerkenes Project in Central Turkey.
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Kyoko Blanchard, Instructor of Japanese
Kyoko Blanchard is an instructor of Japanese. She was born and raised in Japan. She earned her B.A. in English Linguistics from Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan and M.S. in Foreign Language Education from Florida International University. She has experience as a translator and a private tutor of English and Japanese for more than 20 years. She is passionate about reducing foreign language anxiety in classrooms.
Maria Cabail, Visiting Instructor of Spanish
Maria Julia Cabail was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Universidad Nacional de La Matanza, where her thesis focused on the study of public immigration policies in Argentina. After moving to Florida, she completed a Master of Arts in Spanish at the University of Central Florida, where she is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Public History.
In Buenos Aires, Maria Julia also completed two post-graduate degrees, one in Argentine Culture History, and another in Latin American History and Culture. Additionally, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education-History from Instituto Superior del Profesorado “Joaquín V. González” and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel de Falla.” She has over 15 years of extensive experience in the field of education. Additionally, she has worked as a translator and transcriber on various historical projects.
Ana Patricia Camacho, Visiting Instructor of Spanish
Patricia is a passionate Spanish language and Latin-American literature, art, and cultural expressions lover. She is always on a mission of promoting them as well as finding ways to connect academia and community. She was born in Colombia and she is a proud Mom of three amazing human beings and a doggy grandma for four dogs. She studied Economics, MS Economics and MBA at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá where she worked at government institutions, private consulting and universities. Through preparing economics reports and analyzing data, she deepened her love for writing and understanding the language. In 2019, she became a Spanish MA Student at the University of Central Florida as a GTA. In 2021, she received the Florida Chapter University Student of the Year for the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) and in 2022 she was nominated for the Order of Pegasus Awards class and for the Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching. Her passion for Spanish brought her into becoming an adjunct teacher at UCF since 2023.
Erin Laureano, Instructor
Erin Laureano is joining the department of Modern Languages and Literatures as an Instructor of Spanish. She was born and raised in Central Florida and holds an M.A. in Spanish from the University of South Florida as well as an M.A. in Romance Studies from Duke University. She has taught Spanish language and Hispanic literature courses at Valencia College, USF and Duke and has received multiple administrative honors for teaching excellence. She is entering her 17th year of teaching Spanish and is passionate about increasing her students’ confidence speaking the language, as well as incorporating authentic cultural materials, task-based learning and new educational technologies in the classroom.
Carine Strebel, Visiting Instructor of French
Carine Strebel is a native of Switzerland who also studied in France, Québec and the United States. Her passion for facilitating the development of multilingual and multicultural competences spreads from teaching French, German and English as a Second Language to working with educators who have emerging multilingual students in their classrooms. A co-author of three books published with Harvard Education Press, she has presented at numerous international and national conferences in teacher education, reading education, and Francophone literature.
Jinsung Yang, Renewable Visiting Instructor of Korean
Jinsung Yang teaches Korean language and culture courses covering beginning, intermediate, K-Media and history. A native Seoulite, she came to the U.S. in 2019 and worked with the University of Florida’s Korean program. Jinsung began her Korean teaching career at the US Embassy in Seoul. She taught there for six years before switching to TESOL and other English Programs in Korean academia. Her research and teaching focus on cultural awareness, the application of current and new learning technologies, and literacy in Korean media and popular culture. She has sent many of her students to summer internships in Korea, student exchanges and scholarship programs including Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) under the U.S. State Department and the Fulbright Program. She is involved in several projects hosted by the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. She was a member of the committee to study the application of artificial intelligence in language learning at the University of Florida. She holds degrees in foreign language education from State University of New York as well as Cross-Cultural & International Communication from Yonsei University in Seoul. A big fan of Martin Luther King, she enjoys applying his ideas to daily life. In her spare time, she travels, walks in nature, watches movies and listens for the next K-Pop sensation.
Department of Philosophy
Thomas Reed, Visiting Lecturer of Philosophy
Thomas Reed should not be confused with the eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid, and he definitely has not already heard all of your jokes about it. He does share some of his namesake’s philosophical interests, including common sense epistemology, metaphysics including human agency and free will, and the philosophy of religion. He’s currently writing about agent causation in the early twentieth century, compatibilist theories of abilities, and some puzzles about the epistemology of necessary truths. He is an enthusiast of cats and buying more books than he will ever have time to read.
