Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate
Speakers
A partial list of presenters, panelists and guest speakers for this program is presented below.
Valerie Alexander
Valerie Alexander is a renowned expert on happiness and inclusion and the author of
the Amazon No. 1 seller, "Happiness as a Second Language" and several other popular
books on happiness and success. She is a globally recognized speaker on the topics
of happiness in the workplace, unconscious bias and the advancement of women, and
her TED Talk, “How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias” has been viewed more than 300,000 times. Alexander was previously a securities lawyer,
an investment banker, a tech startup CEO and a screenwriter and film director. She
also writes Christmas movies for the Hallmark Channel.
Jennifer Arnold
Jennifer Arnold, MD, MSc, is currently an attending neonatologist and Medical Director
of the Simulation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. She is an experienced
neonatologist, medical educator, healthcare advocate and simulation researcher with
a passion for delivering high-quality patient care through innovation, technology
and effective debriefing. She completed her undergraduate bachelor of science degrees
in Biology and Psychology at the University of Miami in Florida. She then completed
her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD and graduated
in 2000. She attended a Pediatric Residency Program at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
During her fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, she obtained a Master's of Science
in Medical Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is Board Certified in
Neonatal Medicine and is currently the Medical Director of the Simulation Center at
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Dr. Arnold has a rare type of dwarfism called
Spondyloepiphyseal Dysplasia Type Strudwick (which involved more than 30 orthopedic
surgeries). She is a 4-year cancer survivor. Dr. Arnold and her husband Bill are featured
on TLC's docu-drama, The Little Couple, which follows their personal and professional
lives and is now in its 10th season. She has also appeared on television programs
including Oprah, The Today Show, GMA, Dr. OZ, The Doctors, Anderson Cooper and CNN,
among others.
Susan Bean
Susan Bean teaches organizations around the world how to use emotional intelligence
to cultivate diverse perspectives in the workplace. As an organizational development
consultant, she works with executive and leadership teams to explore the impact of
different thought processes and leadership styles on team dynamics and performance.
She advises them on how to develop as individuals, understand their role within the
company, and identify the perspectives from which they operate. Bean understands
how to effectively align employees at all levels with business strategy across a broad
spectrum of Fortune 500, non-profit and government organizations. She is a Birkman
Method Master Trainer and facilitates the Emotional Intelligence & Situational Leadership Certificate for the USF Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education. Bean earned
a master’s degree in human resource management and organizational development from
the University of London.
Terry Boyd
Terry Boyd is a visiting instructor in the Muma College of Business’ School of Information
Systems and Management. He served 20 years in the Ross College of Business at Franklin
University in Ohio as chair of human resources, entrepreneurship and MBA programs,
prior to his appointment as graduate school division chair and then associate dean
of the college. He is retired and is a professor emeritus at the university.
Derrick Brooks
Derrick Brooks was born and raised in Pensacola, Florida. He grew up with many challenges,
yet reached past all of his struggles and became a first-round NFL draft pick by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995, beginning a 14-year, Hall of Fame career. Prior to playing
for the Buccaneers, Brooks attended Florida State University where he excelled, not
only as an athlete, but also as a student. He received a bachelor’s degree and after
his NFL career, a master’s degree in business communications. His passion for education
and inspiring young people led him to begin his charitable work in the community,
which has turned into the array of programs that Derrick Brooks Charities focuses
on.
Patrice M. Buzzanell
Patrice M. Buzzanell is the chair and professor of the Department of Communication
at USF and endowed visiting professor for the School of Media and Design at Shanghai
Jiaotong University. She is a fellow and past president of the International Communication
Association and served as president of the Council of Communication Associations and
the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender. Her research
focuses on career, work-life policy, resilience, gender and engineering design in
micro-macro contexts. She has published four edited books, more than 200 journal articles,
chapters and encyclopedia entries, and numerous engineering, education among others.
She has served on 25 editorial boards (17 current) and on the Oxford Research Encyclopedia
and other advisory boards. Her NSF grants focus on engineering ethics scales and processes
as well as design thinking for the professional formation of engineers. Among her
awards and honors, she recently received ICA’s B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award and
the Provost Outstanding Mentor Award at Purdue, where she was University Distinguished
Professor and endowed chair and director of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership
Excellence.
Jane Castor
Jane Castor is the 59th Mayor of the City of Tampa. Castor has spent a lifetime in
service to the community, first as a police officer, then as Tampa’s first female
chief of police before being elected mayor. Castor spent 31 years with the Tampa
Police Department, serving in nearly every capacity and in nearly every neighborhood
of the city. In October of 2009, Castor later served six years as chief of police.
