All personnel can be reached at (305) 348-6529.

Frank T. Hammons, Ed.D.
Director, Institute for Workforce Competitiveness (IWC) within Florida International University's Center for Educational Development, Miami, FL. and Associate Professor, College of Education.

Dr. Hammons developed and is implementing the Statewide School-to-Work and Tech Prep Continuous Quality Improvement Evaluation models for Florida. Since 1993 Florida's Tech Prep consortia have received seven (7) National Awards (six American Association of Community College Outstanding Tech Prep Consortia Awards and one of the Department of Education's Exemplary Tech Prep Awards). Serving as Project Director of the State of Florida's School-to-Work and Tech Prep Evaluation Initiatives and as Director of the State of Florida's School-to-Work Readiness Research Project, he has been the team leader on over seventy (70) on-site evaluation visits.

Dr. Hammons conceptualized and established the Institute for Workforce Competitiveness located at Florida International University which has infused School-to-Work as a primary research focus. He is also the Director of Baccalaureate and Master's vocational-technical education programs, and has teaching experience in secondary, community college, university, proprietary, and military educational environments. He serves on various national, state, and local advisory boards and delivers presentations and workshops to national, state, and local audiences. Current research interests are STW sustainability, STW and Tech Prep program evaluation, student impact from workforce development initiatives, human resource development and leadership, and institutional reform.

Dr. Hammons completed a distinguished 20-year career in the Air Force; received his undergraduate degree with distinction from George Mason University, and has two graduate degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech).

Mary E. Haley, M.S. Ed.
Planning and Evaluation Coordinator

Ms. Haley is an experienced manager and educator with 23 years experience in adult education and business. During her 15 years in international technical assistance and finance and accounting in the packaging industry, Ms. Haley acquired extensive knowledge and expertise in business planning, systems, and management at both corporate and manufacturing plant levels. In addition to her business studies at the undergraduate level, Ms. Haley is fluent in Spanish, having completed a Spanish major and lived and worked in Madrid, Spain. In her work for Fortune 500 companies, Ms. Haley performed major international audit assignments at four South American locations. She has extensive expertise, experience, and training in organizational change strategies and programs, is a graduate of Phillip Crosby Quality Management College, and has carried out leadership and other roles in Total Quality Management efforts in business settings.

Ms. Haley possesses a Masters Degree in Adult Education/Human Resource Development and is currently pursuing a doctorate in education from Florida International University. She has teaching experience in many areas of adult education with diverse populations, including Spanish, high school equivalency, adult basic education, international relations, current events, and English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages. As Education Services Coordinator for a federally-funded adult academic and vocational education program for migrant farm workers, Ms. Haley was responsible for program and curriculum development, supervision of instructional and support staff, and professional development for instructors.

Regnier A. Jurado, BPA
Special Projects Coordinator

Mr. Jurado began his career with Florida International University nearly six years ago, the last three as an employee of the Institute for Workforce Competitiveness' Florida School-to-Work Evaluation Liaison office. Mr. Jurado manages the day-to-day operations of the Institute. His responsibilities include: the monitoring of six operating budgets; coordination of statewide and regional professional development workshops which have facilitated over 2,000 participants; payroll, purchasing, employee and consultant contracts; and distribution and dissemination of Institute and STW materials. Mr. Jurado holds a bachelor's degree in Public Administration from Florida International University.

Cheryll Messam, M.S. Ed.
Data Coordinator, Jobs for Florida's Graduates

Ms. Messam is responsible for providing technical assistance to Jobs for Florida's Graduates' Job Specialists as they utilize the Jobs for America's Graduates' National Data Management System database to collect data on "at-risk," high school students.

Although her duties are technical in nature, Ms. Messam has a solid understanding of the issues facing "at-risk," high school students through her two years of research on the Academic Orientation of Minority Students, conducted through the Immigration and Ethnicity Institute, Florida International University. She has to her credit co-authored a working paper on the academic achievement of African-American High School Students and presented a paper at the conference of the Society for Applied Anthropologists, 1998.

Ms. Messam has a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in English as well as a Masters degree in Human Resource Development. Her interests lie in the areas of Training and Development and Clinical Psychology.

Alejandro Rodriguez, M.P.A.
Research Associate

Mr. Rodríguez is a doctoral candidate in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Florida International University.  In the past, Mr. Rodríguez has directed the design and implementation of international and complex projects related to government restructuring, with special emphasis on citizen participation and strategic planning with cabinet ministers, leaders of national legislative bodies, prominent business leaders and high ranking US government officials. 

Mr. Rodríguez has served as a Senior Planner for both the City of New York and Miami-Dade County, Florida, and has consulted on policy analysis and legislation drafting in Mexico, Peru, and Chile.   His educational background includes a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture and a Master of Public Administration.  As a Research Associate with the IWC, Mr. Rodríguez' primary functions include research and evaluation projects related to School-to-Work issues of governance, sustainability, and policy analysis.