Fall Session 2009 Staff
Faculty Classroom and Office Assignments
Dr. Barbara McDade-Gordon, Director
Ms. Montia Morris, Associate Director
Ms. Freddie G. Young - Outreach Coordinator
Ms. Frances Rollins - Alumni and Archives Coordinator
Ms. Asmeret Mehari - Program Assistant
Ms. Patricia Price - Senior Clerk
Reading/Writing Teachers
Mr. Dennis Lewis – Sophomores & Seniors
Ms. Patricia Nelson – Freshmen
Mr. Craig Smith – Juniors
Counselors
Ms. Erin Camizzi – Juniors
Ms. Montia Morris – Seniors
Ms. Ayesha Pittendreigh – Freshmen
Ms. Laura Reid – Sophomores
Ms. Elena Trejo – Lead Tutor
Mr. Krishna Chaitanya
Ms. Renee Morris
Ms. Rejane Noel
Mr. Oswaldo Pelaez
Mr. Ravendran Shanmugam
Meet the Staff
Administrative Staff & Faculty: 
Ms. Erin Camizzi, Counselor for Juniors, has Florida Certification in Guidance and Counseling PK-12. She earned Master’s and Specialist in Education degrees from UF. As a Guidance Counselor at Gainesville High School she topped the school’s record last year for motivating at-risk students to complete scholarship applications and access funding for college.
Mr. Dennis Lewis, Reading/Writing Teacher for Sophomores and Seniors, teaches Advanced Placement (AP) English at Buchholz High School. He has a Master’s degree from UF and has completed all coursework for the Ph.D. in History and Political Science. He was basketball coach at Newberry H.S. for eight years and coached our basketball team for the TRIO Summer Olympics.
Dr. Barbara McDade Gordon, Director, begins her sixth year this Fall as Director of at UF. She earned a Ph.D. in Geography and Planning from the University of Texas and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UF since 1990. Dr. McDade Gordon is a mentor in the University Minority Mentor Program (UMMP).
Ms. Asmeret Mehari, Program Assistant, has worked with Upward Bound for almost three years. She is a doctoral student in Anthropology/Archeology at UF. She served as a mentor and counselor to youth in Eritrea and for international students at UF.
Ms. Montia Morris, Associate Director and Counselor for Seniors, has degrees of Master of Education and Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) in Mental Health Counseling from UF. She has significant experience working with teens and young adults as a counselor and in program management.
Ms. Patricia Nelson, Reading/Writing Teacher for Freshmen, has a Bachelor of Arts in English from UF. She has Florida Teaching Certifications in English 6-12, ESE, and K-6. She worked as a Remedial Reading teacher at Baker County H.S. and as a Consultant for Pearson Education.
Ms. Ayesha Pittendreigh, Counselor for Freshmen, is a graduate student working on the Master of Education and Education Specialist degrees at UF. She has mentored high school students in the Take Stock in Children program and has done practicum training and volunteer work at Lincoln and Westwood Middle Schools.
Ms. Patricia Price, Senior Clerk, begins this Fall Semester with Upward Bound. She was an Administrative Assistant at Florida Works and has broad experience in computer accounting and enjoys working with youth.
Ms. Laura Reid, Counselor for Sophomores, has been a counselor with Upward Bound for three years. She is completing her Masters and Specialist Degrees in the Department of Counselor Education at UF.
Ms. Frances Rollins Thomas, Alumni and Archives Coordinator, has worked with the Upward Bound Program for more than seven years. She was a student in Upward Bound at UF. Ms. Rollins received her Bachelor’s Degree from UF, and is working toward Teacher Certification for High School.
Mr. Craig Smith, Reading/Writing Teacher for Juniors, is completing his Ph.D. in English at UF. He has an Master of Arts in English from Florida Atlantic University. He received an Award for Excellence at UF for teaching undergraduate courses. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Arts Exchange and its Capoeria Afro-Brazilian martial arts program.
Ms. Freddie G. Young, Outreach Coordinator, has worked with Upward Bound for over 30 years. She is a Master Teacher and Title 1 Coordinator at Lake Forest Elementary School. Ms. Young received her B.A. degree from UF and a Master’s Degree from Nova University.
Mr. Krishna Chaitanya, is pursuing the Master of Sciences degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UF. He tutored secondary school students in math and sciences in India and scored a perfect 800 on the SAT-Math. He received the Achievement Award for academic excellence at UF. He has worked as a tutor in the Academic Phase 2008-2009; and taught Algebra and Geometry this past Summer.
Ms. Renee Morris, is a student at the University of Florida majoring in Statistics. She was active in her high school and is currently Volunteer Coordinator for the Goonies Project, Inc. She continues as a tutor from the Summer Session.
Ms. Rejane Noel, is a Psychology major who received a Presidential Scholarship to attend the University of Florida. She worked as Office Assistant during Summer Session 2009.
Mr. Oswaldo Pelaez, is a student at the University of Florida majoring in Nuclear Engineering. He is fluent in Spanish. Oswaldo started a tutoring program at his high school in Hallandale, Florida and served as leader of the program for two years. He started as a tutor with Upward Bound Academy in Fall 2008.
Mr. Ravendran Shanmugam, is a sophomore majoring in physics from Weston, Florida. He began working as a tutor with Upward Bound in Spring 2009.
Ms. Elena Trejo, Lead Tutor, is a senior at the University of Florida double majoring in Math and English. She plans to teach both at the high school level. Elena served as a tutor with Upward Bound during Spring and a Resident Assistant in the Summer Session 2009. She also has experience with Walton County Summer Recreation where she has served as camp counselor, assistant director and director.