Castor worked to reduce major crimes 70% citywide. While chief, she developed and
successfully executed a progressive policing strategy during the 2012 Republican National
Convention and oversaw the successful Bollywood Awards, held in America for the first
time. In addition, she oversaw the multi-jurisdictional security plan for Super Bowl
XLIII and led the Department of Homeland Security’s Tampa Bay Urban Area Security
Initiative. Castor was instrumental in the development of the plan that reorganized
the police department, consisting of 1,300 officers and employees with a $145 million
annual budget. Decentralization ensured commanders had the necessary resources to
fulfill their missions and gave officers the opportunity to immerse themselves within
the community. Community outreach was a cornerstone of her career. During her time
as beat-cop working night shifts, Castor knew the families, business owners, and community
leaders in her neighborhood and, as chief, she expected every officer to do the same. She
graduated from Chamberlain High School and attended the University of Tampa on an
athletic scholarship.
Tarnisha Cliatt
Tarnisha Cliatt is director or community relations and marketing for DuCon, LCC.
She leads all community-building initiatives and operational marketing advances for
Team DuCon (DuCon, LLC and DuCon Plumbing, LLC). She leads its services of MBE and
Section 3 partnering to engage, include, and empower small, local, and disadvantaged
businesses and labor candidates. Outside of her marketing role at DuCon, LLC, Cliatt
serves as the president/founder and CEO of the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce.
The MBCC is focused on advancing the interests of its members and affiliates through
advocacy, education, business, and economic research, accessing competitive intelligence,
and forming strategic alliances to maximize opportunities for success.
Braulio Colón
Braulio Colón is an experienced non-profit executive and education system reform strategist.
His leadership experience has focused on Florida state-based programmatic and policy
development work at the state agency, university, community-based and philanthropic
levels. He currenlty serves as vice president of Florida Student Success Initiatives
at the Helios Education Foundation where he leads strategic planning in community
investment and engagement activities designed to increase student success in Florida,
particularly in the key metropolitan regions of Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. Prior to
joining Helios, Colón was executive director and is co-founder of Florida College
Access Network, an organization based at USF that engages communities for higher education
by promoting program and policy development designed to influence systemic change,
improve college-preparation, access and completion rates for limited-income, first-generation
and underrepresented students.
Donny Crume
Donny Crume is a consultant, volunteer and lifelong learner with more than 20 years
of professional experience ranging from management consulting to IT delivery and performance.
His work experience spans the public and private sectors to include health and human
services, workforce management and property and casualty insurance. His volunteer
experience includes more than nine years in BSA Scouting, and more than 15 years in
various youth athletics. He is passionate about cultural dynamics and the innovation
and exploration of team development opportunities and process-oriented improvements
based on accepted-industry leading philosophies and practices. Crume’s current professional
areas of interest include supporting youth development, organizational change management,
strategic planning and data exploration.
Steven C. Currall
Steven C. Currall is the seventh president of the University of South Florida. He
brings three decades of leadership and academic expertise from top research universities,
both public and private, in the U.S. and abroad. His longest career terms were at
Rice University and the University of California, Davis. Currall is passionate about
building institutions of higher education to help students, faculty, staff and communities
flourish. Before joining USF, Currall was provost and vice president for academic
affairs at Southern Methodist University. Currall’s scholarly research focuses on
organizational psychology topics such as innovation, trust, emerging technologies,
negotiation and corporate governance. He was lead author of a book on university-business-government
collaboration entitled, Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America's Prosperity
(Oxford University Press), the culmination of a 10-year research project on interdisciplinary
research involving science, engineering and medicine. Currall earned a PhD in organizational
behavior from Cornell University, a master’s degree in social psychology from the
London School of Economics and Political Science and a bachelor’s degree in psychology
from Baylor University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (United Kingdom), and a member
of the Council on Competitiveness.
Terrie Daniel
Terrie Daniel joined USF to build its Supplier Diversity Program, an effort that will
offer purchasing opportunities to a wider range of business enterprises. As assistant
vice president, Daniel is taking the lead on creating the program, working closely
with purchasing agents, departmental buyers, and the Facilities Management Division
to build a program that will implement and monitor small, minority, veteran and women-owned
business participation at USF. She actively represents the university in the business
community through involvement in associations and organizations that promote the economic
development of diverse businesses.
Michael DeJonge
Michael DeJonge is the chair and professor of Religious Studies at USF. He teaches
the history of Christian thought, theories and methods in religious studies, modern
religious thought and theoretical issues in religion and politics. His scholarship
has focused on the 20th century German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with monographs
including Bonhoeffer’s Theological Formation (Oxford, 2012), Bonhoeffer’s Reception
of Luther (Oxford, 2017), and Bonhoeffer on Resistance (Oxford, 2018). He earned a
PhD in religion from Emory University in 2009. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a
fellow of the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, a Volkswagen/Mellon
Fellow at the Leibniz-Institute for European History in Mainz, Germany and Visiting
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Theological Seminary
in New York.
