Presenter Bios
Presenter Bios
6th Annual First-Generation Symposium
A Mosaic of Success: Higher Education for the New Majority
Wednesday, February 15 - Thursday, February 16, 2023
Presenter Bios
Eziekel Abrams
Ezekiel Abrams is a first-year accounting and finance major here at Rowan. He is a first-generation college student, being the first in his family to have the opportunity to achieve a higher education since having moved here from the Caribbean. He works at the student center and is also involved with the college of Business’ Accounting Society club and the SGA’s Student Financial Control Board.
Sofia Abreu, M.Ed.
Sofia Abreu, M.Ed., serves as the Manager of Career Services at Rowan College at Burlington County. Sofia obtained her Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from Temple University.
Brittany Bronson, M.S.
Brittany L. Bronson, M.S. is an award-winning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategist, champion, educator, and advocate. She has spent the last decade of her career developing, managing, and reforming internal policies, practices, and initiatives that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging for underrepresented groups in government, non-profit, and corporate sectors. Brittany received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Temple University, her Master of Science in Organization Development and Leadership from Saint Joseph's University, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Saint Joseph's University as well. Brittany is currently an adjunct professor for the Master of Diversity and Inclusion program at Rowan University. On weekends, Brittany chauffeurs her children to sports activities, tries new restaurants with her husband, or listens to Beyonce while bike riding through the trails of Philadelphia.
Cori Brown, Ph.D.
Dr. Cori Meredith Brown has worked as an educator holding multiple roles in the public education sector for the past 25 years. She began her career as an elementary school teacher, and has used those foundational experiences and skills to train pre-service and in-service P-12 teachers across the nation as faculty researcher and administrator in higher education. She is a Co-Principal Investigator of the Rowan CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) Program and teaches in the College of Education at Rowan University.
Carleigh Burns
Carleigh Burns grew up in Lavallette, NJ and is an undergraduate student at Rowan University majoring in Biological Sciences, with minors in Chemistry and Neuroscience. Carleigh is the secretary of the Pre-Health Society on campus, and is also involved in Dr. Quarel's research lab. Outside of Rowan University, Carleigh had the opportunity to be a summer intern at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she conducted research in the department of Otolaryngology. In addition, she volunteers in outpatient services at Inspira Medical Center in Mullica Hill, shadows physicians in the operating room at Ocean Medical Center in Brick, and is a member of the Lavallette First Aid Squad. Professionally, Carleigh will be applying to medical school this summer with a passion for the field of surgery. She is a panelist at the Symposium to share her experiences as she navigates being a first-generation pre-med student.
Nateria Burrell
Nateria Burrell is a Junior undergraduate student pursuing a degree in construction management, mathematics, and civil engineering. During her first year in college, it was a pandemic and with the help of her advisor, she was introduced to the flying-first program. This program helped her through her challenging first year. Now she is a community assistant, has an on-campus job, and is involved in three organizations.
Lisa Cardello, Ed.S.
Lisa Cardello, EdS, serves as the Executive Director of Career Preparation and Experiential Learning at Rowan College at Burlington County. Lisa obtained her Master’s Degree in Counseling from The College of New Jersey and Educational Specialist Degree in Counseling Services from Rider University. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Counseling and Supervision at Kean University.
Lakeisha Carter, Ed.D.
Dr. Lakeisha Carter is originally from Buffalo, NY. She has worked in education for over 15 years at various private and public higher education institutions and P-12 schools. Dr. Carter is currently the Education Coordinator for the M3 curriculum at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, NJ, and part-time Adjunct faculty in the Educational Services and Leadership Department. Dr. Carter earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Rowan University, M.S. in Student Personnel Administration from Buffalo State College (SUNY), and B.A. in Health and Human Services from the University at Buffalo (SUNY). She recently earned a Foundations of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certificate from Rowan University.
