Twenty-nine Tampa Bay area professionals have been tapped to join the next class of Leadership Florida.
Created in 1982 by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Florida seeks to build a sense of statewide community by identifying, and educating, individuals who show promise to be leaders in their respective communities.
As part of the program, participants attend sessions on leadership and issues critical to Florida and after graduation, they stay connected through ongoing meetings. There are more than 3,300 diverse alumni across the state, ranging from CEOs and elected officials to farmers, managers of high-tech consortiums, hospital administrators and heads of Florida’s most important agencies, according to a statement.
The new members include:
Cornerstone Class
The Cornerstone Class program is for leaders aged 40 that are chosen to participate in a nine-month educational program.
Karen Bell, A.P. Bell Fish Company
Maria Brous, Publix
Vickie Chachere, Florida Trend
Nick Dewan, GuideWell – Florida Blue
Katie Duty, HDR
John Flanagan, CareerSource Tampa Bay
Mark Gordon, Observer Media Group
Heather Kasten, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
Darren Richards, Tucker Hall
Kirsten Russell, Community Foundation of Sarasota County
Erica Shea, Shumaker
Ryan Sladek, PNC Bank
Mercedes Soler, Solmart Media
Connect class
Leadership Florida Connect is for professionals ages 25 – 39.
Lauren Albaum, Florida Southern College
Josh Baumgartner, TECO
Clayton Clemens, Florida Internet and Television
Tommy Culligan, Publix
Paige Geers, University of South Florida
Albie Kaminksky, Charter Communications
Nishit Patel, Tampa General Hospital
Education Class
The Education class is for professionals in Florida’s K-12 public schools.
Patti Folino, Sarasota County Schools
Kim Jowell, Hillsborough Education Foundation
Harriet Moore, Sarasota County Schools
Shalia Moore-Hayes, The Patterson Foundation
Sarah Ann Painter, Eisenhower Elementary School
Chris Renouf, Sarasota County School District
Cyndi Saunders, School District of Manatee County
Latrina Singleton, School District of Manatee County
Es Swihart, The Out-of-Door Academy