Triparna de Vreede
Triparna de Vreede is the associate chair of the School of Information Systems and
Management and academic director of the Master of Science in Management Program. She
teaches multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate courses. While at USF, she has
developed courses such as people analytics and principles of collaboration. de Vreede earned
a PhD and a master's degree in industrial and organizational psychology and a master's
degree in management information systems all from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
She received an MBA in human resources and a B.Com. in accounting from Osmania University
in India.
Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy is a former professional football player and retired NFL coach. Beginning
his coaching career in 1980, Dungy went on to serve as head coach of the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and later the Indianapolis Colts. He guided the Colts to a Super Bowl victory
in 2007 and later worked as an analyst for NBC's "Football Night in America." In addition,
Dungy, a committed Christian, has remained active in a number of charitable causes,
including Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Prison Crusade Ministry.
Eric M. Eisenberg
Eric M. Eisenberg is a professor of communication and, since 2007, the dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at the USF. He twice received the National Communication
Association award for the outstanding research publication in organizational communication,
as well as the Burlington Foundation award for excellence in teaching. Eisenberg is
the author of more than 70 articles, chapters and books on the subjects of organizational
communication, health communication and communication theory. As dean of the largest
college at USF—with nearly 600 faculty, 18,000 students and a budget of nearly $100
million—Eisenberg has sharpened the focus of faculty work through the creation of
three interdisciplinary schools, 22 departments and 10 interdisciplinary research
centers. Eisenberg graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University in 1977 and earned
a doctorate in organizational communication from Michigan State University in 1982.
Heba El-Tall
Heba El-Tall is the Hialeah campus director for the Institute for Civic Engagement
and Democracy at Miami Dade College. She previously worked at the Center for Civic
Engagement at USF on the St. Petersburg campus and the Office of Community Engagement
and Partnerships on the USF Tampa campus. She is passionate about having open and
authentic dialogue around mental health and self-care, creating reciprocal and genuine
relationships in the community and discussing sustainable approaches to matters of
social change and diversity/equity/inclusion in the workplace. She earned a master’s
degree in public administration from the University of West Florida and a bachelor’s
degree in international relations and affairs from USF.
Victoria Emerick
Victoria Emerick has a PhD in biochemistry and certifications in project and change
management as well as Lean & Six Sigma. Over the last 25 years, she has focused her
work on strategic operations, continuous improvement and enterprise-level project
planning and management. In her current role as the global head of sustainability
strategy and operations, Emerick is responsible for developing innovative approaches
to advance ESG-sustainability awareness, commitments, efforts and investments across
the global Bristol-Myers Squibb enterprise.
Emerick is the chair-elect of the Sustatinability I Council Executive Committee for
The Conference Board, a member of the Biopharma Sustainability Roundtable and CSR
Board. She has served as the BMS leader for engagements involving the UN Global Compact,
including the Lead 2030 collaboration with One Young World and the UN Young SDG Innovators
Program.
Elizabeth Frazier
Elizabeth Frazier is the executive director of the Lightning Foundation and senior
vice president of philanthropy and community initiatives. Frazier led a transformation
of the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Relations departments and
is responsible for strategic planning and leveraging of the Lightning’s philanthropic
contributions, managing events and sponsorships, and facilitating relationships with
community leaders. She led the development of the Lightning Community Heroes program,
which has distributed more than $22 million to more than 500 unique non-profits, an
organization-wide employee volunteer program called C.H.A.R.G.E through which employees
have donated over 50,000 hours, and the creation and management of dozens of impactful
community partnership programs through multiple community impact areas. Frazier earned a
bachelor's degree in comparative literature with a certificate in European cultural
studies from Princeton University and a master's degree in business administration
from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
Stanley G. Gray
Stanley G. Gray served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating
from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served in training, infantry, artillery, ceremonial
and reconnaissance units where he commanded four companies for over three years until
an injury forced him to resign his commission. While in the service, Gray received
several personal awards for both merit and leadership and he studied at the Marine
Corps Command and Staff College, Amphibious Warfare School, Airborne School, Scuba
School and The Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance School. He is a founding member
of Naval Academy's Minority Association. After his military career, Gray spent more
than a decade in corporate America, serving as human resources professional for several
Fortune 100 firms, largely in organizational development, effectiveness and labor/employee
relations roles. In 2001, Gray created his own human resources practice and developed
a commercial real estate investment firm that provided housing for renters in the
Tampa and St. Petersburg areas. He serves on a number of community boards in the region,
including the Urban Leage of Hillsborough County, and he founded ON Track, a non-profit
serving children in Title I schools. He is a Life Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Steve Griggs
Steve Griggs became the president of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Amalie Arena less
than four years after joining the organization as its chief operating officer. Before
coming to Tampa Bay, he spent nearly three years serving as executive vice president
of sales and marketing for the Orlando Magic. During his time in Orlando, Griggs oversaw
the Magic's corporate partnerships, premium sales and services, season ticket services
and operations, brand management, event presentation and ticket sales departments.
