{"id":1553,"date":"2018-10-18T21:22:10","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T21:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/textstech\/?page_id=1553"},"modified":"2026-08-13T14:20:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T18:20:29","slug":"our-alumni","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/textstech\/our-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"float-right w-50 ml-3 mb-4 hidden-sm-down\">\t\t\t<section id=\"career-widget-texts-and-tech\" class=\"ucf-section ucf-section-career-widget-texts-and-tech \" data-section-link-title=\"Career Coach\" aria-label=\"Career Coach\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- Texts and Technology (PhD) --> <\/p>\n<p>  <iframe onload=\"initializeScripts('program-widget-44795e', 'https:\/\/widget.lightcastcc.com')\" id=\"program-widget-44795e\" title=\"ucf widget\" style=\"border: 0; min-width: 100%; width: 1px\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.lightcastcc.com?hasCareerList=true&#038;hasEmployment=true&#038;hasAllLocations=false&#038;hasImages=true&#038;hasJobOpenings=true&#038;hasNationalData=true&#038;hasOutlook=true&#038;hasSkills=true&#038;hasVisitButton=true&#038;hasWages=true&#038;isHourlyWage=true&#038;labelSet=default&#038;clientId=ucf&#038;locationName=Orlando&#038;orderCareersBy=None&#038;primaryColor=%23000000&#038;programs=ucf496&#038;visitButtonColor=%23000000&#038;headingText=Our%20students%20can%20go%20into%20these%20careers%3A\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.lightcastcc.com\/scripts.js\"><\/script> <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Hajer Albalawi<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Hajer Albalawi is Director of Research &amp; Studies at Automated Savvy Arabian Solutions (ASAS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She was a Postdoctoral Scholar with UCF&#8217;s Center for Ethics and the Texts and Technology program from 2024 to 2025, working on a National Science Foundation-funded team. Her research specializes in ethics and digital media, with a focus on dissecting codes of ethics, analyzing value artifacts, and developing frameworks for professional development and ethics in the digital realm. Her dissertation, Human Recognition Theory and Facial Recognition Technology: A Topic Modeling Approach to Understanding the Ethical Implication of a Developing Algorithmic Technologies Landscape on How We View Ourselves and Are Viewed by Others, analyzed NIST publications to identify ethical themes surrounding facial recognition. Her M.A. in English was supported by the King Abdullah Scholarship Program.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Ream Al-Ghamdi<\/span><br \/>\nReam Al-Ghamdi is a lecturer in the Media department at <a href=\"https:\/\/ksu.edu.sa\/en\/\">King Saud University<\/a> -KSA. Recent presentations include Fan Studies Network, North America. To learn more, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/ryghamdi8.wixsite.com\/mysite\/about\">Ream\u2019s blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Bshaer Alharazi<\/span><br \/>\nBshaer Alharazi is an instructor at Taif University, Saudi Arabia. She holds a MA in Multimedia Journalism, and her BA was in the Mass Communication on the PR track. Her research interests include social media interpretation and memes.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">William Allen<\/span><br \/>\nWilliam Allen is an Associate Professor of Digital Media at Florida Southern College. His work in the Texts and Technology program had an emphasis in Digital Media at the University of Central Florida. He holds an MFA in Web Design and New Media from the Academy of Art University. His current research interests include studying changes in cinematic codes between two-dimensional and 360 cinematic spaces and the impact that has on short-term learning behavior and cognitivism. Portfolio: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.willaallen.com\">www.willaallen.com<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Amanda Altamirano<\/span><br \/>\nAmanda Altamirano is a Senior Technical Writer at Hunter Douglas. Her research includes publications that discuss intersectional feminism in technical communication, human-centered computing, and user-centered design. Amanda&#8217;s dissertation was a mixed-methods research project centered on workplace bias in the software industry. To learn more about her experience in the T&amp;T program, check out Amanda\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cahcms.smca.ucf.edu\/news\/re-imagining-technical-communication\/\">CAH blog post<\/a>.\u00a0You can connect with Amanda via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/amandaaltamirano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"Verified\" data-linkindex=\"4\">LinkedIn<\/a> or Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amandaalta3?lang=en\">@AmandaAlta3<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\"><span class=\"h5\">Camila Alvarez<\/span><\/span><br \/>\nCamila Alvarez\u00a0 is an Associate Professor at Indian River State Collage\u00a0 in the Corporate &amp; Community Training Institute (CCTI). She has taught at Indian River State College since 2003. She earned her Master of Arts degree in 19th century British and American Literature from Florida Atlantic University.\u00a0 Students in her composition and literature courses often find themselves working on websites and using technology to enhance their learning experience. Her interests include pedagogy, digital media, gaming, learning environments, and networking learning. Her publications include \u201cOn Haunted Shores: Restriction and Resistance in Jennine Capo Crucet\u2019s How to Leave Hialieah\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Women-Florida-Fiction-Sunshine-Writers\/dp\/0786478942\">Women of Florida Fiction: Essays on 12 Sunshine State Writers, 2014<\/a>)\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/c-iae-irsc.weebly.com\/\">Effective Communication<\/a>. Her homepage is: <a href=\"http:\/\/calvarez-irsc.weebly.com\/\">Alvarez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Anshare Antoine<\/span><br \/>\nI graduated in the Technical and Scientific Communication track and am a proposal coordinator for Makpar Corporation. In 2017, I received my Master\u2019s degree at the University of Central Florida in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies. My research examines how African Americans create alternate online spaces on social media platforms to resist devaluation of Blackness and rhetorically represent and perform their race as first-class citizens of American society, deserving of equal rights, treatment, and legitimate recognition as other privileged races. My other research interests include Online Activism, Black Culture, Social Media Trends, Popular Culture, Gender Studies, Technical and Professional Communication, and Inclusive Interface Design.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Carissa Baker<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Carissa Baker is an <a href=\"https:\/\/hospitality.ucf.edu\/person\/carissa-baker\/\">Associate Professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida.<\/a>\u00a0She studies theme parks and attractions from a variety of perspectives, including their characteristics as art, business, culture, and technology. Her dissertation research was on the theme park as a narrative medium. This project earned recognition including a College Outstanding Dissertation Award and the Texts and Technology Dissertation Research Award; it also contributed to her winning the Order of Pegasus, UCF\u2019s highest student award. Theme parks have been a subject of Dr. Baker\u2019s research for more than two decades. She is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), TEA NextGen, the TEA NextGen Committee, the TEA Academic Network, and the Themed Experience and Attractions Academic Society.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Nikki Fragala Barnes<\/span><br \/>\nNikki Fragala Barnes (they\/she, @bynikkibarnes) is a visiting lecturer in creative writing at UCF. Barnes\u2019 research braids critical making, communal pedagogies, Black trans feminisms, Indigenous methods and museum practice. They hold a Texts and Technology PhD with the Editing, Publishing, and Interdisciplinary Curating track. An arts activist and experimental poet, Barnes centers material works on accessibility, land-based public histories, and the poetics of place. Also an independent editor and curator, Barnes serves on the editorial collective of the\u00a0<i><a href=\"https:\/\/cuny.manifoldapp.org\/projects\/jitp-23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy<\/a><\/i>. Barnes\u2019 work is transdisciplinary, collaborative, and site-sensitive. Recent scholarly work appears in\u00a0<i><a href=\"https:\/\/rowman.com\/ISBN\/9781666931532\/Multimodal-and-Digital-Creative-Writing-Pedagogies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Multimodal and Digital Creative Writing Pedagogies<\/a>.