Brooke Rudow, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Brooke Rudow is an assistant professor of philosophy. Her research explores a range of issues in environmental ethics, political philosophy, epistemology and philosophy of technology, all grounded by considerations of ethical responsibility and justice. She engages questions of ethical and civic motivation, considers barriers to taking up related responsibilities, and seeks solutions to overcome them. Brooke has published most recently in Environment, Space, Place and Radical Philosophy Review and has a forthcoming article in Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. In addition to being a philosopher, she is a lover of hiking and surfing.
Em Walsh, Assistant Professor
Dr. Em Walsh has recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University and from there joins UCF’s Department of Philosophy and the College of Medicine’s Department of Medical Education as Assistant Professor. Dr. Walsh’s Ph.D. is from the Department of Philosophy at McGill University.
Walsh’s interests and recent research include the interaction between mental illness, marginalization, and memory and the role of negative self-regarding attitudes in mental illness. Dr. Walsh will teach our graduate level medical ethics (PHI 5634) and honors ethics in biological science (PHI 4633H) in the fall term 2024 and ethical theory (PHI 3670) in the spring along with her duties in medical education for our UCF medical students.
Doug Zimmerman, Visiting Lecturer of Philosophy
Doug Zimmerman is a visiting lecturer of philosophy and humanities. His research works at the boundaries of philosophy, religious studies, and theology with special emphasis on Augustine, Kierkegaard, and phenomenology. He is especially interested in the role of rhetoric, hermeneutics, and aesthetics in what is often thought of solely as rational discourse. He has just finished and defended his dissertation The Dialectics of Faith: Kierkegaard, Irony, and Conversion, and has several other projects in the works. More recently he has been interested in the novels of Walker Percy and Iris Murdoch and how their literary work intersects with their philosophical views. He spends most of his free time with his two children.
School of Performing Arts
Saul Dautch, Visiting Instructor of Jazz
Saul Dautch is a woodwind doubler, composer/arranger and educator based in the New York area, specializing in the baritone saxophone. Born and raised in Delray Beach, Florida, Saul’s musical journey began at an early age, culminating in his enrollment in the International Baccalaureate program at Atlantic Community High School. His thirst for knowledge and mastery of jazz led him to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies at UCF, where he honed his skills under the mentorship of Jeff Rupert. Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Saul ventured to New Brunswick, NJ, to further his education at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. There, he immersed himself in the vibrant jazz scene, earning a Master of Music in Jazz Studies under the mentorship of Ralph Bowen, Gary Smulyan and Conrad Herwig. His dedication to his craft was evident not only in his academic pursuits but also in his active involvement as a teaching assistant and guest lecturer, sharing his passion for music theory and jazz history with students. After completing his graduate studies, Saul moved to Brooklyn, NY, where he currently resides and works as a freelance musician, educator, composer/arranger and soloist. He has performed with many world-class big bands including the World-Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Flying Horse Big Band, the Robert Edwards Big Band, John Yao and his 17-Piece Instrument, the Orlando Jazz Orchestra, Bill O’Connell’s Afro Caribbean Ensemble and many more. He has shared the stage with the likes of Harry Allen, George Garzone, Conrad Herwig, Bill O’Connell, Robby Ameen, Antonio Hart, Clarence Penn, Jeff Rupert and Veronica Swift amongst others. Saul is a featured soloist on several albums released by the Flying Horse Big Band: Big Man on Campus (2016), The Bat Swings (2018) and Good News! (2019). In 2019, Saul was selected as one of 15 recipients to receive a fellowship to the prestigious Ravinia Steans Institute where he received instruction and mentorship from Rufus Reid, Billy Childs and Steve Wilson.