Griggs served for eight years as the vice president of sales and service for the Minnesota
Wild of the National Hockey League and its parent company, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment.
Prior to joining the Wild, Griggs served as the vice president of corporate sales
and service for Sportsco International, LP and SkyDome. The Aurora, Ontario, native
also worked for both the NBA's Toronto Raptors and the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs as
the director of ticket sales and service.
Sharon Hanna-West
Sharon Hanna-West is a Muma College of Business graduate programs' faculty member
and the director of the Sustainable Business Concentration at the Patel College of
Global Sustainability. She teaches in the USF Muma College of Business-Universidad
San Ignacio de Loyola program in Lima, Peru, and is the former USF Exide Distinguished
Lecturer in Ethics and Sustainability. Her former business experience includes the
founding of a multi-million-dollar corporation engaged in international trade. Hanna-West
teaches courses in ethics and sustainable business practices in the School of Marketing
and Innovation.
Sheilina Henry
Sheilina Henry has served as group vice president of diversity and inclusion for Bloomin’
Brands since July 2020. She is responsible for leading the Bloomin’ Brands company
journey toward furthering equality and inclusion, especially in the areas of leadership,
talent, training and education. Henry has more than 20 years' experience in the restaurant
industry. She joined Bloomin’ Brands in 2012 as an Outback Steakhouse Joint Venture
Partner in the Chicago and Wisconsin markets. She relocated to the Restaurant Support
Center in Tampa in 2014 to lead several large-scale projects. In 2016, Henry returned
to the Outback Steakhouse team as vice president, leading a team focused on providing
each restaurant the tools and resources necessary to deliver memorable dining experiences.
She was promoted to regional vice president for Outback Steakhouse in 2019. Henry
previously worked for Yum! Brands for 12 years and held various positions within the
regional operations and training areas. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology
from The Ohio State University and an MBA from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate
School of Business. She serves on the board of directors for Ladies of Virtue, a transformative
mentoring and leadership experience for girls, and is a member of the Women’s Foodservice
Forum.
Miguel Ángel Hernández
Miguel Ángel Hernández is the associate dean of students at the University of California
Irvine. He supervises approximately 22 staff members housed in several functional
areas within campus life, which include: the LGBT Resource Center, the Center for
Organizations & Volunteer Programs, the Cross Cultural Center, Student Veterans Center,
Sorority & Fraternity Life, and the Center for Student Leadership. Over the past 16
years, Hernández has supervised both graduate and full-time staff in University Housing,
Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement, Multicultural Services & Programs,
Center for Leadership & Social Change, and currently the Dean of Students Office.
In addition, he has served as a guest lecturer for the College of Education at Florida
State University where he taught both undergraduate and graduate courses focused on
social justice and leadership. He was a first-generation college student, earning
a bachelor’s degree in justice administration from Columbus State University and a
master’s degree in college student development from Appalachian State University.
Last year, he completed his doctoral degree in higher education at Florida State University.
His research focused on DACA student in Florida who engage in social activism.
Diane Price Herndl
Diane Price Herndl is the chair and professor in the Department of Women’s & Gender
Studies at USF. She teaches several undergraduate courses including Politics of Women’s
Health, Gender and Science Fiction and Women of Color Writers. At the graduate level,
she teaches Advanced Feminist Theories and Body Politics. Herndl's research focuses
on the intersection of several disciplines including feminist theory, American literature
and disability studies. She started working on American novels of the mid-19th century
that had plots centered on women’s illnesses. Her courses often focus on non-standard
bodies: technologically enhanced bodies or bodies with disabilities or illnesses.
Herndl’s scholarship focuses on the cultural discourses of breast cancer, from autobiographies
to novels; poetry and art from Supreme Court decisions to pink-ribbon campaigns.
Cecil Howard
Cecil Howard joined USF’s St. Petersburg campus as the new chief diversity officer
in November, coming from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania where he served as
the executive director of social equity. In his new role, he collaborates with students,
faculty, staff and institutional committees and serve as a liaison to community partners
regarding initiatives and advances in diversity and inclusion on the St. Petersburg
campus. His duties intersect with all areas of the institution, including Academic
Affairs, Human Resources, Student Affairs, and Enrollment Management. He chairs the
Chancellor’s Advisory Diversity and Inclusion Committee and serve as a liaison to
diversity officers across the university. Howard grew up in Miami and worked as director
of the city of Gainesville’s Office of Equal Opportunity from 2009 until early 2015.
In that position, he contributed to the University of Florida’s diversity action plan.
He also previously served on the State of Florida Commission on Human Relations. He
earned a law degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University
and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University. He is
an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission certified investigator.
