This list of University of Central Florida alumni includes notable graduates, former students, and current students of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida.
UCF is a public and space-grant university located on a 1,415-acre (5.73 km2) main campus in Orlando. Founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University to support the growing space program at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, it is a member of the State University System of Florida and one of the largest universities in the United States by on-campus undergraduate enrollment. Since its first graduating class in 1970, UCF has awarded more than 470,000 degrees.
Academia and research Gisele Bennett, professor at Georgia Tech and former director of Georgia Tech Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory Candice Bridge, forensic chemist and associate professor of chemistry at UCF Joey Fanfarelli, professor and researcher Christopher J. Ferguson, psychologist and researcher; professor at Stetson University Julius Fridriksson, neuroscientist; Vice President for Research at the University of South Carolina Stuart Fullerton, professor and entomologist; founder of UCF's "Bug Closet" Uma Gupta, academic and former president of Alfred State College; currently Director of Business Analytics at the University of South Carolina Upstate Teresa W. Haynes, mathematician and researcher; professor at East Tennessee State University Sameer Hinduja, criminologist and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center; professor at Florida Atlantic University Nagarajan Ranganathan, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida; IEEE Fellow Debra Reinhart, professor and environmental engineer Robert Rennaker, professor, neural engineer and Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering at University of Texas at Dallas Eduardo Salas, industrial and organizational psychologist; currently Chair Professor at Rice University Alper Yilmaz, professor of geo-informatics at Ohio State University; researcher in computer vision, photogrammetry, and remote sensing Cynthia Y. Young, applied mathematician and founding dean of the College of Science at Clemson University; former Pegasus Professor and Vice Provost at UCF Andrea Zuvich, historian specializing in the House of Stuart and author
Arts and entertainment
Steven Ameche, lawyer specializing in entertainment law; former producer at King World Productions/CBS and actor Francesca Battistelli, singer and songwriter Gabriela Berríos, model and pageant titleholder who represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2014 Teddy Blass, music composer and producer David Blue, actor; former star of Ugly Betty and Stargate Universe Mimi Chan, martial arts instructor, stunt performer and the life model reference for Disney’s animated film Mulan (1998 film) Robert Chapin, stunt choreographer, actor, visual effects artist, and director known for work on films including Hook and X-Men Kate Chastain, television personality known for Below Deck Stephen Christian, lead singer and songwriter for Anberlin Ashley Cariño, model and pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2022 and placed in the Top 5 at Miss Universe 2022 Sierra Deaton, singer, songwriter, and dancer; co-winner of the 2013 season of The X Factor as part of the duo Alex & Sierra Dorian, rapper and producer Ericka Dunlap, Miss Florida 2003 and Miss America 2004 Chris Fortier, DJ, record producer, and founder of Fade Records and the Balance Record Pool (attended) Chris Fuller, film director, writer, and producer known for Loren Cass Angelo Garcia, singer and songwriter for Menudo Shannon Gisela, actress known for the lead role in the series M.I.A. Teri Harrison, model and actress; Playboy centerfold Playmate Gregg Hale, film producer best known for The Blair Witch Project Cheryl Hines, Emmy-nominated actress Sarah Kambe Holland, film director, screenwriter, and actress Jessica Holmes, television presenter; former co-host of Slime Time Live Kyle Israel, sports analyst Kristina Janolo, Miss Florida 2011 Sebastian Jones, film director and editor known for the documentary Everybody's Everything (attended) Kostya Kimlat, magician and motivational speaker known for appearing on Penn & Teller: Fool Us Sherri Littlefield, art curator and dealer; founder of treat gallery Michael Lynche, American Idol Season 9 finalist Sananda Maitreya (Terence Trent D'Arby), singer and songwriter (attended) Jonathan Mangum, actor and comedian; former star of Strip Mall and Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza Varteni Mosdichian, painter and artist Brittany Chrishawn Moore, film producer and musical artist Daniel Myrick, writer and director of The Blair Witch Project Brian Nolan, actor and producer known for The Lair and several Netflix films including Secret Obsession Brett Novek, actor and fashion model; former contestant on season one of America's Most Smartest Model Valery Ortiz, singer and actress on South of Nowhere Rebecca Parchment, Miss Cayman Islands 2007 Plies, rapper and founder of Big Gates Records (attended) Scott Porter, actor and musician; former star of Friday Night Lights Rachel Potter, singer and actress known for Broadway roles in The Addams Family and Evita; contestant on The X Factor Qusai, rapper, DJ, and TV personality from Saudi Arabia Benjamin Rauhala, Broadway music director, arranger, and producer; known for American Psycho work Jaclyn Raulerson, Miss Florida 2010 Moshe Reuven, singer-songwriter, and hip-hop artist (attended) Eduardo Sánchez, writer and director of The Blair Witch Project Kayla Sims (known as lilsimsie), YouTuber and Twitch streamer Monica Sorelle, filmmaker and visual artist; directed the feature film Mountains Mónica Spear, Miss Venezuela 2004 and 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 2005 Chase Stokes, actor; co-star of the Netflix series Outer Banks (attended) Lauren Thompson, actor, television personality on Golf Channel and backstage interviewer on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Daniel Tosh, stand-up comedian and host of Comedy Central's Tosh.0 Robert Venditti, comic book writer Nancy Yasecko, film educator and filmographer
