Ayleen Cabas-Mijares, Assistant Professor, Journalism and Media Management, School of Communications
Ayleen Cabas-Mijares (PhD, Journalism, University of Missouri) is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Miami. Her scholarly work examines the impact of minoritized epistemologies and practices on journalism and media to evaluate how those influences could better support the liberatory potential of these institutions. For the Engaged Faculty Fellows Program, Dr. Cabas-Mijares plans to turn her Reporting for Social Justice course into a civic-engaged class in which students can partner with local communities and organizations to develop coverage that fulfills the information needs of minoritized communities in Miami.
Mojca Del Fabbro, Senior Lecturer, Modern Languages and Literatures, College of Arts and Sciences
Mojca Del Fabbro, Senior Lecturer and Italian Program Coordinator in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, integrates civic engagement into her Italian language courses by designing experiential learning opportunities that connect students with Miami’s Italian-speaking community. Through her Engaged Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Del Fabbro is redesigning ITA 202: Intermediate Italian II and developing ITA 203: Advanced Italian to include hands-on projects such as language tutoring, oral history interviews, service learning with cultural institutions, and translation for local nonprofits.
These initiatives are grounded in her commitment to using language as a tool for cultural understanding, community connection, and global citizenship. By engaging with local organizations, her students develop not only advanced linguistic proficiency, but also cross-cultural awareness and a sense of social responsibility.
David Forrest, Associate Professor, Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
David Forrest, a sociocultural anthropologist, is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology. His research focuses on understanding the motivations behind actions that lead to risk of infectious disease. He applied to the Engaged Faculty Fellows Program to develop a community-engaged learning internship course for UM undergraduate students, in which the critical thinking skills learned in the classroom will be utilized in a hands-on learning experience at a local community agency. Students will be guided to develop critical perspectives on health, disease, medicine and health care with the goal of addressing real world problems faced by vulnerable and underserved populations.
Alex Korogodsky, Lecturer, Business Technology, Miami Herbert Business School
Alex Korogodsky is a Lecturer of Business Technology at Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami, with research interests in value realization through digital transformation using Cloud, AI, automation, and advanced analytics. Before academia, he was a Partner and Managing Director at Accenture/Avanade, Capgemini, and EY, advising C-level executives of global corporations. As an educator, Alex designs experiential learning projects where students collaborate with nonprofits to develop business plans, websites, and apps addressing critical community issues. His projects foster teamwork, business, and technology skills, while promoting civic responsibility, ethical decision-making, and lasting community impact.
Rhonda Trust, Lecturer, Communication Studies, School of Communications
Rhonda Trust holds a Ph.D. in Communication with an emphasis on health communication. She is a faculty member of the School of Communication, where she teaches in the Communication Studies Department: Research Methods, Writing for Communication, Public Speaking, Intercultural Communication, Capstone and more.
Her research focuses on topics such as: The channels of communication of conscious eating among college students and nutritional education and food disparities among members of the greater Miami-Dade community. She works closely with local non-profit organizations that promote intercultural nutrition and health education, such as Health In The Hood.
She aims to involve her public speaking students with local nonprofit organizations throughout the greater Miami area. To achieve this, she designed an assignment centered on community service, where students research a local nonprofit, volunteer with the organization, and then deliver a persuasive presentation encouraging their peers to get involved. This project not only helps students develop their public speaking skills, but also empowers them to use their voices to advocate for underrepresented communities in Miami.