Opal Hudson
Opal Hudson has spent the last 15 years in local government, and currently serves
as the director of community and social media relations for the Hillsborough County
Property Appraiser. In this role, she performs an array of duties including, community
outreach, process redevelopment, management, policy making/compliance, strategic planning,
innovation and assessment/administration project management, as well as internal/external
human relations. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science from USF. Using
holistic approaches to create systemic diversity, equality and inclusion and systems
change within the public sector, Hudson seeks to transform local government offices
into organizations that strive for excellence by tapping into and utilizing maximum
human potential via emotionally intelligent leadership. She is a certified public
manager, who is Dare to Lead trained, an alumna of USF’s “Post-Crisis Leadership”
certificate program, and is a Florida-certified residential appraiser. A female of
color in a white, male dominated industry, Hudson currently chairs the International
Association of Assessing Officers Women’s Initiative Network, as well as its new Diversity
and Inclusion Task Force.
Bruce Johnson
Bruce Johnson is executive vice president at Jabil and has served as chief human resources
officer since January 2017. He joined Jabil in 2015 as vice president of human resources.
Previously, he was a chief organizational effectiveness officer/executive vice president
of human resources for C&S Wholesale Grocers in Keene, New Hampshire. Johnson also
served in senior roles at The Timberland Company in New Hampshire and E.I. Du Pont
De Nemours and Company in Delaware. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from
Middlebury College in Vermont. He is the founding director, vice chair of board of
directors for Pathways Group.
Tony Kong
Dejun “Tony” Kong is an associate professor in the School of Information Systems and
Management, joining the full-time faculty in August 2019. Prior to his assignment
at USF, he was a tenured associate professor of management and leadership at the University
of Houston’s Bauer College of Business. In 2019, he was selected by Poets & Quants
as one of the 40 best business school professors under the age of 40 in the world,
and was named an Ascendant Scholar by the Western Academy of Management. He has taught
courses on negotiation, leadership, managerial decision making, organizational behavior
and culture at the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and PhD levels.
Jenny Lay-Flurrie
Jenny Lay-Flurrie is chief accessibility officer at Microsoft, leading the company’s
efforts to drive great products, services and websites that empower people and organizations
to achieve more. Her team is at the forefront of creating positive experiences that
apply technology to make a difference in the world and the lives of individuals, from
how we hire and support people with disabilities in employment to innovative technology
that aims to revolutionize what’s possible for people with disabilities. With the
help of her team and broad community within Microsoft, Lay-Flurrie leads many initiatives
to empower people with disabilities both inside and outside of Microsoft. She founded
the Disability Employee Resource Group at Microsoft and chaired it for 10 years. She
created the Disability Answer Desk, which provides specialist customer support to
people with disabilities (over 1 million calls handled to date), hosts the annual
Microsoft Ability Summit, which focuses on empowering more than 2000 attendees with
the inclusive and innovative thinking necessary to enable people around the world.
Instrumental in projects such as Autism Hiring Program, Soundscape and the Microsoft
Ability Hackathon, which has supported over 500 hackathon teams building technology
for people with disabilities, Lay-Flurrie was recognized as a technology groundbreaker
by CEO Satya Nadella in Wired Magazine, and is a contributor to the book, “The Ability
Hacks."
Moez Limayem
Moez Limayem, the Lynn Pippenger Dean of the Muma College of Business, joined the
University of South Florida in 2012, coming from the Sam M. Walton College of Business
at the University of Arkansas. Since his arrival as dean, he has raised nearly $100
million in contributions from a number of donors. The results from his tenure are
impressive: The college has received three multi-million dollar naming gifts and its
programs have risen in national rankings.
K. Doreen MacAulay
K. Doreen MacAulay is an award-winning instructor in the School of Information Systems
and Management. She teaches courses in leadership and organizational behavior to
undergraduates, graduates and executives. Her research focuses on the areas of gender
equity, organizational change, and organizational history. MacAulay was the 2017 Women
in Leadership and Philanthropy Instructor Award winner for her work on women in STEM
professions. She earned a PhD in management from St. Mary's University in Nova Scotia,
an MBA from the University of New Brunswick and a bachelor's degree in psychology
from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. MacAulay is a member of the Academy
of Management Association and the Southern and Mid-West Academy of Management Association.
She has served as a reviewer for several conferences and journals.
Thomas Mantz
Thomas Mantz is the president and CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay. During his tenure with
the foodbank, the organization has seen significant development across all fronts.
Most importantly, meals to the community have grown from 20 million to almost 90 million
per year – reducing the meal gap across Tampa Bay. In 2018, Feeding Tampa Bay launched
an ending hunger strategy that includes job training, benefits access and other educational
services that create capacity and move people towards self-sufficiency. Mantz oversaw
a fundraising initiative that has resulted in a nearly 500 percent rise with broader
diversification of revenue streams, increases in partnerships and the implementation
of a multi-strategy brand-awareness, marketing and development program. Feeding Tampa
Bay launched other key initiatives, including the founding of the Center for Food
Security and Healthy Access with USF
Mark Mondello
Mark Mondello was appointed as CEO and director of Jabil in 2013. He joined Jabil
in 1992 as a manufacturing supervisor. He was promoted to project manager in 1993,
named vice president, business development in 1997, senior vice president of business
development in 1999 and COO in 2002, overseeing global operations, business development,
new product development, supply chain and information technology. Prior to Jabil,
Mondello was a commercial and defense-related aerospace project manager for Moog.
