Meet the Advancement Team

 We are here to serve and each of us is eager to make a connection with you.

Erin Alvarado
Alumni Communications & Content Manager

ealvarado@fit.edu
(321) 674-6141

Erin oversees the Florida Tech Alumni social media accounts, Florida Tech Connect, email content creation, the www.fit.edu/alumni website, and AlumNotes for Florida Tech Magazine. She graduated from Florida Tech in the spring of 2016 with a bachelor's degree in business administration - marketing and has stayed active in the Panther community ever since. In her spare time, you can find Erin reading, running, going to the movies with her husband (also a Florida Tech alum), binge-watching reality TV, and visiting her second home...Disney World!

Jessica Cartagena Assam
Assistant Director of Leadership Giving and Community Relations

jcassam@fit.edu

Jessica manages The Scott Center’s Evening of Hope and weVENTURE’s Wine, Women & Shoes. Her primary focus is to maintain partnerships with vendors and oversee all elements of an event while keeping supporters informed of the event and the organization’s mission. Jessica is the mother to Brandon who studies at the University of Miami Herbert School of Business ’24 and Karis who is at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts ’26. Jessica volunteers and/or supports local organizations including Brevard Zoo and The Aquarium Project, The Henegar Center, and Junior Achievement of the Space Coast.

Stephanie Bacon
Director of Development

sbacon@fit.edu
(321) 674-7198

Since 2011, Stephanie enthusiastically touts Florida Tech's can-do culture and champions our stellar faculty. She strives to involve alumni and friends of the university to further Florida Tech's mission. Depending on the day, this may be connecting an accomplished alumnus with a student, corporate partners with a community leader, or listening to their aspirations and intentions. Most often, you will find Stephanie in the kitchen, pretending to play golf or gardening.

Daniel Blucker
Manager of Gifts & Financial Reporting

dblucker@fit.edu
(321) 674-6142

Daniel handles all areas of gift entry and gift processing for the department as well as accurately records all data in the Raiser’s Edge database ensuring all is reconciled with the Controller’s Office. In addition, he is responsible for completing various financial reports.

Alyssa Carney
Admin III

acarney@fit.edu
(321) 674-6162

Alyssa provides administrative support to the Sr. VP for the Office of Advancement, as well as undertakes the responsibilities of being the department's Stewardship Coordinator. This includes ensuring all donors are appropriately recognized and celebrated so that philanthropy for the department grows. She earned a degree in business administration (’14) and her M.B.A. (’16) from Florida Tech. Alyssa was a part of the cheerleading program while attending Florida Tech and enjoys spending time with her dog, Cooper. 

Donna Cassario
Director of Development, Parent Philanthropy

dcassario@fit.edu
(321) 674-8424

Donna is a graduate and a parent, so naturally, she leads our parent programs, working with the Parent Leadership Council and spearheading parent giving and engagement. 

John Cornell
Director of Annual Giving

jcornell@fit.edu
(321) 674-7506

John manages a diverse Student Philanthropy Team that is a growing initiative to connect alumni with students as well as establish giving habits to increase participation rates. He also directs our Day of Giving activities. He has long had a passion for higher education, along with athletics, the arts, and live music. Originally from Connecticut, John has lived up and down the east coast, always gravitating to the water. While he is not yet ready to take on Gary in chess, he plays a mean game of backgammon and a not-so-mean game of tennis.

Shelley Johnson
Director of Development

shelley@fit.edu
(321) 431-0445

Shelley’s role is to engage with alumni, industry, the local community, and constituents along the mid to northeast coast of the United States in support of the university’s mission and values. Originally, from Palm Beach County she has lived in Indialantic for more than 20 years and has been with Florida Tech since 2010. When not serving as a vital ambassador for Florida Tech, she is often found on the golf course, tennis court, or boating with her family. 

Ameena Kero
Foundation Relations Officer

akero@fit.edu
(201) 562-2218

Ameena started her career in higher education, working in different departments in the U.S. and at the international level. As the Foundation Relations Officer of Advancement at Florida Tech, she searches for foundations and funding opportunities, writes proposals and grants for funding requests, and assists the Deans and faculty in completing proposals and submissions of independent proposals for grant opportunities.

Mary Ida Spradlin
Alumni Engagement Officer

mspradlin@fit.edu
(321) 674-6826

As an Alumni Engagement Officer, Mary Ida Spradlin leverages her MS in marketing and passion for higher education to build long-term relationships with alumni by creating events that build lasting connections! She is also a Florida Tech alumnus herself and has been with the university since 2018. In her spare time, you can find her dancing away at a studio or spending time with her puppy, Persephone.

Zulfa Sultana
Annual Giving Manager

zsultana@fit.edu
(321) 309-3071

Zulfa is originally from Bangladesh and prides herself on being a very ambitious person. She received her master’s degree in business administration and was recently awarded “First Winner” on her research paper published with CBERUK. She might sound super-serious but she is a goofball at heart! Her sports car is her other half and she is obsessed with music. You can often find her humming lyrics to herself. In her spare time, she also loves to sing karaoke, cook, and dance. As a proud multi-lingual person, she is passionate about learning new cultures and their languages.

Alaena Wade-Meadows
Sr. Manager, Advancement Services

awademeadows@fit.edu
(321) 674-6205

Lanie makes sure that our constituent relations database plays nicely. She gets everyone the lists they need and ensures data integrity (that means accuracy). She’s good with computers and people!  

Timothy Worzick
Donor Engagement Coordinator

tworzick@fit.edu
(321) 674-6211

Tim is our Donor Engagement Coordinator. He manages our volunteerism programs for alumni, parents, and friends. In addition, he oversees donor stewardship and assists with creating Envoke mass emails and Classy events. You can often catch him pairing students with alum mock interviewers using his favorite mapping tool.

Gina Yates
Assistant Vice President, Alumni Affairs

gyates@fit.edu
(321) 674-8428

Gina and the Alumni Affairs team are working together to strengthen our alumni community for lifetime engagement with the university and with one another. Gina conceptualizes, implements, and manages a wide range of alumni engagement activities to advance the university's mission. Working closely with the Advancement team, the Alumni Board, and university leadership, she is an advocate for the university to increase awareness of Florida Tech among potential students and the broader public and in relevant industries. Her goals are to increase the number of actively engaged alumni and maximize their engagement's impact.

Joanne Zito
Director of Leadership Giving

jzito@fit.edu
(321) 674-6152

Joanne is responsible for stewarding the Galaxy Society donors. She also oversees the academic advisory boards and the Board of Fellows engaging leadership and major donors to strengthen the relationship between Florida Tech and the community. In this role, she manages the event coordinator who conducts the Evening of Hope and the Gala for weVENTURE along with other donor and stewardship events.