Congratulations to the Provost’s ECFI Ambassadors for the academic year 2025–2026! These exceptional faculty will serve as peer mentors to guide and inspire future cohorts and provide valuable input for the ongoing development of ECFI programming.
Ethan Balk
Ethan K. Balk, PhD, RDN, CDN, ACSM-EP is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the master’s programs in Clinical Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. He specializes in bariatric medical nutrition therapy, medical weight loss counseling, and nutrition care related to GLP medications. Dr. Balk’s research focuses on weight stigma, challenging cultural narratives that equate thinness with value, and advocating for body justice and dignity at every size. His work applies intersectional analysis, exploring how body size intersects with race, gender, and public health to influence lived experience and access to care. He is also deeply committed to education, earning a Certificate of Excellence for his leadership in creating equitable and engaging learning environments.
Katie Jang
Kyungmi Jang is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Korean in the Department of East Asian Studies at NYU CAS. As a scholar and certified Korean language educator with 15 years of language teaching experience, she leverages her academic background in both Korean and English to craft highly effective language learning environments. Her research centers on Korean language education, specifically focusing on Korean pronunciation, learning strategies, and speaking fluency education. In the classroom, her approach is deeply learner-centered, consistently prioritizing extensive interaction, maximized speaking opportunities, and collaborative activities. Drawing on her past as a news anchor in Korea, she uniquely models precise pronunciation and articulate speech, significantly benefiting her students’ linguistic development.
Stephanie Mattera
Stephanie Mattera is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Academic Director of the award-winning M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication at the NYU School of Professional Studies. In 2025, she reached ten years of service. Stephanie is being further cultivated into a 21st-century change agent in higher education as a PhD student at Purdue University. Her industry experience includes roles at global lifestyle brands: Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Alex and Ani, Ralph Lauren, Glamour Magazine, and Macy’s. At Starwood, she served on the crisis team and executed activations for Starwood’s Preferred Guest program and Your World Rewards partnership with Emirates. Stephanie was recognized for her commitment to philanthropy with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Office of the President of the United States, and received the Bart Lawson Alumni Award for Professional Service and Outreach from NYU SPS.
Anton Rozhkov
Dr. Anton Rozhkov is an Industry Assistant Professor and Director of the M.S. Program in Applied Urban Science and Informatics at NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP). His research explores how data-driven policies, spatial analytics, and emerging technologies can transform urban infrastructure and planning. With a Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois Chicago, Anton specializes in complex systems and the role of decentralized, renewable energy in city design. At CUSP, he teaches GIS, spatial analysis, decision modeling, and machine learning, helping students uncover the “why” behind urban patterns to build more sustainable and equitable cities.
Lisa Raymond-Tolan
Dr. Lisa Raymond-Tolan is a Clinical Assistant Professor of occupational therapy at New York University, where she teaches pediatrics. She has previously taught at Pace University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and Bank Street College of Education in New York. Lisa is a frequent presenter at conferences, with topics including social media as learning tools, adventure playgrounds, play as an occupation, academic advising, directly teaching executive functioning skills to children, and interprofessional education. She received the NYU Teaching Advancement Grant for her program to bring NYU OT students to the Yard, an adventure playground on Governors Island, to observe and experience true child-led play. Her most recent publication, Play’s the thing: How do occupational therapy programs teach about play? was recently published in the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education. Lisa has been a school-based occupational therapist practitioner for 17 years at Community Roots Charter School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.