Online Bachelor of Arts English: Writing and Rhetoric Track

Kristine Acosta
Dr. Kristine Acosta is a Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor and the Student Success Coordinator for the English Department. Her research centers on how technical communication and rhetoric impact communities and diverse populations. She is particularly interested in positionality, intercultural communication, and community literacy. Dr. Acosta regularly teaches technical writing, research, new media, and rhetorical theory courses.

Jacqueline Amorim
Dr. Jackie Amorim is an Associate Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric and the First Year Writing Online Teaching Success Coordinator. She teaches first-year composition, technical and professional communication, rhetorical grammar, and writing places and spaces. She has won a teaching award from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education.

Kacee Belcher
Kacee Belcher is an Associate Teaching Professor. She teaches first-year composition as well as upper-division courses, such as Professional and Technical Writing and Writing as Social Action courses. She chairs the Professional Development Committee for the Writing and Rhetoric Program.

Michael Creeden
Michael Creeden is a Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric and Associate Chair of the English Department. His teaching focuses on preparing students for post-college success. Prior to teaching at the university, he worked in the software and biotech industries as a technical writer, proposal writer, and project manager. He regularly teaches courses in technical and professional writing. He is a member of the Contemplative Practices in Education workgroup and a Faculty Fellow in the Office of Micro-credentials.

Darrel Elmore
Dr. Darrel Elmore is a Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric. His research focuses on best practices in online teaching as well as community writing. He regularly teaches courses in technical writing, science writing, and writing about the environment. He has won a teaching award from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education. Dr. Elmore’s classes regularly participate in community writing projects, including beach clean-ups, charity basketball tournaments, and letter-writing campaigns.

Marta Gierczyk
Dr. Marta Gierczyk, Assistant Teaching Professor, earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Miami. She specializes in community writing and engagement, project-based learning, and professional and technical communication. Dr. Gierczyk is a recipient of the 2023 Rewarding Excellent Teaching Incentive (RETI) Award and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education Teaching Award.

Glenn Hutchinson
Dr. Glenn Hutchinson is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Writing and an Associate Professor of English. He writes about community writing, writing centers, and translingualism. He is the author of Writing Accomplices with Student Immigrant Rights Organizers (NCTE 2021). Dr. Hutchinson is currently co-editing a book about conversations between writing centers in Latin America and the United States. He also writes plays and acts.

Shewonda Leger
Dr. Shewonda Leger is an Assistant Professor of Multilingual Writing and Pedagogy. Her research interests include Haitian narratives and histories, heritage linguistics, Caribbean women’s rhetorics, Black feminist film theory, and Black women’s health disparities. She regularly teaches courses in composition theory and practice, BIPOC contemporary feminist rhetorics, multimodal writing/composing for sociocultural change, and technical and professional writing. She was a Junior Faculty recipient of the Florida Education Fund.

Tania Lopez
Tania Cepero Lopez is an Associate Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric. She teaches first-year composition as well as upper-division writing courses, such as Writing about the Exile Experience and Writing as Social Action. She also regularly teaches writing at Homestead Correctional Institution as an Exchange for Change volunteer facilitator. Her professional interests include literature of exile, community writing, writing and social justice, translingual theory and practice, and prison writing.

Vytautas Malesh
Dr. Vytautas Malesh is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric in the English Department. He teaches first-year composition and a range of upper-division courses, including Technical and Professional Writing, Introduction to Writing Studies, Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Writing and New Media, and Writing for the Web. He previously worked as a professional copywriter and editor. His teaching focuses on the intersection of technology, culture, and writing, and on helping students to professionalize rhetoric and writing in the workplace.

Christine Martorana
Dr. Christine Martorana is an Associate Teaching Professor and an Associate Director of the Writing Across the Curriculum Program. Her areas of expertise include writing pedagogy, multimodality, and faculty development across disciplines. In addition to the Writing & Rhetoric track core courses, Christine teaches Zine Writing, a course that explores the potential for zines – DIY, self-published texts – to initiate and participate in social justice work.

Maheba Pedroso
Maheba Pedroso is a Teaching Professor in the Writing and Rhetoric program and the Director of the Certificate in Professional and Public Writing. Her research interests include creating a sense of belonging for students in an online learning environment. In addition to serving on the Professional Writing Committee, the Online Pedagogy Committee, and the Assessment Committee, she mentors new teaching assistants and new instructors. She regularly teaches professional and technical writing courses.

Michael Sohan
Michael Sohan is an Associate Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric in the English Department. He teaches first-year composition, technical and professional writing, and professional editing. He is the chair of the professional and technical writing committee and the technical editor of the FIU Undergraduate Research Journal (FIUURJ). He also mentors dual enrollment instructors and adjuncts.

Vanessa Sohan
Dr. Vanessa Kraemer Sohan is an Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric in the English Department and the Associate Director of the Interdisciplinary and Liberal Studies programs. Her research and teaching focus on translingual and transmodal approaches to literacy practice, feminist historiography, and material rhetorics.

Luke Thominet
Dr. Luke Thominet is an Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric and an Associate Director of the Writing Program. His research focuses on rhetoric and design thinking in medical communication, video game development, and university teaching. He regularly teaches courses in rhetorical theory, technical writing, and document design. He has won teaching awards from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, the Office of the Provost, and FIU Online.

Nick Vagnoni
Nick Vagnoni is a Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric. His research interests include community writing and contemplative teaching practices. He regularly teaches first-year composition as well as upper-division courses, including Advanced Writing and Research, Rhetoric of Food, and Mindful Writing. In 2020, he was the recipient of the FIU Gateway Award for Excellence in Teaching, and he has also won awards for teaching and community engagement from the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education, as well as the Office of the Provost.

Shelley Wick
Dr. Shelley Wick is an Associate Teaching Professor of Writing and Rhetoric and the Assessment Coordinator for the English Department. Her research focuses on first-year curriculum design, project-based learning, and online pedagogy. She regularly teaches first-year and advanced writing and research courses.

Mohamed Yacoub
Dr. Mohamed Yacoub is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Writing and Rhetoric Program. His research interests include minority students’ identity, sense of belonging and persistence, and writing program structures. He regularly teaches courses in community writing, technical and professional writing, and rhetorical theory and practice.