Faculty & Staff

Ana Maria was born in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to the United States in 2008. Ana recently graduated from USF with a B.A in Psychology and a minor in Behavioral Healthcare. She hopes to further her career by earning her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. Ana has worked with children for many years and now is working with a program in Tampa that provides free services to adults recovering from substance use and mental illness. On her free time, Ana loves to spend time with her family, friends, and her three dogs. Ana also volunteers as a crisis counselor for the Crisis TextLine.

Rana Ali is a sophomore at The University of South Florida on the premedicine track. She is passionate about the fusion of computer science and medicine, as well as increasing accessibility of healthcare to all nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. As a clinical medical assistant, she has worked primarily in pediatrics and oncology. In the future, Rana hopes to become an oncologist and establish affordable clinics which provide top-notch care to patients throughout thirdworld nations.

Anette Aponte is an undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Social Work program. Originally she is from Venezuela. She has a passion for serving the Latinx/e community, particularly with community-building and integration methods. Anette has experience tutoring Spanish-speaking students and mentoring primary school students. She also volunteers with the Center for Violence Prevention as a student leader and trainer. In all her pursuits, Ms. Aponte aspires to provide and advocate for equitable growth opportunities.

Dawn Baker lived in Florida most of life and consider it home but has also lived in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Missouri. She relocated with her family to Tampa in 2017 and are loving every minute of being here, minus the hurricanes. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Varying Exceptionalities K-12 from Florida Atlantic University. Most recently she has been teaching in an Early Childhood VPK and Special Education classroom. Her interests in data collection and building support tools for educators led her to find Rightpath at USF. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, camping, reading, and hiking with her family.

Melany Ysbal Sampi Bravo was born and raised in Peru. She has lived two years in Tampa and attended Hillsborough Community College where she earned her Associate Degree in Political Science. Currently she is working on her bachelor’s degree on Political Science with a minor on Legal Studies at USF.

Jocelyn was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, however she has lived for the past 12 years in South Carolina, USA. She recently moved to Tampa, Florida to support her husband’s career and be closer to family. When she is not working or studying, she likes watching Netflix series, talking on her phone with her family and friends, reading, walking, cooking or having family time with her husband and daughter. She has a Bachelor in Basic Education with an Emphasis in Foreign Languages. She has more than 10 years of experience teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to learners from different ages. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics: Teaching Spanish to Speakers of Other Languages. She is very excited to start a new chapter as part of the USF family.

Skyler Cruz is currently working as a Data Collection Specialist for Dr. Jason Anthony. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor's in Psychology in 2021, and looking to eventually further education in the field of clinical therapy.

Larry Grullon-Polanco was born in New York, NY and received his undergraduate degree in music education from Florida State University. He is currently a graduate student in the Applied Linguistics program. Larry has spent the last three years working as a teacher in underserved communities. He decided to pursue teaching English as a second language after experiencing the high percentage of second language English learners in the Tampa school system. He hopes to learn about the different opportunities and avenues for serving students. In his free time he likes to take care of his plants, mostly succulents, and practice Muay Thai.

Johan John Joji is an undergraduate student originally from Kerala, India, pursuing his Bachelor's in Computer Science. He is passionate about the theoretical side involved in Computer Science and loves to troubleshoot problems. His interests involve automation and web development. In his free time, he likes to spend time gaming, working out, and with loved ones.

Kenia is originally from Ecuador and has been living in the Tampa Bay Area for over 20 years. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Information System Management from USF while working at the Hillsborough School System. Later, she moved to Pinellas County where she worked in various positions in the Pinellas School System for almost 9 years. She has a passion for education, and her best experience has been working with English Language Learners and seeing their growth. She takes pride in her ability to help students learn and succeed, particularly those who face challenges with language barriers. Throughout her career, Kenia has developed strong skills in information systems management and has experience in various areas within the education system. She is committed to providing students with the tools they need to succeed and helping them reach their full potential.

Vanessa was born in Tacoma, Washington and recently graduated from Emory University with a B.S. in Anthropology and Human Biology. She currently resides in Land O Lakes, FL and is in her gap year before starting dental school. Vanessa worked in college access and language justice throughout her years in university and hopes to incorporate those passions in her future career as a dentist. In her free time, Vanessa enjoys biking, reading, and climbing rock walls.

