Leadership
Under the leadership of principal investigator Gregg B. Fields, Ph.D., vice president for research, and a team of Florida Atlantic administrators, faculty and research analysts, and a network of community organizations, the university is establishing a newly invigorated design for the Promise Neighborhoods Program.
Project Personnel
Gregg B. Fields, Ph.D., director of FAU’s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention and co-director, the Memorial Cancer Institute and Florida Atlantic University’s Cancer Center of Excellence, designated by the Florida Department of Health, brings an extensive health and wellness purview to addressing the issues of poverty, disease and lack of nutrition characteristic of many children and families residing in the project’s six zip code areas. He will oversee the project and collaborate with organizational leaders to ensure continuity and success leading to further extension of the project.
Nancy R. Romance, Ed.D., co-principal investigator, and assistant vice president, STEM Research, Division of Research, brings an extensive STEM education research background to support the use of integrated learning and community education initiatives to increase students’ academic success in science, mathematics and reading and provide technical support and guidance to the subrecipients as they engage in delivering varied levels of support to communities and schools. She will coordinate the overall project in conjunction with Florida Atlantic researchers and community organizations within the Broward partnerships.
Jonathan Mahadeo, B.S., director of analytics, Broward UP Promise Neighborhoods program, joined the team from Broward College, and will utilize an asset-based model to highlight and build upon the strengths of the community. He oversees the collection and analysis of data to measure the program's impact on educational and social outcomes, ensuring that data-driven insights guide strategic decisions and program improvements. By focusing on the existing assets within the community, he collaborates with community partners to align efforts and maximize the reach and success of the Broward UP Promise Neighborhoods.
Carolyn Brown James, B.A., assistant project director for Promise Neighborhoods Broward Up Program, joined the FAU team from Broward College. She is responsible for working closely with all partnering agencies to ensure that the project is being implemented as intended, to identify problems and solutions, and assess the climate of the services being delivered. She is also responsible for the general organization, management, planning, implementation and to ensure that funds are expended according to project plan.
Michael DeDonno, Ph.D., co-principal investigator, director of Center of Research Excellence, and associate professor, College of Education, will explore the potential of the Promise Neighbors Grant to identify facets of the program that would lead students in the Broward communities to academic and career success. Through effective predictive modeling, DeDonno will coordinate the work of a team of educational research graduate students as they investigate factors in an order from most predictive to least predictive. In doing so, DeDonno will generate a mathematical equation that will help educators, parents and students create an educational plan that will have the greatest probably of achieving educational and career success.
College of Social Work and Criminal Justice researchers will also help guide the Promise Neighborhoods program as co-principal investigators, including:
- Luna Naelys, Ph.D., dean and professor
- Mariana Colvin, Ph.D., associate dean, research and academic effectiveness
- David Simpson, Ph.D., assistant professor
The three will collaborate with numerous community partners on research-based initiatives to enhance the resilience and success of the Broward UP Community. Their research aims to empower families, promote child development and strengthen the community through cradle-to-career readiness. Key objectives include encouraging parents to read to young children, cultivating parents’ early promotion of education and college, and addressing community wellness, health and unemployment challenges.