Lauwinda Cherilus
Lauwinda Cherilus is a first-generation college student who immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti at the age of 15. Her transition from the Haitian education program to the New Jersey K-12 program started with learning English. Learning a new language and adapting to a new environment, in less than a year, was especially difficult as her school lacked ESL teachers during her first year. Still, she learned the language via a mobile app, studying and practicing words and sentences daily. After mastering the language and regaining academic confidence, she worked full-time to start saving for her college education, knowing she would not be eligible for financial aid until her third semester. After graduating in the top 10% of her class, she was able to capitalize on her academic successes and access to student resources to qualify for grants and scholarships that made her college aspirations possible. She ultimately joined the RCBC 3+1 program and is completing her final year in the Business Administration and Global Leadership program on Rowan’s Glassboro campus.
Angela Cirucci, Ph.D.
Angela Cirucci is a digital media scholar focusing on the symbolic meaning of programming languages, the intersection of institutional practice and user knowledge, and user experience. Often focusing on identity, Dr. Cirucci has a passion for studying how digital spaces impact the lives of marginalized communities. In addition to conducting research and teaching, she loves to travel. So far she has visited 10 US National Parks, 27 states, and 14 countries.
Miles Coleman, Ph.D.
Dr. Coleman’s research locates the values that exist in otherwise “objective” phenomena. As a rhetorician—a scholar of persuasion—he studies the ways in which persons accept or reject claims of science, technology, and medicine. His work outlines frameworks and methodologies for approaching problems of science denialism (e.g., HIV/AIDS denialism or vaccine denialism), while also carving space for considering the ethical implications of new media technologies.
Amanda Coltri, M.S.L.
Amanda Coltri, MSL is associate director of enrollment systems and onboarding operations at Rowan University (NJ). Her professional scope involves assessment and strategic integration of technical, data-driven systems, processes, and policies. Amanda leads cross-departmental teams to reimagine the digital space and strategizes unique, cost-effective real-world solutions that improve business processes and enhance student experience. She oversees the division's data systems, aimed at enhancing system usage, building capacity across departments, and expanding enterprise-level implementation and development. Amanda is also a doctoral candidate. Her dissertation research focuses on supporting first-generation applicants during the transition to college onboarding phase.
DeLithea Davis, Ed.D.
Dr. DeLithea Davis is a first-generation college graduate with a B.S. in Psychology and a M.S. in Education from Saint Joseph's University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership at Rowan University. Her research focused on first-generation African-American women who were transfers to a predominately White institution. She is an Academic Advisor and Adjunct Instructor at Rowan, as well as a member of the Flying First Task Force. As a first-generation student she has strived to follow Saint Joseph's University's call for students and alumni to practice the Magis. This means to pursue the greatest good, and to give back to others.
Zachary Desjardins, M.S. SAA, MPA
Zachary Desjardins is a proud first-generation college graduate from the small, rural area of Chazy, New York. His passion for higher education stemmed from his time as a charismatic student leader at SUNY Plattsburgh where he received a B.S. in Social Work. He went on to earn a M.S. in Student Affairs Administration and a Master of Public Administration from Binghamton University. Zachary started his higher education career in TRIO Programs but pivoted to his current role as a University Academic Advisor for the Academic Support Center at the University at Albany, SUNY. He has a huge affinity for the first-generation college student experience and is a dedicated professional who isn’t afraid of tackling the institutional and psychological barriers that exist for first-generation college students. Currently, he serves on UAlbany’s First-Generation College Student Success Task Force, and NACADA’s First Generation Student Advising Community Steering Committee.
Christina Dilkes
Christina Dilkes graduated from William Paterson University and New York University with degrees in English and literature. She has taught composition, rhetoric, and literature at myriad New Jersey higher education institutions and served at Bloomfield College's TRIO Student Support Services Program for over ten years, with three of those years as the program Director. As the current Academic Success Coach at Montclair State University's College of Science and Mathematics, Christina is investing in providing equitable education to all students. Her academic interests include emergent literature and disabilities studies.
Paul Furtaw, Psy.D.