Rie Suzuki Huebner, Assistant Professor of Clarinet
Clarinetist Rié Suzuki is a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and serves as principal clarinet of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra. Her recent soloist appearances include concerto performances with the Rowan University Wind Ensemble and the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra. Her notable collaborations and tours include a recital series with the Poulenc Trio in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and a concert tour of Central America sponsored by the U.S. Embassy with the Liberty Winds. Her live performances on broadcast include WQXR in New York, WRTI in Philadelphia, podcasts from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and an appearance on Nicaraguan National TV. Her performances led to her recording on Capstone Records, New World Records, Centaur Records, Naxos Records, Warner Brothers and her most recent recording of the commissioned work, Threes by Maurice Wright, under BCM&D Records label. Suzuki holds a doctoral degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where she was awarded the Orchestral Fellowship. For her full biography, visit www.riesuzuki.com.
McClenty Hunter, Assistant Professor, Jazz Drums
McClenty Hunter Jr. is a Grammy-nominated jazz drummer with a career spanning over two decades. He began his musical journey in the church and went on to pursue a BA in music education from Howard University and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the Juilliard School. Hunter has performed with jazz legends like Cedar Walton, Lou Donaldson and Kenny Barron and has appeared at major festivals including the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival. In 2018, he released his debut record as a leader, The Groove Hunter, which received four stars in Downbeat Magazine. With over 16 years of experience in music education, Hunter has served as the Director of Music at KIPP Academy in the South Bronx and has conducted master classes and lectures worldwide. In 2019, he was named a Jazz Drummer Rising Star by Downbeat Magazine and has been featured in Modern Drummer magazine. Hunter’s work with Kenny Garrett’s Pushing the World Away earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental in 2013. He currently endorses Canopus drums, Sabian cymbals and Vic Firth sticks.
David Sterritt, Assistant Professor of Acting
David Sterritt is an accomplished Actor and Fight Choreographer originally from Atlanta. He holds an MFA in acting from Wayne State University and received advanced theatre training at the Moscow Art Theatre School. Additionally, he has a BFA in performing arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design. As a Certified Teacher through the Society of American Fight Directors, David founded and coordinates the A-Town Throw Down, a popular combat workshop for stage and film in Atlanta. He is also a proud SDC Member. Throughout his career, David has worked as a freelance artist, excelling as both an actor and fight choreographer while also teaching. Some of his selected fight credits include work in productions such as The Play that Goes Wrong at Aurora Theatre, Slasher, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Cardboard Piano, and Urinetown at Actor’s Express, and Edward Foote and Hand to God at Alliance Theatre, among others. Additionally, his selected acting credits include roles such as D’Artagnan in Three Musketeers, Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare Tavern, and Jody in Slasher at Actor’s Express. He is looking forward to joining UCF this fall.
Dayle Towarnicky, Visiting Assistant Professor, Voice
Dayle is coming to UCF from the NYC area, and is originally from Columbus, Ohio. She will be teaching Voice, Speech, Accent, and Acting in the Theatre department as well as coaching Theatre productions this school year. Previous teaching at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers, and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. Passionate about continuing education and training, Dayle is a Certified Teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork and is also a Certified Practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method. NYC production coaching with Page 73, Theater for the New City, Hudson Stage Company, Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre and others. MAs in both Linguistics and Professional Voice Practice; BFA in Drama/Acting.
Benjamin Vasko, Visiting Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium
Benjamin Vasko serves on the faculties of UCF and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he gives lessons, coaches chamber music and teaches repertoire classes. He is the founder and director of the Orlando Youth Tuba Ensemble, a high school-aged chamber group dedicated to elevating the performance level of young tuba and euphonium players in Central Florida. Vasko holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas and a Master of Music degree from the University of Georgia, both in Tuba Performance. His primary teachers have been Jorge Avendaño, Steve Haddad, Sam Pilafian, Charles Villarrubia and David Zerkel. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Boston University under Mike Roylance. Vasko’s dissertation is an exploration of the benefits that collaborative learning has on student well-being and musicianship in the collegiate tuba/euphonium ensemble. He has had the honor of performing with the Boston Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Jacksonville Symphony, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Orlando Philharmonic and other wonderful organizations. He tours with the Brookwood Trio (trumpet, tuba, piano), bringing its unique instrumentation around the United States. His recent highlights include the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Lord of Cries, John Corigliano’s newest opera, with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, performances with the Jacksonville Symphony, and a tour of Spain where he performed with the Orquesta Nacional de España and taught at conservatories in Valencia, Barcelona, and Cordoba, as well as at the Madrid Tuba Academy. In Spring 2024, Vasko presented a masterclass on improvising basslines and solos at the International Euphonium Tuba Festival in Atlanta. Vasko is an associate artist and soloist with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, performing concerts and outreach programs across the country. He is an Eastman Performing Artist.
