Events

Dr. Deirdre Gonsalves-Jackson is the Dean of the Virginia Wesleyan University Global Campus and Associate Professor of Biology. She obtained her B.A. in biology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (Randolph College), M.S. in biology with a concentration in marine biology from Florida Atlantic University, and Ph.D. in marine biology from Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson’s area of research focuses on the systematics and developmental strategies of opisthobranch mollusks (sea slugs) from the tropical Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean. Closer to home, her research focuses on biodiversity and feeding specificity of opisthobranchs and sponges in the Chesapeake Bay. In addition to researching marine invertebrates, other projects include STEM education and outreach. She is engaged in initiatives that recruit and retain underrepresented groups in STEM. Her initiatives have resulted in collaborative NSF awards totaling over $1.4 million.

Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson also serves as co-director for the VWU Environmental Institute, a summer residential environmental science program for rising ninth grade girls. The Environmental Institute received the 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

Prior to serving as Dean of VWU Global Campus, Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson was the Director of January Term and Summer Sessions (2017-2020) and Director of Nursing and Allied Health (2020). She is the recipient of the 2013 Service and Community Engagement Award and the Batten Scholar Award (2012-2015), and she is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Beta Beta Beta National Biology Honor Society, and Sigma Zeta National Science and Mathematics Honor Society.

When not engaged in all things sea slugs, Dr. Gonsalves-Jackson enjoys traveling to the tropics and spending time with her family of three teens, Abigail, Ella and Rhys, her husband, Dr. Craig Jackson (who has been a member of the VWU Department of Psychology for 17 years), their two morkies, Roxy and Buster, and guinea pigs, George and Pip Squeak.

Alyssa Carson, also known by the call sign Blueberry, is a student with the goal of training as an astronaut and being selected for future human spaceflight to Mars. She was inspired at age three by a cartoon and went on to attend U.S. Space Camp in 2008. She has also attended other space camps in Canada and in Turkey. In 2013, she was recognized by NASA as the first to visit all 14 NASA Visitor Centers in the United States and sat on the NASA Mer 10 panel at age 12 discussing future missions to Mars in the 2030s. At 15, she joined Project PoSSUM and took courses with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. She received her applied Astronautics certification at age 17, certifying her to do research missions in suborbital space. 

Alyssa enrolled at Florida Institute of Technology in 2019, studying Astrobiology where she works in a research lab and is a member of Gamma Phi Beta. She is also a scuba diver, pilot, skydiver, and aquanaut. You may have seen Alyssa in the media as she appeared in Olay’s 2021 Super Bowl commercial “Face the STEM Gap Space Jar” and has been recently featured in campaigns for Frito-Lay’s “Back to School Blast Off,” Mattel’s Barbie Role Models #YouCanBeAnything series, Elle Magazine’s “Modern Heroines,” Gap’s “I Want to Go To Mars” commercial, or watched one of her TEDx Talks. These campaigns don’t just sell products; each brand contributes to programs that offer scholarships to girls with STEM pursuits. Alyssa uses all her experiences to help encourage the next generation of girls to go into STEM fields or simply pursue whatever their own dreams may be. 

Dr. Toby Daly-Engel is the director of the Shark Conservation Lab at Florida Tech, where she and her students work with collaborators from state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and public groups to conduct biomonitoring of Atlantic sharks, understand the impacts of rising temperatures on shark movement patterns, and identify novel species. Her research uses a combination of genomics, field ecology, and modeling to study mating systems, habitat use, and the impacts of climate change on shark populations. Dr. Toby has a passion for promoting the representation of women in science-based fields, especially women of color.

Dr. Toby earned her Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Hawaii in 2009 and has authored over 20 peer-reviewed publications and made several media appearances based on her work, such as appearing on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 30^th Anniversary special “Great White Shark Babies” in 2018. She filmed a show for Discovery networks focused on tiger shark reproduction that aired during Shark Week August 2021. She was featured in a show about bull sharks on Nat Geo's Shark Fest that aired in Summer 2021. Most recently, she was featured on Fox News and shared with Ainsley Earhardt on Fox & Friends on why you shouldn’t let sharks keep you out of the water this summer!

Cat Nanney serves Florida Tech as the Director of Student Involvement where she oversees Clubs and Organizations, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Orientation, Civic Engagement, Homecoming, and almost any student-related activity. Cat has worked at Florida Tech for 13 years, joining the university after graduate school. She received her B.S. in Political Science and her M.Ed. in Higher Education from the University of West Florida. Cat is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands. 

Cat has volunteered for her international sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, for over 11 years and serves multiple additional fraternal organizations. She has been awarded Campus Administrator of the Year from the Chi Phi Fraternity, as well as Campus Professional of the Year from the Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity within the last three years. As the wife of a triple Florida Tech graduate and the mother of two little girls, Cat believes in encouraging and inspiring those around her to seek joy and live fully.