Business
Brian Acton, billionaire, co-founder of WhatsApp and executive chairperson of the Signal Foundation (attended) Jim Atchison, president and chief executive officer of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Dan Benjamin, tech entrepreneur and founder of 5by5 network and Fireside.fm Toby Crabel, hedge fund manager and founder of Crabel Capital Management Brian Crutcher, president and chief executive officer of Texas Instruments Dan Demole, co-founder and chief operating officer of Jingle Punks Music Brian France, chairman and chief executive officer of NASCAR Taylor Gerring, co-founder and former director of technology of Ethereum Jen Glantz, entrepreneur and author; founder of Bridesmaid for Hire Alan Gooch, executive director of the Orlando Sports Foundation John Hart, MLB Network analyst; former general manager of the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers Ian Ippolito, founder of vWorker, Planet Source Code, and the Real Estate Crowdfunding Review George Kalogridis, president of the Walt Disney World Resort Laurette Koellner, former president of Boeing International Mathew Lanigan, businessman Kristina Lavallee, chef, cake designer, and founder of The Cake Girl Alex Martins, president, chief executive officer, and chief operating officer of the Orlando Magic Cathleen H. Nash, former president and CEO of Woodforest National Bank and Citizens Republic Bancorp Salli Setta, president of Red Lobster Al Weiss, former president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Jack Sweeney, programmer, founder and CEO of Ground Control who tracks private jets of public figures such as Elon Musk and Taylor Swift; Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Chakri Toleti, founder and CEO of care.ai
Civic, literature, and journalism John C. Bersia, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing (2000) Jaquira Díaz, writer, journalist and cultural critic; author of Whiting Award-winning memoir Ordinary Girls Cindy Elavsky, syndicated columnist Saadia Faruqi, children's author known for the Yasmin series and interfaith activist Edgar Gomez, writer and author; winner of the American Book Award and Lambda Literary Award Marci Gonzalez, journalist and CBS News correspondent Jim Huber, sports anchor for CNN Sports Illustrated and sports commentator for Turner Sports Julie Iromuanya, author of Mr. and Mrs. Doctor, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist Angela King, peace activist and co-founder of Life After Hate Dylan Lyons, multimedia journalist for Spectrum News 13 and WCJB-TV Shannon O'Donnell, travel writer and National Geographic Traveler of the Year Hector Perez, National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America; former member of the Florida Board of Governors Omar Raja, founder of House of Highlights; digital marketing producer and TV commentator for ESPN; Steven Sotloff, journalist for Time magazine Jenny Torres Sanchez, writer and author Yisel Tejeda, journalist and news anchor for Telemundo 31; multiple Emmy Award winner Peter Telep, New York Times bestselling author, educator and screenwriter who has collaborated with Tom Clancy Will Wight, New York Times bestselling fantasy author known for the Cradle series
Government, law, public policy, and military
Grace Bochenek, former acting United States Secretary of Energy, and former director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory Kyle Diamantas, acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs Sean Donahue, General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency J. Greg Hanson, former assistant sergeant at arms and first chief information officer of the United States Senate Kim Holmes, 22nd U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Graduate School of Business; former deputy secretary at U.S. Department of Treasury and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Abdulmalik Al Khalili, Chairman of the Council of State of Oman Scott F. Large, 16th Director of the National Reconnaissance Office and former associate deputy director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Julia Pierson, 23rd Director of the United States Secret Service Imbarek Shamekh, former prime minister of Libya and secretary general of the General People's Congress of Libya
State senators Randolph Bracy, former member of the Florida Senate Lee Constantine, former city commissioner of Altamonte Springs, Florida, Florida state senator, and Florida state representative Patricia Grogan, former member of the Florida Senate
State representatives Carolina Amesty, former state Florida state representative Bruce Antone, former Florida state representative Dick Batchelor, former Florida state representative Kim Berfield, Florida state representative Erika Booth, Florida state representative Mike Clelland, former Florida state representative Steve Crisafulli, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Anna Eskamani, Florida state representative Tim Geitner, former member of the Colorado House of Representatives Mike Horner, former Florida state representative Randy Johnson, former Florida state representative Traci Koster, member of the Florida House of Representatives Chris Latvala, former member of Florida House of Representatives; Pinellas County Commissioner Dick Locke, former member of the Florida House of Representatives for the 26th district (1982–1990) Susan Lontine, former member of the Colorado House of Representatives Bobby Olszewski, former Florida House of Representatives member Amber Mariano, former Florida House of Representatives member; youngest person ever elected to the Florida House Rene Plasencia, Florida state representative John Quiñones, former Florida state representative