Faculty
Our faculty and staff are video-game experts and experienced teachers. Collectively they’ve shipped more than 60 games and films, so it’s easy to practice what they teach.
To contact any FIEA staff or faculty, please call 407-235-3580 or email us.
Cheryl Briggs
Motion Capture Specialist
Associate Professor Cheryl Briggs (formerly Cabrera) joins the FIEA Art Faculty in 2019…
Tom Carbone, Ph.D.
Technical Director
Dr. Tom Carbone is one of the founders of FIEA and has been its Technical Director…
Rick Hall
Production Director
Rick Hall is a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry with experience as a prod…
Alyssa Lutz
Instructor
Alyssa is primarily a level designer, while also dabbling in lighting art and level art…
Ben Noel
Executive Director
Ben has been the Executive Director of FIEA since inception in 2005. He has led par…
Hezekiah Olopade
Instructor
Hezekiah is a Technical Artist, which means while one hand is covered with paint, the other…
Chris Roda
Tech Art Instructor
With over 20 years experience in film and television, games and location-based prod…
Paul Varcholik, Ph.D.
Programming Faculty
Paul Varcholik came to FIEA from Electronic Arts where he was a lead software engi…
Ron Weaver
Technical Design Director
Ron Weaver has been a game programmer and designer since 2001 when he started work…
Nick Zuccarello
3D Art Instructor
Nick Zuccarello has 10 + years industry experience working in the games industry as…
Staff
Janice Borges
Admissions & Recruitment Coordinator
Janice is a proud UCF Alumna of Class of 2018. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Bus…
Rich Grula
Studio Director
Over the past two decades, Rich Grula’s career has wandered freely among the creative, busi…
Courtney Lewis
Industry Relations Coordinator
Courtney Lewis is a marketing and industry relations professional that excels in man…
John Rotolo
Network & Facilities Manager
John Rotolo brings more than 13 years of industry experience to FIEA. For 8 years, he was…
Erik Sand
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Erik is focused on creating opportunities for FIEA students by growing the applied resea…
Thien “John” Tran
Multimedia Designer
John is a designer with nearly 20 years of professional experience including Web Design, Gra…