Awards & Events

Shannon Lucas has worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years with Florida Farm Bureau, Tower Hill Insurance Group, Homewise Insurance, UPC Insurance, Heritage Insurance and now Slide Insurance Co. She is currently chief operating officer and chief risk officer at Slide Insurance. In 2021, she co-founded Slide, a next-generation insurance technology firm,

Rita Lowman has served the banking industry for 45 years. Most recently, she served as president of Pilot Bank, which was acquired in December 2021. Lowman was named chair of the Florida Bankers Association, being only the third woman in 130 years to hold the chairmanship. She also served on the executive committee of the

Cristina Hale is tax office managing partner for Tampa and Orlando at BDO USA. Hale jumped into the tax and accounting profession at one of the largest global professional services firms. After acquiring the necessary skills to be successful in an entry-level role, she challenged herself with a new position at another global professional services

Beth Cahill worked on Wall Street with Chemical Bank/Manufacturers Hanover/New York Life to start her career, entering investment banking with Alliance Capital and then Communications Equity Associates. She left CEA, joining Windsor Capital in 2019. She opened the East coast office for Windsor and then went on to ultimately own the firm. WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE

Joy Gendusa is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, keynote speaker and philanthropist. PostcardMania has been featured on the Inc. 500 list, printed 2.3 billion postcards and helped 108,645 small business owners with their marketing. Gendusa has been featured in the pages of Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine and Adweek. WHAT DOES WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT MEAN TO YOU?

Cammie Chatterton is owner, president and chief executive officer of Bay Food Brokerage, in Tampa. Chatterton was one of the first women in the U.S. to own a retail food brokerage business, having established Bay Food Brokerage in 1993. She has three decades of experience in perishable foods, predominately focusing on the meat, dairy, seafood

Carrie Charles is a thought leader on workforce trends, women in tech and workplace diversity and is the host of RCR Wireless News’ 5G Talent Talk, to a global audience of more than 150,000. Under Carrie’s leadership, Broadstaff’s growth has received numerous accolades including Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 (2022, 2021, and 2020), the Tampa Bay

Dr. Tonjua Williams is St. Petersburg College’s seventh president. SPC employs 3,000 staff, who serve 40,000 students, across eleven learning sites throughout Pinellas County. Under Williams’ leadership, SPC has streamlined college operations, consolidated resources, improved organizational fiscal health, expanded short-term/rapid credentials and strengthened partnerships with Tampa Bay’s workforce leaders. The Chronicle of Higher Education named SPC a

Watermelon Swim’s mission is to grow a community full of safer swimmers and reduce the risks while increasing confidence in, and around, water. It was awarded the Tampa Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award, in 2018, for the 51-250 employee category. Seal got her start in the aquatics industry, in 1979, when

Rhea Law became the University of South Florida’s eighth president in March 2022. Over the course of her 35-year-plus career, she has held top leadership positions with many Florida-based organizations. Previously, Law served as chief executive officer and Chair of the Board of Fowler White Boggs, a Florida law firm. Currently, Law serves on the

Avril Walker Stinson is senior director of the Minority Business Accelerator and economic inclusion at the Tampa Bay Chamber.  She is currently a member of Leadership Tampa, class of 2023, and serves, and has served on, numerous local boards and community organizations’ task forces and special committees including The Florida Business Development Corporation, The Junior

Dr. Kanika Tomalin oversees the college’s operations, planning and emergency management; strategic planning; institutional effectiveness; external affairs; technology services; sustainability and resilience and the St. Pete Center for Civic Engagement and Social Impact. Prior to joining Eckerd College, she served as the deputy mayor and city administrator of the City of St. Petersburg. In these