<\/i>\u00a0Recent creative work appears in the state of Florida\u2019s literary journal,\u00a0<i><a href=\"https:\/\/indd.adobe.com\/view\/dcfc243d-7f2c-47b3-b703-a9df8bbdb78c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Of Poets and Poetry<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Dolores Batten<\/span><br \/>\nDolores Batten is a nonfiction and poetry writer and a Professor of English and Literature at Keiser University. She holds an M.B. in Literature and Language from St. Mary\u2019s University in San Antonio, TX, and graduated from T&amp;T in 2026 She has served as the senior essay editor for Plath Profiles, a bi-annual journal dedicated to the scholarship and creative writing legacy of Sylvia Plath. She has received numerous awards, including Best Paper at Conference for the 2021 Popular Culture Association, and an Honorable Mention for her paper at presentation for the 2022 NEMLA Conference. Her current research interests include Game Theory, Narrative Theory, Composition Pedagogy, and studies of episodic memory and experience to increase awareness of the ethnography of diverse populations.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Clayton Benjamin<\/span><br \/>\nClayton Benjamin is the Director of Multimodal Instructional Support at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Stout, where they lead faculty development, instructional design, and online student support to further the university\u2019s polytechnic mission. They innovate instructional design for the Canvas LMS and are currently leading projects that integrate AI and Mixed Reality into multimodal instruction. With over 15 years of experience in instructional design and higher education, Clayton integrates emerging technologies, AI, and Universal Design for Learning to promote inclusive, career-focused teaching. They continue to lecture in technical communication and are passionate about building equitable, innovative learning environments.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">PS Berge<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Persephone Blue Berge (\u201cPB,\u201d they\/she) is an award-winning media scholar, game designer, teacher, and self-described ludoarsonist. An Assistant Professor of Experimental Game Design jointly appointed in the Media and Technology Studies program and Department of Women\u2019s &amp; Gender Studies at The University of Alberta, she researches trans play, tabletop roleplaying games, toxic technocultures, and the so-called \u201cunplayable.\u201d She is also the Co-Director of the Game Development Certificate Program. Their ongoing research projects explore emergent\/speculative play\u2014including fantasy consoles, speedrunning, and anti-game design\u2014anti-trans hate networks, the Discord app, and self-immolating games. Her published research can be found in journals such as The Journal for Cinema &amp; Media Studies, The Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies, Games &amp; Culture, Game Studies, and New Media &amp; Society as well as in the proceedings at FDG (Best Paper Award), ICIDS, ACM Hypertext, DiGRA, and elsewhere. She is also the director and cofounder of the Discord Academic Research Community, a cofounder of Tabletop Research in Practice, and Directs the CRYPT LAB\u2014a critical \u201cbreakerspace\u201d\u2014at the University of Alberta. <a href=\"http:\/\/psberge.com\/\">http:\/\/psberge.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Landon Berry<\/span><br \/>\nLandon Kyle Berry is an Associate Professor at Seminole State College of Florida.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jacob Boccio <\/span><br \/>\nJacob Boccio\u2019s research interrogates how ideology and consumer culture is shaped by film and new media, software, interfaces, and online platforms, and he has presented at national and international organizations such as the Cultural Studies Association, Zizek Studies Conference, Media Ecology Association, and Popular Culture Association. He graduated from T&amp;T in 2025.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Rachel Braaten<\/span><br \/>\nRachel is an Honors professor of humanities at Seminole State College, where she teaches courses in Humanities and Film Studies. Her research interests include film history, feminist film theory, international new wave film movements, film festival theory, and how these subjects intersect. Her current research involves recovering the life and works of female filmmakers and their contributions to feminist movements, gender equality, social justice, and the future of women in film. Rachel holds a B.A. from St. Olaf College, and an M.A. from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her recent publications include The Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema, 2020, published by Rowman and Littlefield.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Cassandra Branham<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Sandy Branham is an associate professor and associate chair of the Humanities and Communication Department. Dr. Branham hold a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology from the University of Central Florida, as well as an M.A. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition and a graduate certificate in Professional and Technical Communication from the University of South Florida. Dr. Branham&#8217;s research interests lie in the intersections of humanities, communication and technology, with a focus on digital literacy and the ways in which digital technologies have, and will continue to change, the communication landscape. Currently, Dr. Branham in working on several projects related to the development of AI literacy.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jessica Campbell <\/span><br \/>\nJessica is a Lecturer in Technical Communication at UCF. She is an experienced technical communicator, author, and multi-media manager who has published both in print and online. Her scholarly interests include: technical communication, multimodal communication and distribution, health and medical communications, and telemedicine. Publications include: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.igi-global.com\/chapter\/instructional-activities-online-technologies-and-social-community-in-online-graduate-student-courses\/187816\">Instructional Activities, Online Technologies, and Social Community in Online Graduate Student Courses<\/a> (2017) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.igi-global.com\/chapter\/flipping-the-script\/199392\">Flipping the Script: Creating Mass Change Through Social Networking Sites<\/a> (2018).<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Patricia Carlton<\/span><br \/>\nPatricia Carlton is an Adjunct Instructor of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Graduate Studies at University of Central Florida and a Library Media Specialist, Mount Dora High School.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Russell Carpenter <\/span><br \/>\nRussell Carpenter is executive director of the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity, Professor of English, and Assistant Provost at Eastern Kentucky University. He also serves as Summer Coordinator. Carpenter has published numerous collections, including Sustainable Learning Spaces, The Routledge Reader on Writing Centers and New Media, Writing Studio Pedagogy, Studio-Based Approaches for Multimodal Composition, and Engaging Millennial Faculty. He has served as President of the Southeastern Writing Center Association and Chair of the National Association of Communication Centers and also co-chaired the International Writing Centers Association Summer Institute and annual conference. As a long-standing member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, he has also served as the chapter\u2019s president and past president. At EKU, Carpenter is a two-time recipient of the Provost\u2019s Distinguished Service Award. In addition, he has received the National Association of Communication Centers Turner Award (2017) and Preston Award for Leadership (2015). As chair of the Southeastern Writing Center Association\u2019s Research &amp; Development Committee, he led efforts to design and implement the nation\u2019s first writing center certification program. His articles have appeared in Computers and Composition, Journal of Learning Spaces, WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, Journal on Centers for Teaching and Learning, Journal of Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Learning Communities Journal, and the National Teaching and Learning Forum, among others.