School of Visual Arts and Design
Owen Buffington, Lecturer and Assistant Professor
Owen Buffington is an artist and educator whose mixed-media drawings explore the intersection of geography and the visual arts — in particular the role drawing plays in shaping how we describe, define and organize everyday spaces. He received an MFA with an emphasis in drawing from the University of Arkansas in 2017, and a B.A. in geography and urban studies from Macalester College in 2004. He has since taught art and design in a number of venues including at universities, community art non-profits, juvenile detention facilities, hospitals, museums and public schools. He begins teaching 2D and 3D design courses for the UCF School of Visual Art & Design at UCF in the fall of 2024. You can see his artwork here.
James Chambless, Lecturer of Animation and Visualization
James Chambless (M.F.A., University of Central Florida) is a lecturer in SVAD’s Animation and Visualization Track. His expertise is in 2D hand drawn digital animation, visual storytelling, narrative development, environment design and cinematography. James’ versatility among the animation pipeline comes from 15 years of experience with digital animation software. Experience accumulated through educational settings, contract-based freelancing, digital marketing, studio production, research and personal projects.
Lindsay Deifik, Assistant Professor of Studio Art Foundation
Lindsay is an assistant professor in foundations and printmaking at UCF, located in her home state. For nine years, she practiced in Philadelphia, where she also received her MFA from the Tyler School of Art. She holds a BFA in Printmaking and Drawing from Washington University in Saint Louis. She is a former co-director and resident of Front/Space, a 2013 Rauschenberg Seed Grant recipient, as well as a former co-director at Fjord Gallery in Philadelphia. She has been an artist in residence at Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Officina Stamperia del Notaio in Sicily, ACRE, the Philadelphia Art Hotel, the Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project, Terra Cultura, and an apprentice at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, where she also worked as the print project coordinator in 2022. She has shown at Blah Blah Gallery, Pilot Projects, Ice Box, and the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, Temple Rome Gallery, Rome, Acre Project Space, Chicago, Paragraph in Kansas City, and elsewhere nationally and internationally. You can see her artwork here.
Njeri Kinuthia, Visiting Lecturer
Njeri Kinuthia was born and raised in Kenya. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from Machakos University, Kenya. Njeri moved to the U.S. in 2021 to pursue her MFA at the University of Central Florida, funded by the Provost’s Fellowship Award. Her artistic merit has been recognized with awards, including the 2024 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art People’s Choice Award, the 2024 University of Central Florida Outstanding Graduate Creative Research, the 2023 Éclat Law Prize, the 2023 United Arts Public Art Award, the 2023 Innovation in Arts Award, among others. Njeri has exhibited her work in various shows and galleries, including the Florida Prize at the Orlando Museum of Art, and a solo exhibition at Snap! Gallery in Orlando. She has also showcased her art in international settings, including Norway. Njeri is also an Art Educator teaching at the University of Central Florida. Her work explores themes of self-reflection, feminism, and the suppression of women perpetuated by cultural and societal norms. Njeri has also shared her insights through artist talks and interviews, further contributing to the discourse on the role of art in society. You can see her artwork here.
Jennifer Princival, Assistant Professor of Architecture
Jennifer Princival’s teaching career began at the University of Florida as a graduate teaching assistant. After graduating with her Masters in Architecture from UF, she worked at Valencia College for 10 years as an adjunct professor. During this time, she worked in the architecture field and volunteered in construction work which led to volunteer design work. Princival’s research focuses on evidence-based design practices in labor and delivery units.
