Dr. Emma Caris François
Vice President
She graduated with honor from Miami Edison Senior High School. She is a proud “Red Raider”. She attended Florida International University (FIU) where she received a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, a master’s degree in teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), a bachelor in French Education and media, and a minor in Mathematics. She also attended Florida Atlantic University (FAU) where she completed a specialist degree in Educational Leadership.
In 1998, Dr. Caris François became a teacher in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), the third largest school district in the nation with a high population of Haitian students. She is currently a Haitian Creole Language Arts (HCLA) and Curriculum Content Home Language (CCHL) Curriculum Support Specialist (CSS) for the Department of Bilingual Education and World Languages. She is also a Haitian Creole professor at both Miami-Dade College (MDC) and Florida Memorial University (FMU).
In addition to her professional career, Dr. Caris François is an active member of the Missionaries of Jesus-Christ (MJC) at Notre Dame d’Haïti Catholic Church in Miami and the coordinator of the Lectora Ministry. She served as the president of MJC for four consecutive terms and was also the vice president for two different terms. Dr. Caris François has been the President of the organization “Les Nord-Louisiens en Action” (LNLA) since 2017. She believes in helping others. She also made several trips to Haiti with LNLA to assist with teachers training, distribution of school supplies, giveaway student scholarships, overseeing honor roll assemblies, monitoring essay competitions, organizing “Noël Espoir”/Christmas toys distribution, and engaging in youth soccer game tournaments. In 2015, Dr. Caris François served as a proud secretary of the Association of Haitian Educators of Dade (AHED), of which she becomes the vice-president in 2023. She believes in inspiring others to get involved and to make positive strides toward changes in their community.
