Our Team
Jeremi London
Director
Dr. Jeremi London is the Associate Provost for Academic Opportunity and an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. She has mentored two dozen researchers since the beginning of a faculty career that spans three universities. Her commitment to bridging the gap between research and practice in engineering education is the focus of her scholarship.
Her scholarly interests have been supported by over $11.7M and resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed articles, best paper awards, and keynote addresses. Dr. London received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and is a nominee of the 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, the highest mentoring award in the nation. Some of her other awards include the 2021 Virginia Tech Presidential Principles of Community Award, the 2021 Dean’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding New Assistant Professors, and the 2017 Poly Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Her work also extends beyond the ivory towers of the academy: Dr. London was a member of Season 1’s curriculum team for the PBS’ Weather Hunters, a newly animated science cartoon for kids ages 5-8 from Al Roker entertainment, the production company led by Emmy-winning TODAY weatherman and host, Al Roker. It aired in September 2025.
Dr. London earned three engineering degrees from Purdue (B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Ph.D. in Engineering Education) and an MBA from University of Maryland Global Campus.
Julissa Burgos
Graduate Student Assistant
Julissa Burgos was born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She decided to move to the states to finish her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida. In college, she was accepted into the McNair Scholars Program, an academic advancement program dedicated to serving low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students interested in research and graduate school. Through this program she participated in multiple research opportunities that inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Tyska where she investigates microbe-host interactions, in Enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection.
Beyond her research, she participates in many mentorship and outreach programs that are focused on supporting and guiding first-generation students in the early stages of their academic careers. In 2021, she became a graduate student assistant for the Posse Scholars Program assisting in program coordination and providing support to the scholars.
In addition to working with Posse and being a graduate student, Julissa loves painting, going out dancing, and playing board games with her friends.
Anisa Utilla
Summer Intern
Anisa Utilla was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is a 2025 graduate of Vanderbilt University where she studied Human and Organizational Development and Culture, Advocacy, and Leadership. In December 2020, she became the first student from a New York City public high school to attend Vanderbilt through the Posse Scholars Program. During her time at Vanderbilt, she founded the Vanderbilt Posse Scholar Executive Board, launched the Big Sib/Little Sib program with her Posse, and later established the Posse Scholar Advisory Council to the President (Debbie Bial). In recognition of her leadership and impact, she received the Vanderbilt Student Changemaker Award in 2023.
Her contributions extended beyond Posse. Alongside her Posse mate, Jyoti, she co-founded Mixed Chicks—later the Multiethnic Student Union—to create dialogue and community for students of diverse backgrounds. She also served as President of Alpha Kappa Psi, Vanderbilt’s professional business fraternity. In addition, with a peer, she developed CAL 1175:The Stories We Inherit, the first student-designed course at Vanderbilt, taught in Spring 2026 in the Culture, Advocacy, and Leadership Department and focuses on family genealogy and identity.
Anisa gained professional experience as an intern at Universal Music Group, where she worked in global priority marketing and studio operations, and where she now serves as a Process and Workflow Coordinator in New York City. Outside of work, she enjoys baking custom cakes, discovering new music, and playing with her two dogs.
Douglas L. Christiansen
Campus Liaison
Douglas L. Christiansen is Vanderbilt University's vice provost for university enrollment affairs, dean of admissions and financial aid, and associate professor of public policy and higher education in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt's Peabody College.
In his role as vice provost, Dr. Christiansen serves as the university’s chief enrollment strategist, overseeing administratively the offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, Academic Affairs Process and Solution Implementations, Student Accounts, University Registrar, Medical School Admissions, Graduate School Admissions, Analytics and Enrollment Strategy, and International Student and Scholar Services. He leads the broader University Enrollment Affairs Leadership Team, which in addition to the offices listed above directly partners with the Office for Data and Strategic Analytics, School of Nursing Office of Enrollment Management, the Divinity School Office of Strategic Enrollment Management, and the Owen Graduate School Office of Strategic Enrollment Management.
Dr. Christiansen also oversees the Ingram, Chancellors, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Posse, and QuestBridge scholarship selection programs. Dr. Christiansen has responsibility for managing a total financial aid budget of over $560.7 million and a student accounts office that bills and collects $900 million+ on an annual basis. Dr. Christiansen is responsible for the development and implementation of a strategic plan for all major student enterprise-wide computing systems that fall within the provost’s purview. In addition to Dr. Christiansen’s administrative responsibilities, he is an active professor and researcher, having taught at the university level for over 25 years.
Dr. Christiansen served as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for The College Board (2014-2018), as Past Chair (2018-2020), and as Chair of the Board of Trustees Governance Committee (2020-2022). He currently serves as Chair of the Strategic Higher Education Advisory Council for Cambridge Examinations, Chair of WLSA Council Board, and Chair of WLSA CAN.