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Nada Chehab<\/span><br \/>\nNada Chehab researches vaccine hesitancy and vaccine acceptance on social media. Her research interests are in public health ethics, medical ethics, medical humanities, and science and misinformation, and she graduated in August 2026 from the Digital Humanities track. Other research interests are data visualization, social epistemology, social media research, and social change. Nada graduated with a master\u2019s in healthcare administration from the University of Central Florida in 2012. Her BS is in Medical Lab Technology from the American University of Beirut.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Robert Clarke<\/span><br \/>\nRobert Clarke earned his master\u2019s degree in History from the University of Central Florida in 2014, with an emphasis in Public and Digital History. He was awarded the College of Arts and Humanities Outstanding Master\u2019s Thesis Award in 2014 for his thesis project, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/stars.library.ucf.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https:\/\/www.google.com\/&amp;httpsredir=1&amp;article=5696&amp;context=etd\">The Spatial Relationship Between Labor, Cultural Migration, and the Development of Folk Music in the American South: A Digital Visualization Project<\/a>.\u201d Clarke teaches history at UCF and his dissertation project archived the sonic environment and analyzing the relationship between aural cues and representations of place and meaning on campus.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Tatyana Claytor <\/span><br \/>\nTatyana Claytor holds an MA in Professional Writing and an M.Ed. in Technology Integration. She is a high school English teacher for Florida Virtual School and has taught high school and college courses for more than eighteen years. Her research interests include: Children and YA sci-fi literature and film, publishing, and education.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Maggie Cotto<\/span><br \/>\nMaggie Cotto is a high school teacher at Riverview Learning Center.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Daniel Cox<\/span><br \/>\nDan Cox (he\/they) is an Assistant Professor of Game Design at Illinois State University. He studies and teaches digital platforms, game engines, and authoring tools. They wrote the book Dynamic Story Scripting with the ink Scripting Language (2021) and their dissertation, \u201cDo You Want to Build with Snowman?\u201d: Positioning Twine Story Formats Through Critical Code Study (2023), reported on the authoring tool Twine and one of its built-in story formats, Snowman. They maintain and have contributed to many open-source projects connected to extended reality and machine learning using digital authoring tools.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Bonnie Cross<\/span><br \/>\nI am an an English Professor at Valencia College. I received my Master of Arts degree from the University of Vermont in 2013. My research has focused on the interaction between science and literature, monsters, and storytelling in the horror genre. I am especially interested in interdisciplinary studies, especially neuroscience and literature. I have presented at several institutions such as the College English Association, Popular Culture Association, and the Victorian Institute.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Jennifer Crowell<\/h4>\n<p>Jennifer Crowell is interested in rhetorical and cultural identity; writing transfer; and, narrative, grounded theory, case study, interview, survey, and mixed methods study designs. She entered the Texts and Technology program in 2018 and holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and a master\u2019s degree in organizational leadership from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she focused on rhetoric, writing within and across disciplines, networked and organizational communication, and discursive leadership. She teaches first-year composition courses at Seminole State College of Florida.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Nicholas DeArmas<\/span><br \/>\nNicholas DeArmas is Head of Professional Learning at Kiddom.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Brandy Dieterle<\/span><br \/>\nBrandy Dieterle is Assistant Professor of English &#8211; Professional Writing at Purdue University Northwest. Her research explores identity and self-presentation in digital and platformed spaces, focusing on rhetoric, disability, consent, AI and access, as well as how emerging technologies shape communication practices and inclusion across academic and technical settings.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Ray Eddy <\/span><br \/>\nRay is a Lecturer in the Barry S. Miller College of Business, teaching in the Integrated Business program. His research focuses on the concept of immersion and how it influences participant experiences in entertainment activities such as video games, film\/television, virtual reality, and theme parks. Before he began his T&amp;T studies, Ray received his undergraduate and master\u2019s degrees from Duke University, follow by a 20-year career in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Sahar Eissa <\/span><br \/>\nSahar Eissa is a Data Analyst, Founder &amp; CEO of Digitacx, LLC. She received her MA in Political Communication from Cardiff University, in 2016. Her research focuses on analyzing digital media interfaces to create new social experiences for teaching and learning different fields such as civics, history, and arts. Eissa\u2019s areas of interest include communication, design, mobile learning, games and AR\/VR. She created a multimedia video for the St. Augustine Cemetery field trip while working with the <a href=\"https:\/\/vlp.cah.ucf.edu\/learning.php.\">Veterans Legacy Program at UCF<\/a>, and now is developing a mobile app for the cemetery.\u00a0 In her T&amp;T internship course, Eissa designed and developed a website for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/flickeringlandsc.cah.ucf.edu\/\">Flickering Landscapes<\/a> conference.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Christopher Foley<\/span><br \/>\nChris earned his M.A. in English from Eastern Kentucky University in 2014. He has had the pleasure of learning as a writing center tutor and coordinator, community college teacher, and instructor in the UCF Department of Writing and Rhetoric. His research interests are related to [writing] pedagogy, rhetoric, and ideology. He has presented research on writing center spaces and cultures at Conference on College Composition and Communication, Southeastern Writing Center Association, and HASTAC.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Delia Garcia<\/span><br \/>\nDelia is an Assistant Dean in the the UCF College of Arts &amp; Humanities. She received her M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida in 2001 and a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology in 2019. Delia\u2019s current research interests include literacies of marginalized populations, higher education, and social justice.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Linda Garrison<\/span><br \/>\nLinda is currently Librarian and Digital Citizenship instructor at Canterbury School of Florida in St. Petersburg, FL. She received her MS in Library Information Studies from FSU in 2006. Her research interest is library classification systems as they affect young library users\u2019 sense of self, with special interest in students who belong to marginalized populations. Her recent publications include \u201cCataloging and Gender Studies.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/mcfarlandbooks.com\/product\/gender-issues-and-the-library\/\">Gender Issues and the Library: Case Studies of Innovative Programs and Resources, 2017<\/a>) and \u201cLifestream Mobile Application: Navigating Transgender Healthcare in Metropolitan Orlando\u201d (IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, 2015).<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Kendra Gilbertson<\/span><br \/>\nKendra Gilbertson is Director, Academic Support Services in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida. She specialized in the Rhetoric and Composition track. She earned her M.A. in Educational Leadership and graduate certificate in Professional Writing from UCF and her B.S. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Marketing &amp; Management from Indiana University. Kendra\u2019s research include social media, athlete activism, gender equality and women in sport. Her dissertation focused on athlete activism in the WNBA during the 2020 season and the role of social media. She previously taught Strategies for Student Success (SLS 1501) as an adjunct instructor.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Theresa Gindlesperger <\/span><br \/>\nTheresa Gindlesperger earned her B.S. degree in English Language Arts Education in 1999 and her M.Ed in Educational Leadership in 2002, both from the University of Central Florida. She has served as an English teacher, a Library Media Specialist, an Instructional Coach, and a district Curriculum Specialist. She is currently a Reading Specialist at a K-12 virtual school, and teaches developmental reading and writing at Valencia College. Her research interests include the psychosocial impact of social media rhetoric on adolescents, and the outreach potential of school libraries in impoverished communities as public schools move to fully digitize curricula.