Dr. Paul Furtaw is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, where he supports the mental health and professional success of medical students and residents at both RowanSOM and Cooper Medical School (CMSRU). His integrated counseling and performance coaching services are consistently in high demand. By providing sanctuary, professional mentoring, and organizational advocacy, he has been a no-nonsense ally to those historically denied access to the healthcare professions despite ample talent and drive, whether BIPOC, LGBTQ, First Gen, International, or those with differing physical or cognitive abilities. In Spring 2020, he accompanied RowanSOM’s Black medical students as they demanded institutional reform in the face of historical racism. In November 2020, he presented at the Sixth Annual Racism in Medicine Conference. In January 2021, he was appointed to the RowanSOM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee and the Student Needs sub-committee.
Andrew Gold, M.A.
Andrew Gold is an academic advisor at the University of Rochester who focuses on student-centered approaches to higher education. As a transfer student, he commenced his educational journey at San Diego Mesa College, and successfully completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA. In 2021, he finished a Master's program at Columbia University in the City of New York, focusing on first-generation college students in higher education. He strives to implement inclusive and equitable practices at postsecondary institutions and is passionate about creating accessible spaces for students from first-generation and underrepresented backgrounds, and all students who wish to achieve academic success.
Jane De León Griffin
Jane De León Griffin is the inaugural Associate Provost for Student Success at Bentley University where she is also Associate Professor in the department of Modern Languages at Bentley University and Faculty Director of the FirstGen Presidential Fellows program. Jane holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Irvine (2009) and is the author of, The Labor of Literature: Democracy and Literary Culture in Modern Chile (University of Massachusetts Press 2016), articles and book-chapters on artisanal forms of literary publication in Latin America and two book-length translations of literary fiction by Chilean feminist writer, Pía Barros. Jane is also the founder and Director of the cultural non-profit, Inspired Masses, Inc. and lead organizer of the annual community-based writing project, “Boston in 100 Words.”
Leah A.B. Johnson
Leah A.B. Johnson has over 25 years in higher education and nonprofit management with direct experiences in first year programming, adjunct teaching, career services and academic support services. She joined the Bloomfield College community in 2017, expanded their tutoring services, managed and led the merge of academic support services under the Center for Student Success umbrella. Her experience is directly tied to academic leadership development, student success services and data-driven best practices for student engagement.
Hannah Kye, Ed.D.
Dr. Kye was a first-generation college student and is now an assistant professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education. She is the Principal Investigator of the Rowan CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) Program and director of the Rowan Family-Friendly Campus Initiative, which aims to keep college students who are parents in school. In national and international forums, she presents and publishes research on issues of diversity, access, and equity in education regarding young children and families.
Benjamin Longstreth
Benjamin Longstreth is the Assistant Director of Strategic Projects in the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs at Bentley University. In his role, he creates and manages initiatives that advance divisional and university strategic goals. His professional interest areas include maximizing the co-curricular student experience, elevating and centering student voices in decision making, education and advocacy as a means to advance equity and inclusion, and developing support structures for first-generation college students. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Higher Education at Boston College with research interests in asset-based first-generation college student leadership development.
Naya Lopez
Naya Lopez is a first year Problem Based Learning student at the Rowan Virtua College of Osteopathic Medicine. She was born and raised in Vineland, NJ where she currently lives with her 8 year old daughter, Jazmarie. Currently, she is interested in the OB/GYN and Family Medicine programs.
Jackie Masloff, Ph.D.
Jackie Masloff is an architect, information technology manager, teacher, and educator. After spending 20 years as an information technology manager in industry, she decided to go into teaching, her first love as a child. She became licensed in mathematics and instructional technology in Massachusetts and taught at both the middle and high school levels. When the opportunity presented itself, she decided to teach at the college level and has taught at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Mass Bay Community College, Quincy College, and, for six years at Newbury College in Brookline, teaching mathematics and both elective and required computer science courses for the college’s computer science degree. She has been teaching Python and web programming courses at Bentley University since 2018. Jackie received her doctoral degree from Lesley University in 2019. Her dissertation was on the factors contributing to the academic success of first-generation college students.
