Florencia Ardon is an educator passionate about supporting students’ learning through evidence-based
teaching. Her personal and professional paths have given her intimate knowledge about the challenges
faced by a variety of student populations including international, graduate, and neurodivergent students.
Originally from Mexico, she pursued her MS and PhD in Germany after working for a genetic
improvement company. After returning to Mexico, she continued working in life sciences research, first as
a postdoctoral fellow at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and then as a tenured professor at
the Autonomous University of Baja California.
In 2010, she and her family moved to Ithaca, New York, where she continued working as a researcher at
Cornell University for a few years, until changing career paths to teach and to provide academic advising
to Cornell undergraduates. Her scientific training shapes her approach to teaching, advocacy work and
daily life.
As a neurodivergent educator whose family is also neurodivergent, and through her conversations and
collaboration with multiple neurodivergent and disabled students and peers, she has gained a deep
understanding of the needs of neurodivergent people in higher education.