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Tami Gitto-Kania<\/span><br \/>\nTami Gitto is a tenured instructor of Humanities with a specialization in Digital Humanities. She earned both her BA and MA From Stony Brook University. Her research explores digitally mediated communication (DMC) and its impact on interpersonal discourse when technology is embedded. She considers users&#8217; experiences, interface and platform choices.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Wendy Givoglu<\/span><br \/>\nWendy Givoglu is Provost, Downtown, Winter Park, &amp; Transfer Initiatives, Valencia College.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Carolyn Glasshoff<\/span><br \/>\nCarolyn Glasshoff is a Lecturer teaching technical writing courses for the UCF English Department. Her research interests center on writing in the sciences and public understanding of science, focusing on environmentalist rhetoric and the rhetoric of health and medicine. Her current research focuses on the public rhetoric surrounding vaccination. She received an M.A. from UCF in Composition and Rhetoric, a B.A. from the University of Florida in English with a minor in mathematics, and an A.A. in pre-engineering from Pensacola Junior College.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Emily Hensley <\/span><br \/>\nEmily Hensley teaches the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at UCF. She earned her M. A. in English in 2015 from Eastern Kentucky University, where she focused on digital media, writing studio pedagogy, and first-year writing. She currently teaches first-year composition at UCF where her current research focuses on best practices for teaching first-year writing students about rhetorical velocity and circulation using digital and networked media and how best to guide students through some of the difficult ethical choices they must make when writing in digital, networked spaces. A portfolio of her academic work can be found at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ehensley.com\/\">ehensley.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Erika Heredia<\/span><br \/>\nErika M. Heredia\u2019s research explores how national identities are expressed in digital environments, with a special interest in narratives that build a sense of community in social media. She believes that the study of technological tools from a critical point of view provides a path toward social justice, the\u00a0final purpose of all academic intervention in society. She graduated from T&amp;T in 2021. Her previous\u00a0studies include a\u00a0\u00a0M.A. in Humanistic Studies (Tec. De Monterrey, Mex. 2014) and a B.A. in Audiovisual Communication (UBP, Arg. 2005). For more information, see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.erikamheredia.com\/\">www.erikamheredia.com<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Amanda Hill<\/span><br \/>\nAmanda is Assistant Vice President for Graduate Studies at Adams State University in Colorado. She is an artist, scholar, and educator who studies the intersections of narrative, performance, and media. She is particularly interested in vernacular practices of storytelling and the ways everyday people tell and share stories through digital media and theatre<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jasara Hines<\/span><br \/>\nJasara Hines is a teacher and program coordinator at Thornwood High School in South Holland, IL. She received her B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from New Mexico State University (2004). That same year she began teaching for Osceola County Public schools, and has been teaching in the public school system since then. In 2008, she completed her M.A. in English Literature at UCF. Her area of focus is the remediation of collective memory, memorials, and other objectives of collective memory, and her recent publications include \u201cCollective Memory in a Prosumer Society\u201d in Hypercultra, Cultural and Institutional Memory as (a) Means of Progress (2016). Her dissertation won the Outstanding Dissertation Award for the college of Arts and Sciences. She has been researching and creating professional development opportunities for teachers centered around technology integration in the classroom.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Ha\u2019ani Hogan<\/span><br \/>\nHa\u2019Ani Hogan is the Development and Marketing Manager at the Downtown Arts District, where she is responsible for grants, sponsorships, event planning, and cultivating donors to support the local arts community. Hogan earned an M.A. in Arts Administration from the Savannah College of Art and Design. A strong believer in the importance of creative place-making, she applies this concept to her professional and academic work. Her research includes studying the impacts of public art and how technology can help public art creators educate communities, enhance economic development, and influence social change. She graduated from T&amp;T in 2023.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Kenton Taylor Howard<\/span><br \/>\nTaylor is a Lecturer in Games and Interactive Media at UCF. He studies video games, digital media, Writing Across the Curriculum, and critical theory. He is particularly interested in scholarship that explores connections between these areas and teaching and tries to put them into practice while teaching. He published The World of Fallout with Routledge in 2023.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Bryce Jackson<\/span><br \/>\nBryce is an IT Business Relationship Manager with UCF IT. His research examines code and algorithms, their social and cultural influence and power as code and communication, and the ways people interact, perceive, and perform through the mediums, applications, or platforms code produces. He co-presented at EDUCAUSE on \u201cDeveloping a New Enterprise IT Organization by Starting in the Middle.\u201d He graduated from UCF in 2014 with an M.A. in English &#8211; Technical Communication. More of his research interests and projects can be explored at <a href=\"https:\/\/brycejjackson.com\/about-me\/\">brycejjackson.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Kevin Jardaneh<\/span><br \/>\nKevin Jardaneh is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Eastern Oregon University<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Emily K. Johnson<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Emily K. Johnson is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of English (Technical Communication and Digital Humanities), and core faculty in the Texts and Technology Ph.D. program. She is co-author of Critical Making in the Age of AI (with Anastasia Salter, Amherst, 2025) and Playful Pedagogy in the Pandemic: Pivoting to Games-Based Learning (with Anastasia Salter, Routledge 2022). Johnson served as Principal Investigator of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education investigating the efficacy of five of her co-designed video games (computer and virtual reality) for language learning. Her work has been published in Communication Design Quarterly, Technical Communication Quarterly, Computers and Composition, Computers and Education, the Journal for Universal Computer Science, and more.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">L. Corinne Jones <\/span><br \/>\nL. Corinne Jones is an Assistant Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She specialized in Rhetoric and Composition and she studies digital rhetoric and circulation studies. She is particularly interested using queer and intersectional feminist methodologies and methods to ethically study discourses on social media platforms and the Internet more broadly. She also has taught first year composition (ENC 1101), first year research writing (ENC 1102), writing for the technical professional (ENC 3241), and legal grammar.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Valerie Kasper<\/span><br \/>\nValerie Kasper is an Assistant Professor in Language Studies and the Arts at Saint Leo University. Her interests lie at the crossroads of African American literature, journalism, and history. She is particularly fond of Hurston and Morrison and their use of men in their stories, and how the legacy of slavery and its lingering effects are passed down through these men. Dr. Kasper also has many journalistic interests, and for the past six years, she has been researching African American newspapers, focusing on the first African American newspaper, Freedom&#8217;s Journal. She&#8217;s used data mining tools within the digital humanities (geolocation and topic modeling) to research how the first African American newspaper used its rhetorical power to battle the inequalities of the 19th century.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jessica Kester<\/span><br \/>\nJessica Kester is a professor of English in the School of Humanities and Communication and the Quanta-Honors College at Daytona State College. She received her MA in writing from DePaul University in 2006. Her doctoral work in Texts &amp; Technology centered on composition studies, specifically the affordances of social media in first-year writing; how students transfer their writing skills and knowledge; the politics of literate practices; and Writing about Writing pedagogy. Jessica also co-founded and coordinated a Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines Program (WAC\/WID) at Daytona State College from 2013 until 2020\u00a0at Daytona State College and serves as poetry editor for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.journaloffloridastudies.org\/\"><em>Journal of Florida Studies<\/em><\/a>, a born-digital interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed academic journal about the idea and place that is Florida.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Daniel J. King<\/span><br \/>\nDaniel J. King has published his &#8220;Activist-Casual Game Design Framework&#8221; at the 2021 International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games toward this end. For his dissertation project, he designed an original video game in order to demonstrate the Activist-Casual Framework. Before coming to UCF, Daniel completed his Master\u2019s Degree in Writing at Nova Southeastern University in 2015.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Mark Kretzschmar<\/span><br \/>\nMark teaches for the UCF English department He received his M.A. in English from the University of Wyoming in 2010, and published The History and Allure of Interactive Visual Novels (with Sara Raffel). Mark\u2019s current research emphasizes games studies, particularly the intersections exploring the symbiotic relationship between gamers and designers. He studies perceptions of agency and control in video games, the commodification of video game mods, and the roles video game genres play in discussions about gamer culture, gamer perceptions of control, philosophy, and marketability.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Christine Kugelmann<\/span><br \/>\nChristine Kugelmann is a lecturer in Technical Communication at UCF. She graduated from the Scientific and Technical Communication track as well as taking courses in Instructional Design through the College of Education. She was formerly a full time instructor in the Humanities and Communication Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.\u00a0 Christine received her MA degree in English Literature from the University of Toledo in 1998 and has been teaching in higher education for more than two decades.\u00a0 Her research interests include educational interface design and the ethical implications of using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom focusing on rhetorical strategies used in privacy policies and the collection of student data.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Alessandra Zinicola Lopez<\/span><br \/>\nMA English Technical Communication, University of Central Florida, 2020<\/p>\n<p>Alessandra earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and marketing business administration and had a corporate career prior to turning her academic focus toward writing and texts during her graduate education. Alessandra\u2019s research interests center around historical and modern domestic texts such as cookbooks and recipes as technical documentation. This tech comm research includes intersecting topics of history, culinary arts, digital humanities, gender, marginalia, household labor and care, food studies, domesticity, home economics, and digital curation. Find Alessandra online at <a href=\"https:\/\/madeofallwork.com\/\">https:\/\/madeofallwork.com\/<\/a> and on Twitter @AMadeOfAllWork.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Kirk Lundblade<\/span><br \/>\nKirk Lundblade&#8217;s research focuses on historical games and the people that play them. Combining ethnographic scholarship examining digital cultures with media criticism and historiographic analysis, his research extends scholarly analysis of historical games as such into examinations of the role of history and historical concepts in contemporary communities of play. Building upon his experience as a software engineer, technical writer, and semi-professional strategy gamer, his work extends into technical examination of these games and the subject communities&#8217; facility with blended techno-historical discourses as a novel form of public historical consciousness. His work has been published in (among others) Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), the Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, and SIGDOC. His other scholarly interests include digital cultures more broadly, along with analog war games and the politics of representing and roleplaying fascism on the tabletop. He is an Applications programmer for the RICHES project at UCF.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Shelley Maccini<\/span><br \/>\nShelley Maccini is an Associate Instructor in the Integrated Business program at UCF, serving as the lead instructor for the Data Driven Decision Making course. Prior to joining the faculty at UCF, she held management positions in the tourism industry, with an emphasis on destination marketing. She holds a JD from George Washington University and an MBA from UCF. Bridging her professional experience outside of academia, her work in the classroom, and her educational background, Shelley&#8217;s research interest focuses on the ethical use of gamification tools in non-game settings, specifically in a marketing context.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Derek Manns<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Derek Manns\u2019s professional development experience and teaching interests include Game Design, Level Design, 3D modeling, and Programming. He founded Sungura Games and went on to produce games and applications which included IGDA app, Call in Sick, and Zamboni Challenge.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Demagio Mansell <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Demagio Mansell&#8217;s research focuses on evolving interactive storytelling through user emotions and engagement. His previous work includes digital practices and creative production within digital advertising and web design. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from Nova Southern University and Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University in Management and Marketing. He has several years\u2019 experience within the entertainment media from film, radio, to news.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Dan Martin<\/span><br \/>\nI am currently an Associate Instructor and Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator in the Writing and Rhetoric department at UCF where I\u2019ve been teaching writing and rhetoric courses for the past 14 years. I primarily teach digital and multimedia writing courses and train faculty across disciplines in writing theory and pedagogy. My digital rhetoric research is particularly interested in how we make meaning in digital writing environments and from digital media, such as how misinformation and fake news are constructed in digital writing environments and how to use rhetorical literacies to combat misinformation. Recent publications include \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/multimodalrhetorics.com\/files\/documents\/JOMR-Issue-2.2.pdf\">Using Structure and Form as a Rhetorical Frame for Multimodal Composing<\/a>&#8221; (Journal of Multimodal Rhetoric, 2018) Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/tandtprojects.cah.ucf.edu\/~pmartin\/DanM\/index.html\">https:\/\/tandtprojects.cah.ucf.edu\/~pmartin\/DanM\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">David Matteson<\/span><br \/>\nDavid is the Director of Learning and Engagement at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. He holds a BA in Studio Art and English and an MBA from Rollins. Hhis research encompasses the history and future of museums as spaces for informal learning. He is interested in how technology can be used to better engage museum visitors of all ages and abilities\u2014believing that through effective museum practice we build empathy.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Marcia Mazzarotto<\/span><br \/>\nMarci Mazzarotto is Associate Professor of Communication and Chair of the Department of Communication &amp; Graphic Design in the School of Business and Digital Media at Georgian Court University, a liberal arts Catholic university in Lakewood, New Jersey. She holds a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology from UCF, an M.F.A. in Film and TV Production from Asbury University, and an M.A. and B.A. from Arizona State University. Her teaching and research span mass media, popular culture studies, and avant-garde art and critical pedagogies. She previously served as Associate Professor of Digital Media at Solbridge University in Daejeon, South Korea.