Meet The Team

Professor Andres Tremante is the Director of the Center for Diversity and Student Success in the College of Engineering and Computing (CD-SSEC). In this position, Dr. Tremante is responsible for all aspects of the College’s K-12 programs and pre-college STEM outreach activities, working closely with the college advisors and associate deans to improve student success, graduation & retention rates and in advancing the mission of the college. He also supports the Industry-University Cooperative Programs and the ERC’s Workforce Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion thrust areas for PATHS-UP and CELL-MET. He has been the deputy director of the CELL-MET and PATHS-UP Culture of Inclusion & Diversity Thrust Areas. Dr. Tremante also serves as the Principal Investigator on the NSF Florida Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FGLSAMP), the National Action Council for Minority Engineers (NACME), the Children’s Trust funded FIU ENLACE project, and the Florida Action for Minorities in Engineering (FLAME).

Professor Tremante received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from “Universidad Simon Bolivar” and his Doctoral degree from “Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers” in Energy Conversion and Transportation. He joined FIU in 2008 after 25 years of experience in Europe and Latin America, mostly in academia and the oil industry, and he is also a Teaching Professor in the Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) Department. He brings forward a long record of teaching, scholarly research, academic service, and strong credentials for leadership as the director of CD-SSEC.

Mrs. Barrueco brings years of exemplary customer service experience earned at the prestigious American Express where she managed the Latin American Franchise Partners and Global Network Services Relationship Directors, Regional Business Leaders and Operations/Technologies worldwide.

Additionally, she cultivated her compassionate and diligent service to students during her years at the highly acclaimed University of Miami.

While at the Biomedical Engineering Department, the innovative and energetic Barrueco transformed how events were planned and executed by implementing digital processes that accelerated turnaround times and eliminated redundancies and duplications of duties. Passionate about and committed to helping people, always finding herself in the middle of planning fun and memorable events for the students and handling stressful event situations with grace. Regardless of the activity, Mariam is always determined to create experiences and memories that last a lifetime.

Mariam brings a “can-do” attitude to everything she does to create a positive impact on those around her.

Trina Fletcher has an interdisciplinary background with both her education and full-time experiences. Fletcher holds a doctorate in engineering education from Purdue University and has industry experience including roles with Johnson & Johnson, Eaton Corporation and serving as the director of pre-college initiatives for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

Stephen Secules is an Assistant Professor in the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education (SUCCEED) and the STEM Transformation Institute. He teaches a core course on Foundations of Engineering and Computing Education to the PhD students in the SUCCEED cohort. He also runs an Equity Research Group where members engage in weekly discussions and independent equity research. He is the lead investigator for our Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Ambassador program where he provides training in research methods, educational design, and leadership to our undergraduate student ambassadors.