On February 8, the Leadership Tampa Class of 2023 (LT’23) had the opportunity to spend the day learning about local government and economic development in the Tampa Bay area. LT’23 was provided a thoughtfully prepared “Primer for Local Government and Economic Development Day” that defined some of the economic and government themes that will be discussed throughout the day. The informative day began at the Office of the State Attorney 13th Judicial Circuit of Florida where our host, the Honorable Susan Lopez (LT’20), and the day’s sponsor, Hillsborough Community College Brandon Campus President, Dr. Deborah Kish Johansen (LT’22), made welcoming remarks.
“All of us together makes for a better society when we work together.” - Dr. Deborah Kish Johansen
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The Honorable Thomas Palermo (LT’22) of the 13th Judicial Circuit enthusiastically moderated a dedicated and knowledgeable panel of local government leaders. Ken Hagan, Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners Chairman; Cindy Stuart, Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller; Joe Citro, Tampa City Council Chairman and Nancy Millan, Hillsborough County Tax Collector discussed their individual and collective roles in serving Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa. The panel discussed the size of their budgets and the services provided, redistricting, and the unique partnership between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
“These partnerships allow us to efficiently and efficiently provide services to the Hillsborough area.” - Nancy Millan
The Hillsborough County Elections Service Center was the next stop of our informative tour of local government. Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, discussed the role this facility has in implementing the democratic process in all Federal, State and Local elections. Mr. Latimer discussed the various ways Hillsborough County residents can participate in elections and provided LT’23 an illuminating tour of the Hillsborough County Elections Service Center. LT’23 was able to see the areas where early vote ballots are mailed, sorted, and counted, as well as the area where local voting booths are stored and maintained, and the onsite technology used to assist residents in voting.
“Tell your friends, family and anyone that will listen to you to go vote.” - Craig Latimer
Nicholas Glover (LT’21), Vice President of Advocacy at the Tampa Bay Chamber, lead the Government 101 discussion. Mr. Glover presented some more enlightening facts about Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa’s uniqueness and the role of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Glover showed the Chamber of Commerce website that displayed the 7 guiding principles and shared the process that the Chamber’s Policy Council goes through to identify issues.
“Get involved! There are plenty of opportunities and need for your skills and service.” - Nicholas Glover
The Columbia Restaurant provided lunch and was the location for the Fireside Chat that was moderated by Alexis Mueller, Editor-In-Chief of the Tampa Bay Business Journal and featured Bonnie Wise, Hillsborough County Administrator, and the Honorable Jane Castor (LT’00), City of Tampa Mayor.
Mayor Castor and Ms. Wise further illuminated the partnerships Hillsborough County, and the City of Tampa must have to support the growth of the area. With this growth, there are a number of issues that arise including affordable housing and transportation. They spoke of the partnerships between private and public entities to address some of the affordable housing issues and recognized some of the recent successes. Both Ms. Wise and Mayor Castor spoke of the resiliency of local government in dealing with growth, the pandemic, and the extreme weather in this area.
“Tampa is the greatest city in the Nation.” - Mayor Jane Castor
The Embarc Collective was the host of our final two panel discussions on Economic Development in the Tampa Bay area. Lakshmi Shenoy, Embarc Collective Chief Executive Officer, provided the history and mission of the Embarc Collective which is a non-profit organization established to support early-stage technology startups by building a community of support.
“The Embarc Collective is helping startup talent not startups.” - Lakshmi Shenoy
The Economic Development in the Tampa Bay area portion of the day was divided into two panel discussions: Redevelopment and Workforce Pipeline. Jaksa Petrovic, Hillsborough County Economic Development Acting Director, moderated a panel of redevelopment experts that included Dr. Jeffrey Burton, Community Redevelopment Agency Manager for the City of Tampa; Tony Brown (LT’22) Tampa Bay Economic Development Council; Community Development Director, Brenda Brackins, Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Services; Acting Director, Eric Lindstrom, Hillsborough County Competitive Sites and Redevelopment Manager, and Mary-Kate Michalak, Strategic Properties Partners and the Water Street Tampa Manager. This distinguished panel discussed how Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) are being used to address some of the affordable housing issues within the area. CRAs allow government agencies to work with the private sector to fund redevelopment projects. CRAs have been used to provide underserved Tampa Bay areas with capital investment reducing slums and blight and thus making Tampa an attractive destination for companies to locate.
“To recruit businesses into Tampa, Tampa must rely in CRAs because Florida (State Government) doesn’t provide incentives.” - Tony Brown
“The Goal is to increase the brain gain and decrease the brain drain.” - Mary-Kate Michalak
The Workforce Pipeline discussion was beautifully orchestrated by Jennifer Whelihan, Hillsborough County Economic Development Manager. The workforce panel included Dr. Bryon Clayton, Senior Vice-President and Chief of Sector Partnerships for CareerSource Tampa Bay; Debbie Green, Florida Market Lead with Accenture; Brian Kornfeld, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Synapse; Michael Flores (LT’21) Tampa Bay Chamber Minority Business Accelerator Chairman; and Katie Lopez, Tampa Bay Chamber Military and Workforce Development Senior Director. The panel engaged LT’23 with a discussion around the issues of recruiting and retaining workforce talent. Each panelist discussed their organizational unique strategy of identifying employee talent and connecting that talent to the right opportunities. Mrs. Lopez identified the circumstances service members and their spouses are in when looking for employment. All panelists agreed that they are noticing innovations in workforce recruiting with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Hire people with purpose.” - Vik Bhide (LT’23)
The Government and Economic Development Day concluded with a tour of the Embarc Collective facility that is currently hosting 125 companies. Opened in 2020, this facility provides startup talent with spaces to work, hold meetings, have conferences, development training and access to mentors and professional resources. The wall of companies that the Embarc Collective has supported in its short tenure is impressive.
“The Embarc Collective is helping startup talent not startups.” - Lakshmi Shenoy