Zarqum Masood
Zarqum Masood is a Freshman Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in History with minors in Spanish, International Studies, and Pre-Health as well as a concentration in Honors at Rowan University. Outside of the classroom, Zarqum is the Treasurer of the Sociology and Anthropology Club, a volunteer at the A.P.P.N.A. (Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America) NJ Charity Clinic, and a member of the Martinson Honors College. A Pakistani first-generation college student, Zarqum looks forward to taking advantage of all of the opportunities offered by higher education and sharing the unique experiences of first-generation students.
Sharon McCann
Sharon McCann has a Masters of Social Science and a Masters of Law and Social Policy from Bryn Mawr. Working in a wide variety of settings, including the Philadelphia and New Castle County Police Academies, Sharon was involved in getting social workers into police departments (yes, this has been done before!) While working for Community College of Philadelphia she shifted her focus to a more policy focused form of social work. Sharon became the program development director for NorthEast Treatment Centers after serving as a social worker for many years. She worked in industry and the non-profit field before joining academia. Her book 100 Questions to Answer Before You Get Married, is evidence, as a polymath, Sharon was able to focus on many fields rather than one. Her focus in this presentation is securing careers not jobs.
Patricia Petersen
Patricia Petersen is a first-year medical student at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Patricia was born and raised in Newark, NJ. She graduated from Rutgers University – New Brunswick in 2014 with a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences. After graduating from college, she worked as a medical assistant at a pain management and rehabilitation medical office and later worked with primary care physicians and specialists in Newark and East Orange, NJ. Patricia is currently on an accelerated primary care three-year track in Internal Medicine at CMSRU.
Lindsay Romasanta, Ed.D.
Lindsay Romasanta, Ed.D. (she/her/siya) joinedUniversity of California, Davis in 2022 to serve as Chief of Staff for the Division of Student Affairs, having worked in a variety of public service settings ranging from grass roots community non-profits to public four-year institutions. Dr. Romasanta founded and led a program that was recognized with the 2020 NASPA Excellence Award in First-Gen Student Success. In 2018, Dr. Romasanta was recognized by UC San Diego with an Exemplary Service of the Year award. In 2019 and 2020, she was recognized as a Social Mobility Student Success Innovator by College Net, Inc. Dr. Romasanta is a proud Pilipina, low-income, first-generation college graduate. Like many first-generation college students, she stumbled upon her professional passion of choice — higher education — by chance. Since that discovery, she has dedicated her professional and scholarly work helping college students achieve their dreams of higher education. Dr. Romasanta’ s research interests are first-generation college students, resilience, retention and holistic success of historically excluded students, strategies to support first-generation and BIPOC scholar practitioners, and anti-deficit approaches in higher education. Dr. Romasanta has presented her work at American Education Research Association, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, College Board, Association for the Study of Higher Education, and at various universities and nonprofit organizations. She has co-authored several pieces of higher education research in book chapters and is currently working on another published piece. She is also serving as inaugural co-editor of NASPA’s Journal of First-generation Student Success. She graduated summa cum laude and received a bachelor's degree in social work and a certificate in Asian American studies from Arizona State University, her Masters of Public Administration degree from Georgia State University, and her Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Innovation from Arizona State University.
Elena Sierra
Elena Sierra is a Mexican immigrant and a first generation medical student. She is passionate about immigrant health, bridging language barriers within our health care system, and increasing accessibility to health care. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, taking care of her plants and spending time with family.
Shannon Sousa, M.S.