A native of Chicago, he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from
the University of South Florida.
Alexis Mootoo
Alexis Nicole Mootoo earned a PhD in government and a graduate certificate in Latin
American Studies from USF’s School of Interdisciplinary and Global Studies under the
direction of Professor Bernd Reiter. Mootoo serves as an assistant vice president
at the University of South Florida and is an adjunct professor for USF’s School of
Interdisciplinary Global Studies and Humanities. She is also a fellow in the USF
Muma College of Business. Mootoo is interested in American and international race
politics and race relations, comparative politics, and public and foreign policy.
Her research areas of interest are Brazil and regions with Afro-descendant populations.
Her dissertation, “Structural Racism: Racists without Racism in Liberal Institutions
within Colorblind States,” examined how Afro-descendants are competing in publicly
funded universities in New York City and the city of São Paulo, taking race-based
affirmative action into consideration.
Haley Moss
Haley Moss made international headlines for becoming the first documented openly autistic
attorney admitted to The Florida Bar. She received a Juris Doctor from the University
of Miami’s School of Law in 2018 and graduated from the University of Florida in 2015
with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology and law. Moss is the author
of “Great Minds Think Differently: Neurodiversity for Lawyers and Other Professionals,”
to be released in this summer by the American Bar Association. In November, her next
book, “The Young Autistic Adult’s Independence Survival Guide,” is scheduled for publication.
Moss also the authored “Middle School: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About” and “A Freshman
Survival Guide for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Her work on neurodiversity,
autism and disability has also been published in national media outlets. She was appointed
to the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors, the Florida Bar Journal
Editorial Board and the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Diversity & Inclusion. Moss
serves on the constituency board for the University of Miami – Nova Southeastern University
Center for Autism & Related Disabilities.
Edwin Mouriño
Edwin Mouriño is a senior fellow in the Human Capital Center at The Conference Board.
He has more than 30 years of experience leading key elements of organizational change
projects. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran with extensive experience in leadership development
executive coaching, team development diversity, learning & development executive
retreats, and organizational change. Mouriño has served as a thought leader in his
areas of focus, enabling a learning organization by integrating organizational strategy
with a corporate university infrastructure. He has written several articles and is
the author and co-editor of several books on various human resources topics and is
founder and president of Human Capital Development: Helping Leaders Help Themselves.
Scott Neil
Scott Neil has been part of Horse Soldier Bourbon since its inception in 2015. As
COO, Scott is responsible for national operations, regional production, and corporate
responsibility functions. Before American Freedom Distillery, Neil worked at the Green
Beret Foundation as the director of development, where he developed and launched a
transition and resiliency program for Green Berets titled “The Next Ridgeline.” He
served in the U.S. Special Forces for 25 years. He actively collaborates with the
George W. Bush Military Service Initiative and Team 43, a collaboration of former
veterans and the former president and his staff that focuses on the power of outdoor
recreational sports. He works with several Veterans Affairs committees and the Senate
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship championing key issues facing veterans
establishing their own businesses. Neil serves as a regular contributor to major news
and media outlets, including Fox, Fox Business News, CNN, Newsmax, Global News, the
LA Times and Bloomberg Business Week.
Balaji Padmanabhan
Balaji Padmanabhan is the Anderson Professor of Global Management, the director of
the Center for Analytics & Creativity and a professor in the School of Information
Systems and Management at USF. Previously, he served as the chair of the department.
He has created and taught undergraduate, MBA/MS, and doctoral courses in areas related
to AI and machine learning, business/data analytics and computational thinking. Pamanabhan designs
analytics-driven algorithms to solve business problems. Padmanabhan's specific interests
and expertise include AI and machine learning, designing analytics-driven algorithms
for business applications, managing analytics, building and evaluating predictive
models, patterns discovery in data, business value of analytics, enabling citizen
data science and applications of analytics in churn, health care, recommender systems,
fraud detection and elections. He often works with industry partners on applied research
and has worked with more than twenty firms on various machine learning and analytics
initiatives, often with a focus on innovative applications to drive business value.
Corey Posey
Joining USF in 2019 Corey Posey is USF's Sarasota-Manatee campus diversity officer.