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Rudy McDaniel<\/span><br \/>\nRudy McDaniel is Professor of English at the University of Central Florida. He previously served as Director of the School of Visual Arts and Design from 2016 to 2026 and Assistant Dean of Research and Technology for the College of Arts and Humanities from 2011 to 2016. His current research focuses on digital ethics, digital badging, and game-based learning. Rudy is co-author of Understanding Digital Ethics: Cases and Contexts (2020), Designing Effective Digital Badges: Applications for Learning (2019), and The Rhetorical Nature of XML: Constructing Knowledge in Networked Environments (2009). He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles, proceedings papers, and book chapters on his research and presented his work at more than 100 conferences and workshops. He is a member of the UCF Scroll and Quill Society and was named Distinguished Senior Research Fellow by the Ministry of Culture in China in 2016. He has also earned significant funding for his college and his field from the State of Florida and the National Endowment for the Humanities which has funded student research. He was the first student to defend his dissertation in Texts and Technology and graduated from the program in 2004.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jennifer Miller<\/span><br \/>\nJennifer Roth Miller, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the University of Central Florida in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Jennifer\u2019s work seeks to better understand digital citizenship and social media engagement by exploring the convergence of communication, technology, philanthropy, and education in socially constructing collective views and actions for social justice. Jennifer\u2019s work has been published in journals such as Xchanges and Enculturation: A Journal of Writing, Rhetoric, and Culture. She is also a co-author of two book chapters in edited collections; one published by Routledge and the other published by University Press of Colorado.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Cynthia Mitchell<\/span><br \/>\nCynthia Mitchell is Web Applications &amp; Programming CTE and AP Computer Science teacher at Brevard Public Schools.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Javier Molinares <\/span><br \/>\nI teach at Florida Institute of Technology. I am a United States Army Veteran of the 82<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0Airborne Division and hold a MS in Global Strategic Communication from the Florida Institute of Technology (2013). I am also the founder and publisher of the bilingual newspaper AL DIA TODAY and the president and founder of the Brevard Hispanic Center. My research interests include doing research to help the blind to become great broadcasters and public speakers and games and devices based on noise and motion.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">David Moran<\/span><br \/>\nDavid Thomas Moran\u2019s (MFA &#8211; Emerging Media, UCF 2014)\u00a0research develops an integrated data justice-transit\u00a0justice methodology\u00a0that analyzes\u00a0inequalities embedded in public transit schedule data (<a href=\"https:\/\/gtfs.org\/\">General Transit Feed Specification<\/a>). He\u00a0has spent over a decade spanning the non-profit, government and private sectors in\u00a0transmedia\u00a0production and storytelling,\u00a0art as social practice, community engagement,\u00a0urban studies and social entrepreneurship. In 2013, David\u00a0co-founded a public art collective called the <a href=\"https:\/\/thecorridorproject.wordpress.com\/\">Transit Interpretation Project<\/a> (TrIP) with Orlando-based art curator Patrick Greene, and building from TrIP co-founded Omnimodal,\u00a0a transportation tech company,\u00a0with Orlando-based artist and software programmer Nathan Selikoff in 2017.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Abigail Moreshead<\/span><br \/>\nAbigail is a Postdoctoral Scholar at UCF. Specializing in digital humanities, her research focuses on book studies, with an emphasis on feminist media and bibliography. Her dissertation examines women illustrators of the early 20th century wood engraving revival and how their work impacts the book as a material object. Abigail is managing editor for the James Joyce Literary Supplement, social media manager and researcher for Johnson\u2019s Dictionary Online, and has taught literature and writing for UCF\u2019s English department. Her work has been published in Book 2.0, First Monday, Journal of Gender Studies, and Feminist Media Studies.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">David Morton<\/span><br \/>\nDavid Morton teaches film and history at the University of Central Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Texts and Technology from UCF in 2019, and was a 2016\u201317 Fulbright Scholar at Ghent University&#8217;s Centre for Cinema and Media Studies (CIMS), where he researched American distributors in Belgium during the interwar period. His book Motion Picture Paradise: A History of Florida&#8217;s Film and Television Industry was published by the University Press of Florida in 2024.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Eric Murnane<\/span><br \/>\nEric Murnane works in the design and editorial field.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jack Murray<\/span><br \/>\nJack is an Assistant Professor of Game Design at the University of Texas at Dallas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Keidra Daniels Navaroli<\/h4>\n<p>Keidra is a lecturer in art history for the School of Visual Arts and Design. For over eighteen years, her work in arts management, scholarship, and curation, has focused on addressing how museums broadly (and the medium of textiles specifically) can be utilized to question cultural divisions, foster intergenerational dialogue, and enhance the understanding of traditionally-underrepresented communities of practice. Keidra received a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology (with a concentration in Public History) from UCF, an M.A. in Art History from Florida State University, and a B.A. in Art History from the University of Florida. She completed internships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Sotheby\u2019s Auction House in New York and is an alumna of the Museum (Getty) Leadership Institute\u2019s NextGen Program. Her award winning-curatorial work has been featured in Forbes, Culture Type, and numerous media outlets. In 2024, Keidra was inducted into UCF\u2019s Order of Pegasus, the university\u2019s highest academic honor. Currently, she serves on the editorial board for Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art as well as the boards of the Mennello Museum of American Art, Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, and the Surface Design Association.Learn more about her work and experience at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kdnavaroli.com\/\">https:\/\/www.kdnavaroli.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Noemi Nunez<\/h4>\n<p>Noemi Nunez received her PhD from T&amp;T in August 2026 and holds M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media from Nova Southeastern University and her B.A. in Communication Arts from Florida International University. Her recent research interests include race and gender studies, feminist theories, transmedia storytelling, and fandom studies. As a first-generation student and Latina, Noemi explores the impact media has on society and culture, specifically first-generation BIPOC.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Christopher C. Odom<\/span><br \/>\nChristopher C. Odom is a course director in the Creative Writing MFA Program at Full Sail University. In T&amp;T, he specialized in Digital Media. His research focuses on the visual imagery of social movements that lies at the intersection of visual and multimedia culture and rhetoric &amp; digital activism. His research and teaching interests include counterpublics, critical communications, digital activism, social movements, and visual and multimedia culture and rhetoric. Christopher teaches graduate students screenwriting, video production, and social media personal branding. A published author and graduate of the UCLA MFA Program in Film, TV and Digital Media, Christopher C. Odom is a domestic and international award-winning filmmaker and voice over artist whose work has appeared in major cities worldwide including Cannes, Berlin, Tel Aviv, New York and Los Angeles.\u00a0Learn more about Christopher C. Odom at <a href=\"https:\/\/cv.christopherodom.com\">https:\/\/cv.christopherodom.