Shannon Sousa is a student development higher education professional with 10+ years combined experience in student success & retention programming, academic and career advising, first-year seminar teaching, faculty advisor training, and peer mentor program management. She is a proud first generation graduate and advocates for first-generation, low-income students. She received her B.A. in Mass Communications and her M.S. in Journalism and Digital Media from Quinnipiac University. In her current role as an Academic Advisor in the College of Management at UMass Boston, she works with upper class, first-gen, and adult-learners and is committed to expanding student’s access to experiential learning opportunities, holistic wellness resources and grow their decision making skills to navigate their college transition, develop success strategies, and guide their pathway to graduation and into the workplace. She currently serves on UMass Boston’s First-Generation Forward Task Force, and the NACADA’s First Generation Student Advising Community Steering Committee.
Claude Taylor
Claude Taylor currently serves as Director for Academic Transition and Inclusion and is a lecturer in Communication Studies at Monmouth University. Claude leads the campus-wide initiative First to Fly: First Generation at Monmouth which celebrates and supports students who identify as first generation. This student-centered program is designed to encourage active participation in an inclusive community of support that facilitates student success. Under his leadership, in 2020 Monmouth earned recognition as a First-gen Forward Institution, the nation’s first recognition program acknowledging higher education institutions for their commitment to first-generation student success. His scholarly interests include the study of mediated representations of gender, racial, and cultural identities, feminist media studies, social class and social mobility, and gendered practices of consumption. Claude regularly teaches courses in Gender, Race and Media, Communication Ethics, Media Literacy, Political Communication, and Civic Participation. As an educator, Claude is informed by his training in Rhetoric and Public Communication. His teaching at Monmouth is interdisciplinary and reflects a worldview of global interconnectedness and cooperation with which he guides students through critical analysis of ethical persuasion, argumentation, and audience-centered message.
Nicole Tota
Nicole Tota received both her Bachelor’s in English/History and her Master’s in Diversity and Inclusion from Rowan University, where she currently works as an academic advisor with the RCBC 3+1 program and Rowan Global OASIS. As the daughter of two first-generation students, she grew up hearing about the self-efficacy required to navigate the process and has dedicated her research to ensuring ways that administration can make the first-generation college experience easier to navigate and more equitable. When she’s not in scholar mode, she’s a proud cat mama to two foster fails, a lover of tea, and a published poet who’s hard at work on her fiction debut.
Mitja Trkov, Ph.D.
Mitja Trkov is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rowan University, NJ, USA. He received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2007 and the Ph.D. degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA, in 2016. He was a postdoctoral research fellow in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked as an R&D engineer at the marine industry. His research interests include human-machine interactions, wearable soft robotics, mechatronics, and biomechanics with applications in biomedical engineering, wearable autonomous systems, and civil engineering. He is a recipient of the Best Student Paper Award at the 2012 and 2015 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM) and serves as an Associate Editor for the AIM conference. 
Alex Vega
Alex started college at 27 with a plan to become a physical therapist. His longterm goal was the creation of a ballroom dancing therapy program. He paid his way through college working in the entertainment industry in the electrical department in Los Angeles. Upon completion of his undergrad, he and his wife left California so he could pursue a career in medicine at the School of Osteophathic Medicine. 
Leah Walker, M.Ed.
Leah Walker, M.Ed., is the Director and Lead Teacher of the Rowan University Early Childhood Demonstration Center, a campus based preschool and child care facility. In this role, she has worked directly with Rowan student-parents of young children for over ten years. Indirectly, she supports advocacy efforts for families and early childhood education, locally and nationally. She is the Director of Child Care Programs for the Family-Friendly Campus Initiative, working to provide child care tuition and additional supports to Rowan students with young children.
Sapjah Zapotitla
Sapjah Zapotitla is a Freshman Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in psychology. Being in the Degree-in-3 program has motivated her to excel in taking 18 credits every semester. During her first semester in college, she became the President of the Sociology and Anthropology Club. Sapjah also started working with the Academic Success Center. As a result, Sapjah found her passion in helping deepened and is now a session manager for GetFit. She is now working closer to labs like SEAHL. All the while Sapjah has been the only female wrestler at Rowan’s Wrestling Club. 