He provides guidance and collaboration for initiatives, programs and trainings for
the campus and Sarasota-Manatee community in order to promote a culture of inclusion
and equity. He works collaboratively with the university-wide Office of Diversity,
Inclusion and Equal Opportunity to share best practices and leverage resources. Posey
has worked in higher education for two decades, most recently as director of the Office
of Student Life at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland. Before that, Posey held
a variety of leadership positions in higher education. He served as community partnership
manager at Ohio University, program consultant for the Ohio Department of Education,
director of the Office of Multicultural and International Student Programs at Berry
College, assistant director of the Center for Student Involvement and residence hall
director at Otterbein University, and assistant director of multicultural affairs
at Capital University. Posey is a PhD student at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio,
where he is completing a doctorate in higher education. He earned a master’s degree
in higher education and student affairs from The Ohio State University; a bachelor’s
degree in sociology from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne,
Maryland; and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Salisbury University, in Salisbury,
Maryland.
Sandra Quince
Sandra Quince is a diversity and inclusion executive responsible for the Global Diversity
& Inclusion Council. She also leads diversity for Global Human Resources, an organization
of over 2,500 employees. She supports the CEO and chief diversity and inclusion officer
in delivering the bank’s global D&I strategy, focused on growing the diverse representation
of the workforce, promoting an inclusive workplace where all employees have the opportunity
to achieve their goals and meet the needs of customers. Quince serves the community
through her contributions to the executive committee and board for Family & Children’s
Services, the Black Women Business Owners of America Board, the City Year Board and
as a member of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits Board. She is the vice president
of the Tulsa Chapter of Jack and Jill of America and a member of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority as well as immediate past president of the Tulsa Alumnae Chapter. Quince
is a graduate of Florida State University.
Yvette Segura
Yvette Segura is vice president and general manager of USAA's Southeast Regional Office
in Tampa, Florida. Segura provides leadership to the 2,600 USAA employees in Tampa
and is the senior USAA officer in Florida. Her responsibilities include serving as
the primary USAA representative to regional civic, industry and military organizations.
She is also the senior on-site integrator/coordinator for Community Affairs, Corporate
Communications, Facilities, Information Technology, Business Continuation and People
Services. Segura has worked in the insurance industry since 1984 and has been with
USAA since February 1989. During her tenure at USAA, she has held a variety of leadership
positions in the Property and Casualty Company. Throughout her career with USAA, she
has lived in several cities across the USA to include San Antonio, TX, Atlanta, GA,
Colorado Springs, CO and Tampa, FL. She holds both a bachelor's degree and a master's
degree in business as well as CPCU and CCLA designations. She has held board of director
positions with various non-profit organizations in every city she has lived.
Derek Shields
Derek Shields is a corporate disability inclusion consultant on the Disability:IN
Inclusion Works team. With a background in disability employment supports, return
to work programs and training on proven employment strategies for building disability
inclusive organizations, he works closely with global brands in the Inclusion Works
Community of Corporations. Shields was responsible for developing the Disability:IN
Global Directory, a database with country profiles to help companies achieve disability
inclusion around the world. Shields is a certified Program Management Professional
with a master’s degree in management and disability services. He co-founded and serves
as the director of the National Disability Mentoring Coalition and frequently provides
workshops for young adults with disabilities.
Dawn Siler-Nixon
Dawn Siler-Nixon is an equity partner and diversity and inclusion partner for Ford
& Harrison, a law firm that specializes in labor and employment law litigation. She
has decades of experience guiding clients toward creating and executing strategies
in the field of human resources. She has argued in administrative proceedings and
state and federal court actions involving sex, age, national origin, race and other
discrimination claims. She has extensive experience handling Family and Medical Leave
Act claims and successfully litigated multiple plaintiff age discrimination claims
in state and federal court. Siler-Nixon is the firm's diversity and inclusion partner
with responsibility for the oversight and implementation of the firm's diversity strategic
plan. As the firm's diversity partner, she is a member of the Management Group and
the firm's seven-person Executive Committee, the firm's highest governing body that
sets policy and compensation. She is recognized as a Certified Diversity Executive
through the National Institute for Diversity Certification.
Nadine Smith
Nadine Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida, the state's largest organization
dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
A former award-winning journalist turned organizer, Nadine was one of four national
co-chairs of the 1993 March on Washington. Smith was part of the historic oval office
meeting between then-President Clinton -- the first such meeting between a sitting
president and gay community leaders. She served on the founding board of the International
Gay and Lesbian Youth Organization, which celebrates 30 years in 2014. Smith is a
Florida Chamber Foundation Trustee, board member of Green Florida and served on President
Obama's National Finance Committee. In 2013, she was named one of the the state's
"Most Powerful and Influential Women" by the Florida Diversity Council. She was also
given the League of Women Voter's Woman of Distinction Award earlier this year. Smith serves
on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Florida Advisory Committee.
Shirley B. Smith
Shirley B. Smith is the director of the Office of Student Diversity and Enrichment
at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. She works with
individuals from diverse socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds throughout
her career and is a champion for diversity and inclusion.