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Elle O&#8217;Keeffe<\/span><br \/>\nElle O&#8217;Keeffe is a faculty member at Rasmussen University. She teaches Strategic Management, Intro to HR, Managing a Diverse Workforce and other business courses in the School of Business.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Laura Okkema<\/span><br \/>\nLaura Okkema is a Lecturer II in Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan LSA. She holds a PhD in Texts and Technology from UCF and an MSc in Rhetoric and Technical Communication from Michigan Technological University. Her research interests include electronic literature, digital humanities, critical making, and games studies.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jesslyn Parrish<\/span><br \/>\nJesslyn Parrish is a Health Communication Specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her academic background includes cultural anthropology and applied linguistics with research projects focusing on the Deaf community and Sign Language acquisition. In T&amp;T she researched immersive experiences and blending humanities and programming. Her research focuses on digital immersion and technical communication used for informal learning experiences. Jesslyn has interned with Orlando Science Center and recently participated in a grant with Orlando Museum of Art to create an interactive timeline to be incorporated with student visits. Jesslyn was a Graduate Research Associate working in the Center for Humanities in Digital Research (CHDR) and a HASTAC Scholar. Website: <a href=\"https:\/\/jesslynparrish.github.io\">https:\/\/jesslynparrish.github.io<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Michael Powell<\/span><br \/>\nMichael is a UCF Systems Adminstrator. He received his B.S in Information Technology with a minor in Digital Media from the University of Central Florida. After graduation, he started working for the University of Central Florida. During his time with the university, Michael continued his education completing an M.S. degree in Digital Forensics. His area of focus is on technology and its uses to improve efficiency in modern society, particularly empathy in digital healthcare. Currently Michael mentors groups of undergraduate Computer Science students. His recent publications include <a href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/7586269\">Redesigning the research design: Accelerating the pace of research through technology innovation<\/a> (SeGAH 2016) and a workshop and presentation at HASTAC 2017.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Irene Pynn<\/span><br \/>\nIrene writes fantasy and light science fiction for adults, young adults, and children. Her work spans novels, plays, transmedia events, and more. Most of her work focuses on internal conflicts told through speculative metaphors:\u00a0<em>From Light to Dark<\/em>\u00a0is a high fantasy that features a\u00a0<em>Romeo and Juliet\u00a0<\/em>theme. In it, two teens from opposing worlds come together to resolve the conflicts of their ancestors. For the release of that novel, Irene also wrote and produced a transmedia event called\u00a0<em>Creepy Luny Inn&#8217;s Radio Adventure Show<\/em>, aka\u00a0<em>Myth of the Seeker<\/em>. This was an interactive radio drama and treasure hunt that allowed listeners to vote on the outcome of each episode. For the most part, Irene writes what she likes to read, which are character-driven stories of alternate realities. She likes to throw her characters into alternate worlds to see how they live their &#8220;normal&#8221; lives in the midst of magical or technological changes.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Sara Raffel<\/span><br \/>\nSara is an Associate Professor of Technical Communication at the University of Central Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology from UCF (2018), an M.Phil. in Film Theory and History from Trinity College, University of Dublin, and a B.A. in Media Studies from Hunter College, CUNY. Her research focuses on interactivity and playable stories, using narrative transportation theory to examine how virtual reality stories shape players&#8217; attitudes toward social justice issues, and exploring the visual novel genre as a site where fiction and player interaction meet. She serves as director of oral histories on the board of the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida and has published in Visual Ethnography and The Public Historian.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Alex Rister <\/span><br \/>\nAlex Rister completed the Texts and Technology program simultaneously seeking a Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies. She is employed as an Assistant Professor of Communication at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University&#8217;s Worldwide campus and holds the following degrees: M.A. in Communication from University of Central Florida, M.A. in English from University of North Florida, and B.A. in English from University of Florida. Her research interests include social media and hashtag activism related to feminist causes, especially human trafficking awareness. Alex served as the 2019-2020 Vice Chair of the Graduate Student Committee of NCA&#8217;s Activism and Justice Division and does volunteer work related to human trafficking awareness in the Greater Orlando community.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Elena Maria Rogalle<\/span><br \/>\nElena holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing (Full Sail University, 2013), a graduate certificate in Gender Studies (University of Central Florida, 2009) and an M.A. in English (UCF 2008), and is currently a Course Director in the Media Design M.F.A. Program at Full Sail University. Her research interests focus on the intersection of the women writers of the Beat\u00a0Generation\u2019s manuscript culture and the digital archive through the lens of female affiliation, community, and collaboration. Recent presentations include the UCF English Symposium and Hawaii International Conference on Arts &amp; Humanities.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Joshua Roney<\/span><br \/>\nJoshua is the Director for Research Development in the UCF Office of Research. He is a \u201ctriple knight\u201d \u2013 completing a B.A. in English in 2007, an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition in 2012, and a Ph.D. in Texts and Technology in 2021. Joshua\u2019s emphasis in the doctoral program was technical communication, and his dissertation research focused on the perceived impact of collaborative tool use by grant writing teams. He has served as a co-investigator on National Science Foundation (NSF) grants related to team science coaching in interdisciplinary teams and the potential synergy of boundary-spanning across research administration and research development. Joshua has coauthored scholarship in the areas of project management, research development, research analytics, and team science. He is actively involved and contributing to regional and national communities working in these areas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Lauren Rouse<\/span><br \/>\nLauren Rouse is a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University in their Writing Studies department. Xir dissertation research was on representations of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in superhero television shows and corresponding fan fiction. Xe has been published in Social Media + Society, Transformative Works and Cultures, In Media Res, and Flow.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Marissa Salas<\/h4>\n<p>Marissa Salas is a researcher whose work bridges sound studies and digital media theory. Her dissertation investigated how digitally mediated soundscapes shape public emotionality of the environment and influence conservation efforts, offering a novel lens on ecological engagement through sonic experience. She has presented nationally and internationally on topics including feminism, media publics, and digital discourse, with a focus on television, film, and Twitter as cultural arenas for communication and resistance. Her scholarship engages critically with the intersections of identity, space, and representation. Marissa\u2019s earlier research explored underserved populations and their geographies and political spatiality, contributing to edited volumes in planning practice and informing national policy discussions for political leaders and national NGOs. Marissa holds a Master\u2019s in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on transportation and GIS from Florida State University.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Daria Sinyagovskaya <\/span><br \/>\nDaria Sinyagovskaya is a Lecturer in Games and Interactive Media at UCF. She holds a MA in International Economics from Russian Foreign Trade Academy. She is the author of Easy Chinese, one of the four best-selling books on learning Mandarin Chinese in Russia, and Chinese Economic Modernization Experience. Her research interests are Chinese pedagogical practices within the Digital Humanities. She has studied topics within digital media, Chinese-language pedagogy, foreign-language learning in multilingual settings, cross-cultural communication, and Chinese history and art.