Angelica Zapata was born in Colombia and raised in Florida. She is a third year student pursuing a B.A. in World Languages and Cultures with a dual concentration in Applied Linguistics and East Asian Studies. She is currently learning Japanese at USF. On her free time she likes to paint, go on walks, and play with her roommate's cats.

Brandon Budzisch is a 2nd year graduate student in the School Psychology program at the University of South Florida. Brandon is from Fort Myers Beach, FL and completed his undergraduate degree at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. During his undergrad, Brandon aided in research with early identification of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and discovered a love for working with children whilst working as an after-school counselor at an Elementary School. After graduating from FSU, Brandon worked as a 1st grade teaching assistant before attending USF. Brandon currently assists Dr. Trina Spencer and Dr. Matthew Foster with their work. Brandon loves going to the beach, heading to the gym and playing with his cat Stormy.

Mr. Erazo is a graduate research associate at the Rightpath Research and Innovation Center and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Behavioral and Community Sciences. Mr. Erazo is multilingual and specializes in bilingualism and biliteracy. He earned his master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Mr. Erazo is Dr. Jason Anthony's doctoral student and served as his research assistant while employed at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He has worked on multiple grants, including SRCBM, TX-KEA, and SRCBM STEM.

Anthony, J. L., Chen, Y.-J. I., Williams, J. M., Cen, W., & Erazo, N. A. (2020). U.S. children’s
understanding of the English alphabet: Its acquisition, conceptualization, and measurement. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000534

Neumann, M. M., Anthony, J. L., Erazo, N. A., & Neumann, D. L. (2019). Assessment and technology: Mapping future directions in the early childhood classroom. Frontiers in Education, 4, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00116

Rishita is a graduate student originally from India, currently pursuing her Master's degree in Computer Science at USF. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and has around two years of technical work experience. She is an inquisitive individual who consistently strives to explore new opportunities that can enhance her knowledge and skills. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, watching sunsets, and watching shows on Netflix.

Deeika is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Business Analytics and Information Systems from Muma College of Business at USF. She has done her Bachelors in Computer Science and has around 2 years of technical experience in India.

She is passionate about learning and likes to challenge herself. She has been at Rightpath for around one and half year. She is working on multiple STEM and Behavioral Research projects by applying her technical expertise and making an impact is what makes her excited to be at Rightpath. In her free time, she loves reading, travelling and binge watching Disney.

Mr. Roman is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at USF. He is from Jacksonville, Florida where he received his undergraduate degree in Psychology and minor in Philosophy from the University of North Florida. De'Vohn has experience in scoring psychodiagnostic assessments and has shadowed psychologists during IQ, Autism, and ADHD assessments. Additionally, he has  experience engaging in and presenting research and working with young children diagnosed with autism in a clinical setting using ABA.

Koushik is a Graduate student currently pursuing his Masters degree in Computer Science at USF. Koushik is from India and recently moved to the US for higher studies. He has completed his Bachelors in Computer Science and has around 2 years of technical experience in India.

He is very passionate about coding and loves to learn new things constantly. He currently assists Dr. Trina Spencer with her work.  He is excited to use his technical expertise and making an impact at Rightpath. He loves reading, playing video games and watching Netflix.

Carla Zayas-Santiago is a 2nd-year student at the Technology in Education and Second Language Acquisition Ph.D. program at USF. She is originally from Puerto Rico and is fluent in English and Spanish. Ms. Zayas-Santiago holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities with a concentration in Latin American Studies and an M.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include bilingual education, cross-linguistic transferability, and Latinx literature as a cultural artifact for student empowerment and language justice. Ms. Zayas-Santiago has previously worked in bilingual education, teaching Spanish to native and non-native Spanish speakers.

Linna Kuang is a student research assistant at the Rightpath Research and Innovation Center. She is a second-year undergraduate student from Fairfax, Virginia, and pursuing her bachelor's degree of public health in University of South Florida. She is a trilingual speaker and is able to communicate fluently in English. Chinese and Japanese. She is on the pre-med track and is passionate about maternal health study and early childhood research. She has experience in working with intellectual disability children in a non-profit organization and participate in research about secondary-data analysis of National Survey of Children's Health. During her spare time, she likes to read, travel, and play piano.