The FIU Honors College is proud to announce the appointment of three prominent South Florida leaders and FIU alumni to serve as officers on the FIU Honors College Dean’s Advisory Board. It is our pleasure to welcome Lori-Ann Cox, Eduardo “Eddie” Hondal, and Rachelle Metcalfe to the Board to each serve a three year term to help boost career success for Honors College scholars while moving forward the philanthropic goals of the College.
The new officers are:
LORI-ANN COX
CEO, Breakthrough Miami
A native of Jamaica, Cox holds an MBA from Florida International University’s College of Business and is highly skilled in educational advancement, fundraising, marketing and public relations, community engagement, strategic partnerships and event management. She has spent more than 20 years in the education management industry, taking on a variety of roles at Florida International University including Corporate and Community Relations, Alumni Advocacy, managing its President’s Council and serving as Administrative Director of its Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Since 2018, Lori-Ann has been the CEO of Breakthrough Miami, an 8-year tuition-free program for highly motivated Miami-Dade students from under-resourced schools and/or communities. The program offers academic enrichment, experiential learning, and academic counseling support. Breakthrough Miami also works with highly talented high school juniors/seniors and college students, offering a robust 8-week teaching internship in the summer.
EDUARDO “EDDIE” HONDAL
Executive Diabetes Specialty Representative, Eli Lilly
Eddie Hondal is affectionately known as “Papa Panther” for the key role he plays in developing FIU’s student life and campus spirit. He is an accomplished medical sales professional with 20 years of experience, in both the cardiovascular market and diabetes. He currently works for Eli Lilly and Company as their Executive Diabetes Specialty Representative. Eddy served as FIU’s Executive Director of Alumni Affairs from 1993-2002 and later served as President of the Alumni Association.
RACHELLE METCALFE
PhD. Student & Graduate Teaching Assistant at FIU Prestigious Scholarships
Rachelle Metcalfe is a two-time alumna of FIU and is on her way to acquiring her third degree, her Ph.D. Rachelle graduated from FIU in 2008 with a Psychology degree and in 2012 with a Master of Science in Counselor Education majoring in clinical mental health counseling. For many years, Rachelle served at the FIU Honors College in a variety of roles, her last being the Assistant Director of Enrollment Services for the College. At that time, seeing the great need of our students, she established the Metcalfe Family First Generation Scholarship Endowment, providing scholarships to Honors College students. Since then, she went on to serve as Associate Director for University Admissions and most recently, stepping away from that role to fully pursue her doctoral degree, while still helping our students by serving as the Graduate Teaching Assistant of our FIU Prestigious Scholarships office.