Meet the Team

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and go back to visit family at least once a year. I am a faculty member in Sciences for Health Programs where I taught microbiology and anatomy and physiology for 13 years. Now I have the pleasure to serve as the founding director for our new Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. What I love most about working at Santa Fe is the student-centered focus of all our faculty and staff. Outside of work, I love to travel, cook, camp, dance, read, and practice Spanish. 

leslie.rios@sfcollege.edu
352.381.7054

Michelle Freas
Faculty Fellow 

I am a first-generation college graduate, focusing on Deaf Education.  I started my career teaching in the K-12 public school system, transitioning to sign language interpreting for the public schools and have been teaching at Santa Fe College since 2005.  I teach ASL 1-4, as well as Deaf Culture and have developed collaborations with Deaf Communities in Palestine, Brazil, Ukraine and lastly Sweden, where I co-lead a study abroad program.  My passion for rich collaborations with various Deaf Communities around the world has allowed unique opportunities for my students to learn sign languages, other than ASL, as well as compare Deaf Cultures, mainly through virtual exchanges.  I focus on student engagement through teacher-student and student-student interactions in the classroom, as well as the surrounding Deaf Community, gaining real-world experiences.  My total language immersion approach with my students encourages students to be wholly involved in the learning process. 

I have two children and enjoy cooking and being outdoors with my family. I also enjoy traveling anytime I can, both domestically and abroad. 

Alex Siwiecki (He/Him/His/Mr./Sir)
Faculty Fellow 

I am a first-generation college graduate and Associate Professor, English, at Santa Fe College with an MFA in Fiction from the University of Florida. In my classrooms, I emphasize transferable writing and research skills and communal, narrative-driven writing as responsive to generational trauma. I first started tutoring ESOL as an undergraduate at Florida State College and the University of North Florida to eventually graduating from and teaching at the University of Florida until 2022. I have taught a range of courses—from journalism to engineering writing to animal rights philosophy writing. I have published a few short fiction stories and am currently working on completing a fiction novel. My hobbies include vegan cooking and activism, inline skating, and writing and reading animal rights philosophy, feminist literature, and contemporary fiction. I have one cat named Omar. I have traveled to Italy, Japan, Sweden, Colombia, England, Scotland, Mexico, and Puerto Rico; upcoming travel plans include Thailand, Vietnam, Spain, France, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Germany. 

Manisha Ranade
Faculty Fellow

Growing up in Mumbai, India, I spoke multiple languages and was accustomed to a busy cultural and social city life. For my graduate studies in engineering, I came to Los Angeles to USC and discovered a vibrant campus life. I began my career as a research engineer in Medical Physics and later switched to teaching. I am delighted to be part of the CTLE, where we focus on evidence-based best practices. Besides teaching Mathematics and Physics at Santa Fe College, I am active in the Sustainability and International Education committees. My passion lies in STEM education, environmental stewardship, and promoting wellness through dance and yoga.  

Alejandra (Ale) Maruniak
Faculty Fellow

I was born in Venezuela, grew up in Bolivia (consider myself Bolivian), did all my post-secondary education in Brazil (my heart is Brazilian), and have lived in Gainesville since 1989 (love this green city and its closeness to the stunning springs). I came to the US to do the research part of my PhD in molecular genetics and stayed working on virus research at the University of Florida for 22 years. For over a decade now I have been part of the Santa Fe College community, teaching biotechnology at the Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua. The courses I teach are very hands-on, laboratory focused on molecular methods that can be applied in any biological, medical, or agricultural areas.  I developed an international biotechnology internship in Brazil where I have taken two sets of students to spend three weeks learning about the application of the material taught in our labs. At the beginning of 2024 I had the amazing opportunity of joining the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) team which has offered me the chance of interacting with more faculty at a time when SF is embarking on a college-wide project to better serve our students.

I also enjoy traveling, hiking, kayaking, and serving as a USA swimming official during local competitions.

Bobby Hom
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

Husband, father, son, son-in-law, professor, administrator – that’s the order I identify.  I am first-generation American, the son of Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1960s.  I started working at Santa Fe College in Fall 1994, as the art gallery assistant, and taught my first class—Renaissance to Enlightenment Humanities--in Spring 1995.  Since then I’ve taught the Humanities as an adjunct, assistant, and full professor, for the past twelve years, coordinated the Honors Program, and in 2021-2022, helped SF’s SACSCOC accreditation. 

I’m excited to work with CTLE to implement, document, and assess SF’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Equity-Minded Education: Uniting for Student Success.  Equity-minded teaching strategies, which include the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), the Student Experience Project (SEP), and Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TiLT) in addition to CTLE custom-designed professional learning opportunities, are proven to improve success and retention among diverse student populations and to reduce equity gaps.

Nan Ryan
Administrative Assistant CTLE and CATT

I've been involved in education for over 20 years and feel energized by initiatives like CTLE. I'm passionate about creating innovative and diverse communities where students succeed, and faculty use meaningful and engaging pedagogies to deepen understanding. A win-win for everyone!  

When I'm not working, you can find me enjoying a local arts event, entertaining friends, or making beautiful (I hope) music with other musicians here in Gainesville and beyond.

Angie Dobberfuhl
Faculty Development Instructional Designer

I have a passion for learning that has followed me through life.  I started my professional career studying genetics. In graduate school I discovered a passion for teaching that has been the common thread throughout my life.  I worked at NIH searching for diabetes genes and then moved to Gainesville where I had the opportunity to teach bioinformatics at UF and start teaching at Santa Fe. I taught biology in the Natural Sciences for over 10 years and set up the chemistry lab at the Watson Center.  I had so much fun starting the Summer Science Camp with Melanie Roberti creating learning experiences to help kids get excited about science.

I became an instructional designer when we moved to Gainesville shifting to the corporate learning and development space. It was fascinating to learn about how people learn best and be able to put that into practice.  I wrote and managed workforce training grants, designed mentorship programs and leadership programs along with supporting a team that promoted professional development.

I'm so excited to have the opportunity to be back at Santa Fe in this role.  It feels like coming home!