Ananya Shenoy, Lecturer, 3D Visualization
Ananya Shenoy is a 3D modeler and look-development artist with a background in traditional art. She has worked on multiple collaborative projects across games and short films. Her personal work involves blending the charm of stop-motion and 2D animation with 3D technology. Her approach to her work is iterative and focused on experimentation and she likes the process of breaking the rules of a medium to create a new visual style. Her earlier roles involved illustration for 2D animation, social media, websites and merchandise. She has also been a tutor and mentor during her Master’s degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design where she assisted students with their projects and provided them with support as they navigated their college journeys. Apart from her work, she is a collector of hobbies and is always trying to find something new to try out. Her current interests include crochet, embroidery and sometimes, roller-skating. You can see her artwork at ananyashenoy.co.
Ericka Sobrack, Visiting Lecturer, Studio Art Foundations
Ericka Sobrack specializes in small-scale paintings depicting suburban scenes of America. Utilizing oil paint on wood panel, she renders theatrical and dramatic settings using stark lighting and selective color. She often reassembles mundane imagery to create a sense of familiarity yet ambiguity within her paintings, aiming to foster deep psychological connections with the viewer. Sobrack graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Emerging Media from the University of Central Florida in 2019 and was awarded a residency at the Maitland Arts and History Museum from 2019-2021. Her work has been exhibited in national and international exhibitions as well as multiple solo shows including The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Florida and Arts on Douglas Gallery in New Smyrna Beach, FL. Sobrack currently lives and works in Orlando, Florida.
Ashley Taylor, Assistant Professor of Emerging Media, Graphic Design
Ashley Taylor is an assistant professor in design. She currently teaches graphic design and printmaking courses. Ashley is also a freelance designer with clients including the American Outlaws and US Soccer, Adobe and the Orlando Pride. Her current research interests include risograph printing and animation, analog design and typographic history. In 2023, Ashley was selected as one of four designers for the Inaugural AdobexNWSL Creator Class. In 2024, Ashley Taylor co-curated the exhibition Type Out Loud and received the CAH Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Teaching. You can see her artwork here.
Megan Thomas, Assistant Professor of Studio Art Foundation
Megan Thomas grew up in Hamilton, OH. She studied ceramic sculpture and painting at Bowling Green State University and graduated with an MFA in ceramics from Utah State University in 2020. Formerly a long-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT. Megan is currently an Associate professor of Studio Art Foundations at UCF. She birdwatches and trail runs for fun. You can see her artwork here.
Michael Tole, Assistant Professor of Drawing
Michael Tole is a painter who has recently relocated from Tempe, AZ to Orlando, FL to teach drawing at UCF. A Texas native, Tole received his BFA from The University of Texas at Austin, and his MFA from The University of North Texas. After several years working as an artist in Dallas, Tole relocated in 2013, to Arizona to become a founding faculty member of Benedictine University’s Mesa Campus. He was an Associate Professor, Program Director of Fine Art and Graphic Design, and Visual, Performing, and Media Arts Program Liaison for Benedictine.
Tole’s career includes group and solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, New Orleans, and numerous fairs including Art Miami. Reviews of his work have been published in Art Forum International, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and Hi-Fructose.com. He has been the recipient of numerous grants including the Hunting Art Prize of Houston, TX, and the Kimbrough Grant of The Dallas Museum of Art. His paintings can be found in the public collections of the 21C Museum, The Dallas Country Club, The Jesuit Dallas Museum, and in the private collections of collectors such as Phaidon Books CEO Keith Fox, actor C.C.H. Pounder, and Ted Pillsbury, the late Director of The Kimball Museum of Art. Tole is currently represented by Ferrara Showman Gallery of New Orleans. You can see his artwork here.
Themed Experience Program
Chaz Moneypenny, Visiting Instructor
Chaz Moneypenny has a master’s degree in dramatic writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and has had a dynamic career leading teams at the world’s greatest entertainment companies. Chaz began his career at Walt Disney Imagineering, where he contributed as a show writer to globally recognized attractions such as Star Tours, The Iron Man Experience, and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. His talents flourished under the mentorship of the legendary Stan Lee, serving as assistant writer and ghostwriter, mastering storytelling directly from one of the industry’s top icons of all time. Furthering his career in themed entertainment, Chaz spent nearly eight years at Universal Studios Japan as a creative director, where he was instrumental in writing and directing over 20 seasonal and permanent attractions, collaborating with Japan’s top animation houses and enhancing the legacies of Japan’s most celebrated IPs. His groundbreaking work, including the creative direction of the universally acclaimed Demon Slayer: Infinity Train XR Ride, which achieved the highest guest satisfaction score worldwide for any Universal Studios attraction, showcases his capability to blend creative vision with guest engagement to create memories that last a lifetime. An inventor at heart, Chaz earned the Disney Inventor Award for his groundbreaking patent that revolutionized the way imaginary participants are communicated in immersive play environments. He has also been shaping minds in academia, guest lecturing at his alma mater and leading the Sequential Art Japan Off Campus program since 2016.