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Nathan Snow<\/span><br \/>\nDr. Nathan Snow is an Associate Professor in the Digital Media Program in the Communication Department. A video producer, social media content manager and animation researcher, Dr. Snow teaches courses in Popular Culture, Film Theory, Media Critique, Social Media Campaigns and Production, and Digital Media Tools. An active scholar and author, Dr. Snow\u2019s academic research focuses on phenomenological theories of spectatorship in digital animation.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Francine N. Sutton<\/span><br \/>\nFrancine is an i-Team Civic Designer with the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. She graduated from the T&amp;T program with a concentration in Digital Media. She obtained a BA in Art and MA in Urban &amp; Regional Planning from Jackson State University. Her dissertation research examined older adults\u2019 user experience with mHealth applications through a three-phase mixed methods methodology. Her research interests include user experience design, popular culture, fandom studies, and video game studies. She had the opportunity to present her academic papers at several international, national, and regional popular culture conferences. To date, Francine has presented her preliminary dissertation research findings at SIGDOC \u201820 and SIGDOC \u201822.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Emily Tarvin<\/span><br \/>\nEmily works in Contracts and Grants at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She received her M.A. in American Studies at the University of Alabama in 2016. Currently, her research interests includes using subcultural studies to examine how YouTube audiences use the platform to develop online communities. Her research focuses on the various strategies YouTube creators use to balance economic motivations and still maintain a sense of community on their channels. She is also interested in how users and the YouTube company describe the platform as democratic and how this relates to historical representations of democracy and technology.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Patricia Thomas<\/span><br \/>\nPatricia is a Program Manager for Critical Infrastructure Protection in Cyber Security at the Orlando Utilities Commission. Her dissertation, &#8220;Discursive Trick Effects: How Raced and Gendered Semiotics in Industry Media Undermine Equal Representation in the Cybersecurity Workforce,&#8221; builds on the critical theory of Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes to examine how the discursive digital archives produced by industry media represent their workforce. Her approach theorizes that the semiotics of image connotation are importantly compounded in digital archives, exacerbating existing problems of just representation of gender and race. Each chapter is focused on a contemporary discursive archive and intervenes through critical counter-narrative engagement with critical social theorists and historians. These discursive archives are important examples of how cybersecurity industry media is mediating conversations surrounding equal representation in technology fields. This work has implications for how we think about and engage industry media across fields. Patricia holds a Bachelor\u2019s in language and culture and a Master\u2019s in American literature from the University of New Orleans as well as a Gender Studies certificate and PhD from the University of Central Florida.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Mia Tignor<\/span><br \/>\nMia Tignor is Associate Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at Indian River State College. She has a M.A. in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include the intersection of librarianship and critical theory and the creation of digital humanities visualizations. Her recent publications include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/02763877.2018.1468849\">Focus on the Facts: A news and information literacy instructional program<\/a> (Reference Librarian, 2018) and \u201cCase Study: Press Record\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/rowman.com\/ISBN\/9781538103067\/The-Savvy-Academic-Librarian&apos;s-Guide-to-Technology-Innovation-Moving-beyond-the-Wow-Factor\">Moving beyond the wow factor: The savvy academic librarian\u2019s guide to technological innovation<\/a>, 2018, co-written with T&amp;T student Kendra Auberry). For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.miatignor.com\/\">www.miatignor.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Amy VanSchaik<\/span><br \/>\nAmy VanSchaik is Senior UX Designer &amp; Researcher at the Orange County Library System. She has 15+ years of experience in design, web development, information architecture, user research, and UX engineering. She received a B.A. in Digital Arts from Stetson University in 2002, and an M.A. in Digital Media: Visual Language and Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida in 2008. Her research interests are in tangible technologies, games and play, computational crafting, experiential learning, and the creative process. She was recently accepted into the Designing for Digital Conference in Austin, Texas to present her user research methods in gathering feedback from both employees and customers with a website redesign. Website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amyvanschaik.com\">www.amyvanschaik.com<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h4\">Evan Wallace<\/span><\/p>\n<p>MA, History, Appalachian State, 2018<\/p>\n<p>With a background in Russian medieval culture focusing in political theology, meta-medievalisms, and rhetorical history Evan&#8217;s dissertation investigated contemporary utilizations of history in modern Russian political rhetoric. With a digital humanities specialization Evan is utilizing data scraping to understand how Western media audiences perceive and contextualize pseudo-historical claims posted by Russian State Media around the War in Ukraine posted online.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Rachel Winter<\/span><br \/>\nRachel is the Faculty Director for the Strategic Communication MA at Rollins college. She graduated with her M.A. in English from Eastern Kentucky University in 2015 where she focused on learning space design and Writing Studio Pedagogy. Her interests include multimodal writing studio studies and digital media as political and social activism. Her dissertation research focused on the creation of memes about political candidates as a form of fan activity that constitutes political participation. Rachel\u2019s portfolio can be viewed <a href=\"http:\/\/rachelwinter6.wixsite.com\/portfolio\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Jennifer Wojton<\/span><br \/>\nJennifer Wojton is an Associate Professor in the Humanities and Communication Department at Embry-Riddle.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"h5\">Aaron Zwintscher<\/span><br \/>\nAaron Zwintscher is a Humanities Instructor at Central Maine Community College. His book, <em>Noise Thinks the Anthropocene,<\/em> is a textual experiment in noise poetics that began as his doctoral dissertation in T&amp;T. As Aaron notes, \u201cnoise poetics is the use of noise to explain, elucidate, and evoke (akin to other poetic forms) within the textual milieu in a manner that seeks to be less determinate and more improvisational than conventional writing.\u201d <em>Noise Thinks the Anthropocene<\/em> has been published by <a href=\"https:\/\/punctumbooks.com\/\">Punctum Books.<\/a>\u00a0 Aaron puts his multimedia remix(ed) theories to work in his courses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hajer Albalawi Dr. Hajer Albalawi is Director of Research &amp; Studies at Automated Savvy Arabian Solutions (ASAS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She was a Postdoctoral Scholar with UCF&#8217;s Center for Ethics and the Texts and Technology program from 2024 to 2025, working on a National Science Foundation-funded team. Her research specializes in ethics and digital [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1553","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Our Alumni - Texts and Technology Ph.D.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/textstech\/our-alumni\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Alumni - Texts and Technology Ph.D.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hajer Albalawi Dr. Hajer Albalawi is Director of Research &amp; Studies at Automated Savvy Arabian Solutions (ASAS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 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