MDCLogo

Project ACE

meet


Project ACE Staff

 
Ernest de la Hoz
Ernesto De la Hoz, M.B.A.
Project ACE Director
305.237.6173      
Mr. Ernesto De la Hoz has been working in the non-profit and educational field for more than 15 years. His professional experience has encompassed marketing, public relations, management, and teaching at the undergraduate level. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Social Mass Media, a Specialization in Organizational Communication, a Master’s in Business Administration. Currently he is writing his dissertation to obtain a Doctorate Degree in Education from Nova Southeastern University. In his spare time, he is an avid outdoors aficionado, enjoying sailing and kayaking with family and friends.  
       
 
Tarena Ruff
Tarena Ruff
Program Coordinator
305.237.6339     
Ms. Tarena Ruff holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Video from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan; a Master’s degree in Communication from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Education degree in Instructional Technology. Ms. Ruff has over 15 years of experience working in the field of education. Prior to her current position, Ms. Ruff served as the Project Director for the Atlanta-Gwinnett Upward Bound Program at Georgia State University, where she worked with a diverse population of low-income, potential first-generation college students. In her spare time, she likes to read, surf the Internet, and relax on the beach. Ms. Ruff has a sincere passion to assist all individuals, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or socio-economic background, achieve their educational goals.  
       
 
Carlos Casineres
Carl Cañizares
Recruitment, Retention, and Research Specialist
Mr. Carl Cañizares is the Recruitment, Retention and Research Specialist in Project ACE.  In addition to overseeing the Project ACE enrollment process, he has co-authored various articles related to the Project ACE program.  He is currently working on his MA in Linguistics at Florida International University which he expects to finish in December 2013.  He joined Project ACE as a tutor for ACE Conversation Groups and has assisted in various corpus-based research projects. He is an avid writer of fiction, and has won several awards, including: the 7th Annual Las Americas Short Story Contest, 2010 Fred Shaw Poetry Competition and the 2011 FCSPA 2nd Place Poetry award.  In his spare time he participates in writing workshops and collaborates with fellow writing colleagues.  Mr. Cañizares was the Editor in Chief of Padrón Campus literary and arts magazine, URBANA volume 5 (2011-2012).  He has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland and has recently earned a College Credit Certificate in Translation from Miami Dade College.  He has 22 years of accounting and management experience in the governmental and private sectors.  
       
 
Analyda Lopez
Analeyda Lopez
Office Assistant
305.237.6206  
Ms. Analeyda Lopez is the Instructional Assistant for Project ACE, and she has been working for the program since May 2009. She is a proud graduate of Miami Dade College (MDC), and she is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administrations and Finance at Florida International University. She assists the students with any general questions or concerns about our campus services and responds to inquiries about the ACE program. As an active member of the community, she has volunteered with several organizations such as the Cuban American Council, Florida Engineering Society, and students’ organizations like Student Government Association, Phi Theta Kappa, and Best Buddies among others. In addition, she has volunteered for MDC and FIU’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program which offers free tax help for low-income applicants to prepare and review their income returns.  
       
 
William Green
William Green
Computer Graphics Specialist    
William Green is the Computer Graphics Specialist for Project ACE. With over 10 years of experience as a creative professional, William brings a broad skill set to MDC. Some of his talents include creative direction, graphic design, web design, photography, videography, video/audio editing and marketing program creation. William previously served as the Marketing Director of a retail chain with over 100 stores. He created and directed brand-accurate print, online and in-store campaigns, adding to the company’s sales volume. He has also worked in design and visual merchandising for Fortune 500 companies. He holds a B.F.A. from the Columbus College of Art and Design. 
In his spare time William creates original art, designs and builds furniture and is active in the Miami Art scene.
 
       
 
Jean Pierrot Orelus
Jean-Pierrot Orélus
Mr. Jean-Pierrot Orélus is the grammar tutor in Project ACE. In addition to overseeing the tutoring, he also conducts CPT, PERT and basic computer skills workshop. He has authored various articles related to the Project ACE program. Mr. Orelus is currently working on his MSN at Florida International University in the FEP program, which he expects to finish in August 2014. He is a medical doctor from Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He has six years of medical experience. He worked as a pediatrician, and also he worked in pediatric HIV care and prevention. Also, he has five years of teaching experience in high-school and nursing school (Natural Sciences, Pediatric Clinical). He believes in education and always advises people to get a degree. He is a passionate reader of motivational books, and he likes action movies. He works out one hour every weekday. He loves seafood and mangos.  
       



 

Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin,
disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, or genetic information. Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs/ADA Coordinator, at 305.237.2577 for information.