John Stuart, AIA, Distinguished University Professor in Architecture, Associate Dean for Cultural and Community Engagement and also Executive Director of the Miami Beach Urban Studios is an architectural historian and a visual artist developing collaborative research projects on complexity, community, identity, technology, the environment and public space with funding from Van Alen Institute, The National Endowment for the Arts, The National Science Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Colette Mello, Senior Special Events Manager,  oversees all events and manages social media and marketing for exhibitions and programming at Miami Beach Urban Studios and at FIU CARTA | Mana Wynwood.  She provides administrative support for budgets, grants and personnel issues.   She holds an MFA in Curatorial Practice from FIU and has taken MBA courses at Nova Southeastern.  She is active in the art community and has curated several exhibitions in Miami and Broward.

Elyssa Llanso, Temporary Administrative Support, is an artist who graduated in 2020 from FIU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She works predominately in drawing, painting, and printmaking, specializing in vivid acrylic portraits and linoleum reduction prints. Her work depicts people of color, typically women, and the hardships and triumphs that come along with identity and race- often through a self-reflexive lens. Her work has been displayed at Miami Beach Urban Studios, Miami-Dade College, the United States Capitol, as well as other educational institutions across Florida.

Sergio Aquino, a General Maintenance Mechanic for the Miami Beach Urban Studios and for CARTA | Mana Wynwood, supports every aspect of the technology and facilities at FIU CARTA.  During the pandemic, he worked with the team that 3D printed parts for and assembled 10,000+ face shields for front-line and health care workers and small business owners.

Through some 200 works composed for a range of performance genres, many premiered at major international festivals by renowned performers, Orlando Jacinto Garcia has established himself as an essential figure in the new music world. The distinctive character of his music has been described as “time-suspended sonic explorations” qualities developed from working with Morton Feldman, among others. Born in Cuba, he came to the US in the 1960s, where he resides today. With works recorded on numerous albums released here and abroad, Garcia has received recognition from the Fulbright, Rockefeller, Knight, and Cintas Foundations, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and is the recipient of 5 Latin Grammy nominations. Founder of the New Music Miami Festival, the NODUS Ensemble, and resident composer for the Miami Symphony, Garcia is a dedicated educator, Distinguished University Professor, and Composer in Residence for the School of Music at Florida International University.

Grizelle De Los Reyes’s professional experience in media, marketing research, advertising management, and sales has made her a very effective educator and program administrator. She has been the Director of the Global Strategic Communications program – creative track, in partnership with M.AD School, since 2010. She has been instrumental in revamping the undergraduate management track and the graduate creative track. She teaches specialized advertising courses such as Media Planning, Global Account Planning and Campaigns.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a master’s degree, with areas of concentration on advertising management and media, from the University of Florida. Her main teaching focus is to conduct her courses with real clients and projects to provide students with real-world experience, case studies and creative work for their portfolios.