The two moderators and four panelists for the Pushing Past Pandemic webinar presented by the Emerging Leaders of Tampa Bay are Nicole DeNicola, Brant Peterson, Representative James Grant, Dr. Seetha Lakshmi, Craig Richard and Bob Rohrlack.
Nicole DeNicola is a Business Intelligence Developer at SME Solutions Group as well as the 2020 Catalyst Committee Co-Chair for Emerging Leaders. Nicole specializes in data analytics, project management and operational strategy—helping companies drive business insight through data discovery. Her acumen for analytics propels her interest in smart city innovation, a growing reality for the Tampa Bay Region as well as her advocacy for local public policy initiatives.
Brant Peterson is this year's Chair of the ELTB Catalyst Committee. Brant owns a commercial real estate brokerage, investment, and asset management practice called Peterson Properties and Management along with a start-up focused co-working space called Workhouse.
Representative James Grant represents District 64 and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2015 and reelected subsequently. He is a graduate of Auburn University and has his JD from Stetson College of Law. He is a committee member for the Ducks Unlimited, Tampa Bay 100 Chapter, on the Board of Directors for the General H. Normal Schwarzkopf Children's Home Sporting Clays Classic, a member of the National Rifle Association and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Ybor Experience.
Dr. Seetha Lakshmi is an Assistant Professor at the College of Internal Medicine at USF Health, an Associate Hospital Epidemiologist at Tampa General Hospital and the Assistant Program Director for the Infectious Disease Fellowship Program at USF Health. She is a graduate of Mysore Medical College, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, and completed her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American College of Physicians.
Craig Richard is a certified economic developer with over two decades of economic development leadership experience in major markets such as Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. Career highlights include more than 308 successful projects representing more than 126,246 jobs and $9.3 billion in capital investment. Craig has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and currently serves on the boards of the Tampa Bay Chamber, Film Tampa Bay, Visit Tampa Bay and the Downtown Tampa Partnership. He was recognized as one of Florida’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders by Florida Trend and one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect. Craig was also designated a “Fellow Member” by IEDC for his contributions to the economic development profession. Craig earned his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree, with a concentration in economic development, from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
Bob Rohrlack, CCE serves as the President and CEO of The Tampa Bay Chamber, the voice of business for the Tampa Bay area. He leads the Chamber’s mission to “Serve our members and enhance the community by building business success.” He has over 30 years’ experience in the Chamber of Commerce/economic development profession having worked at the local, regional and state level. He is a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), and past chairman of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals. He was named the 2017 FACP Executive of the Year. He was appointed by the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Dean Cannon to the Government Efficiency Task Force. He chairs the subcommittee on Health and Human Services. He is an Honorary Commander at MacDill AirForce Base, a board member of Visit Tampa Bay, Tampa Downtown Partnership, University of Tampa Trustee and the Westshore Alliance. He is a past board member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Association of the Chamber of Commerce Executives Mr. Rohrlack is a graduate of Troy University majoring in Journalism and The University of Southern Mississippi with a master's degree in Economic Development. He graduated from the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and the Institute for Organizational Management, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at the University of Georgia.