Department of Writing and Rhetoric
Jacqueline Cano Diaz, Visiting Instructor
Vee Kennedy, Instructor
Vee Kennedy (they/them/theirs) is a full-time Visiting Instructor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and is also enrolled in the Texts and Technology PhD Program. They teach in the First-Year Writing Program. Their research interests are in rhetoric of anime and Japanese video games, queer and trans rhetoric, disability studies, and fan studies.
Professor Kennedy was a recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship as an undergraduate student and later served as a program Alumni Ambassador for the scholarship program. They welcome any conversations with interested students about making international education a possibility for them, particularly when they have limited financial means. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship provides funding from the U.S. Department of State to support mutlimarginalized Pell Grant recipients with funding for study abroad.
Emily LaPadura, Instructor
Emily is a Ph.D. candidate in UCF’s Texts and Technology program with a specialization in writing and rhetoric. She received her M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition from Colorado State University. Her teaching experience ranges from undergraduate to graduate level writing courses. She has also taught creative writing at educational focused non-profits with elementary, middle and high school students. Her research interests entail the relationships between marginalized communities and technology.
Erica Macalintal, Visiting Instructor
Rachel Marks, Instructor
Rachel Marks received a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Rollins College in 2014. She then received her Professional Writing Graduate Certificate in 2017, followed by her M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition in 2020, both from University of Central Florida. She continued to study and work at UCF, pursuing her Ph.D. in Texts and Technology, teaching composition and digital rhetoric courses, and serving as a research assistant studying social media. She is thrilled to begin her position as an Instructor for the Department of Writing and Rhetoric. Her research interests include popular and digital media studies including social media, television and fan studies.
Natalia Rivera-Hernandez, Visiting Instructor
Kara Taczak, Assistant Professor
Kara Taczak is an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida, the co-editor of Composition Studies, and incoming co-editor of College Composition and Communication (CCC). Her award-winning research centers on composition theory and pedagogy, specifically focusing on Teaching for Transfer (TFT) and reflection. Her work has appeared in numerous edited collections as well as in CCC, Writing Spaces, International Journal of Work-Integrated (IJWIL), The WAC Journal, Composition Forum, Teaching English in a Two-Year College, and Across the Disciplines.
Kenneth Tanemura, Lecturer
Kenneth Tanemura has a B.A. and M.F.A in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and Purdue University, respectively. He also has a Ph.D. in Second Language Studies with a secondary concentration in Rhetoric and Composition from Purdue. His research interests include the intersection of rhetoric with issues of race, gender, and class; the role of rhetoric in social movements and activism; and inclusive pedagogies that address diversity in the classroom. He is interested in collaborative, qualitative research methods like autoethnography and duoethnography.
Meghan Velez, Assistant Professor
Meghan Velez earned a PhD in English with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition from Florida State University and an MA in Writing Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her current research interests focus on how definitions of “good” writing shape and are shaped by institutional and community policies and practices. Her most recent research projects include a study of military servicemembers’ literacy education and an analysis of Generative AI writing feedback. Before coming to UCF, Meghan spent six years at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she served as Co-Director for the Virtual Environment for Communication. She served as Secretary for the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE) from 2022-2024 and is currently the Florida State Representative for the Southeastern Writing Centers Association (SWCA).
Rebecca Watkins, Lecturer
Rebecca Watkins is a lecturer with the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at UCF. She holds a PhD in English from Florida State University, an MA in English from Indiana-University-Purdue-University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), and a BS in Secondary English Education from Indiana University, Bloomington. Her work has appeared in Stoneboat, Touchstone, Pangyrus, and elsewhere. Her essay “Blonde Sugar” was nominated for Best of the Net Anthology.