Smith is passionate about improving the lives of individuals living in economically depressed and medical undeserved communities. She has established partnerships with non-profit organizations, colleges/universities, local high schools and clinical faculty to create programs with the focus on increasing medical students’ cultural and linguistic competency. She has an ability to connect and communicate effectively with individuals from the C-suite to the front desk born from her understanding of executive leadership principles and broad experience as a professional development coach, mental health counselor and professional adviser.
Smith received a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston College and
a bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.
Kevin Sneed
Kevin Sneed is a tenured professor, founding dean of USF’s College of Pharmacy and
senior associate vice-president for USF Health. His research and clinical interests
include the advanced pharmacological treatment of patients with cardio-metabolic disorders,
examining health care disparities and emerging health technologies. He is a national
lecturer on these topics. Recent research interests include the implementation of
health-equity practices, application of mobile health technologies, digital-health
applications and sports medicine pharmacology practices. Sneed created USF Health
Pharmacy Plus and was a co-director of the Community Outreach and Engagement Core
in the Center for Equal Health, a federally funded Center of Excellence between USF
Health and the Moffitt Cancer Center. He directs an innovative community initiative
known as WE-CARE (Workgroup Enhancing Community Advocacy and Research Engagement)
to improve underserved communities’ participation in clinical research and he is active
in numerous community health care initiatives. Sneed is a Distinguished Fellow of
the National Academies of Practice and is a fellow of the National Pharmaceutical
Association . He received a doctorate in pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana’s
College of Pharmacy and a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in microbiology
from the University of Central Florida.
Maya Trotz
Maya Trotz is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at USF. She directs
STRONG Coasts, a collaborative national research traineeship program with the University
of the Virgin Islands to foster food, energy and water solutions with coastal communities
in Florida, Belize, Barbados and the USVI. She leads the knowledge management component
of a Green Climate Fund project, “Water Sector Resilience Nexus for Sustainability
in Barbados.” Trotz served as a PI, Co-PI and senior personnel on grants that include
National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Teachers, Research Experience
for Undergraduates, Partners for International Research and Education. She also was
involved with the U.S. Department of Education’s Graduate Assistance in Areas of National
Need and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to broaden participation in STEM for underrepresented
minorities, teachers and community members in the United States. Trotz is a past president
of the Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors and a board member
of Fragments of Hope Corp., a coral restoration NGO in Belize. She holds a bachelor’s
degree in chemical engineering from MIT, and master’s degree and PhD in environmental
engineering from Stanford University.
Sharon Vinci
Sharon Vinci’s career spans a variety of global HR partnerships, talent management,
employee engagement, HR mergers and acquisitions and organization effectiveness roles
with focus on building healthy organizations, strategic talent planning, complex change
leadership and business transformation while contributing to creating top-line and
bottom-line business results and helping colleagues achieve their career objectives.
As a member of Jabil’s HR Leadership Team, Vinci serves as vice president, human resources
for Jabil’s Regulated Industries Segment. She had also been the vice president, HR
leading the Healthcare Division, HR Mergers & Acquisitions, HR Operations, Organizational
Health and Enterprise HR teams. Prior to joining Jabil in 2014 as U.S. regional HR
and global employee engagement leader, Vinci worked for a number of large medical
device and pharmaceutical organizations, leading a variety of human resources initiatives
within the United States as well as globally. She received a bachelor’s degree in
accounting from Florida State University
Janelle Wells
Janelle E. Wells is an associate professor in the USF Vinik Sport & Entertainment
Management Program, within the School of Marketing and Innovation. Wells’ experience
as a collegiate student-athlete and coach led her to teach organizational behavior
and leadership, and to research the experiences of underrepresented employees. Specifically,
Wells explores development, access, inequities, and success in leadership; her publications
and presentations have a worldwide audience. Putting theory into practice, one of
Wells’ most recent research projects resulted in the co-edited book The Business of Esports: The Wild Wild West on Fire and the establishment of Equity
in Esports. In 2015, Wells partnered with the Tampa Bay Lighting to create the Lightning Leadership
Line – a personal and professional development initiative. In 2018, Wells helped empower
women as a founding member of the Women in Sports and Events Tampa Bay. In 2020, she
became a founding research fellow of Wasserman’s The Collective Think Tank, a first-of-its-kind
initiative between industry, higher education, brands, properties and media companies
to share data, insights and information to drive real action toward advancing women
in sports.
David G. Wilkins
David G. Wilkins, Esq. retired from The Dow Chemical Company in 2014 after 25 years
as a lawyer and human resource leader. In his last role for Dow, Wilkins served as
an associate general counsel and as the company’s director of ethics and compliance.
Previous roles included vice president and general counsel of the Union Carbide Corporation,
a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow, director of diversity for Dow, Division Counsel
for Dow’s North American Operations, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary
for Dow Agrosciences, and a variety of other legal and human resource roles across
Dow’s U.S. Operations.