The USF Foundation Board of Directors recently added eight new members, to further their vision of inspiring philanthropy and administering resources that support USF’s pursuit of excellence.
The eight elected board members include Don Aripoli, Elodie Dorso, Cindy Kane, Sam Lazzara, Chip Newton, Sheetal Patel, Juan Carlos “JC” Prado and Supriya Taneja.
Aripoli, since 2004, has served as the founding director on the Helios Education Foundation Board of Directors and currently leads the Foundation’s Governance Committee. Together with his wife, Becky, he began the Helios/Dominick and Emelene Aripoli Scholars Program at USF, named after his parents.
Dorso is the president and CEO of Evara Health, a nonprofit health care organization. She serves on a number of boards and was recently appointed chair of Health Choice Network Florida.
Kane is an active member of USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy (WLP) and a Life Member of the Alumni Association. She and her husband, Mark, have included USF in their estate plan, with half their gift designated for WLP and half for women’s golf. Kane was the first donor to support USF’s Stampede for Women, which provides female student-athletes with the resources they need to succeed at the highest level.
Lazzara is active in several accounting industry organizations and received Nonprofit CPA’s Member of the Year Award, in 2019. A USF Alumni Association Life Member, Lazzara is also an emeritus trustee for Academy Prep Center of Tampa.
Newton is a private equity investor, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has established a fund at USF that supports the Bull Ring Accelerator Grant Program, which helps startup companies that were formed on the foundation of licensed USF technologies.
Patel is the chief operating officer for the Patel Family Office. While working in one of the top radiology groups in Tampa for nine years, she earned her MBA from USF and eventually, transitioned from medicine into her current role. Patel is involved in various nonprofit and charitable organizations in the medical and education areas.
Prado was active with his high school alma mater, Tampa Catholic High School, previously serving as assistant coach of the boys’ basketball team and chairing the Master Planning Committee. As part of the school’s renovation and expansion, Tampa Catholic named the Prado Family Hall of Fame Pavilion, in honor of him and his wife, Jenifer.
Taneja serves as vice president and secretary of the Taneja Family Foundation, which has donated millions to health and education related causes. In 2019, the foundation gave $10 million to name the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy