Tampa, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Chamber is proud to announce Antoine B. Richards is the winner of the 2023 Deanne Dewey Roberts Leadership Award. The winner was revealed during the annual meeting of Emerging Leaders of Tampa Bay on December 7th at ZooTampa, but it took a long-distance call for Richards to find out – a very long one! The Chief of Staff for the Institute for Diversity & Inclusion in Emergency Management is in the United Arab Emirates at a work conference.
For over a decade the Chamber’s leadership program for young professionals between the ages of 21 – 35 years old has honored someone with the Deanne Dewey Roberts Emerging Leader Award. Named after the woman who envisioned and helped launch Emerging Leaders in 2004, this award honors a young professional demonstrating extraordinary service and leadership.
The 2023 award recipient is nationally recognized as a subject expert on health equity innovation and has testified in the U.S. Congress before the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Richards has also been recognized by Forbes Magazine for his perspective on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. In his Chief of Staff role at the global nonprofit established to support underserved and marginalized communities, Richards is based in the Tampa Bay region and serves institute teams in Georgia and Florida, integrating equity into all aspects of the Institute. His most recent project in Ghana establishing the Institute’s Global Outreach Center, Richards earned high praise and caught the attention of the U.N. Less than two-weeks before the Emerge Annual meeting, he was invited to speak at the U.N. conference in United Arab Emirates. When he boarded the plane for Dubai, Richards had no idea he would return home as the 11th winner of the coveted leadership award for young professionals.
Richards was one of three impressive finalists for this year’s award, which also included Raechel Canipe, Founder & CEO of Women in Tech & Entrepreneurship and Vice President of Marketing & Sales at RevStar; and Cortney Young, Tampa General Hospital’s Manager of Rehabilitative & Fitness Services.
During the Annual Meeting, outgoing Chair Brett Scaffidi of Prime Group Insurance, passed the ceremonial gavel to 2024 Mallory Kuba of Truist Bank, 2024 Chair and the 2024 Leadership Team was announced.
2024 Emerging Leaders of Tampa Bay Leadership Team
Program Chair: Mallory Kuba, Truist Bank
Program Vice Chair: Christopher Yanes, Baker Barrios Architects
Catalyst – Public Policy Committee:
- Addie Mentry of AMLU Consulting, Chair
- Mattie Velasco of American Addictions Centers, Co-Chair
Hub for Business – Professional Development Committee:
- Emma Stepno of Depository Trust & Clearance Corp, Chair
- Michael Manno of Truist Bank, Co-Chair
Inclusion – Community Outreach Committee:
- Aldi Isaacs of Westshore Financial Group, Chair
- Alexis Guilbeau of Raymond James Financial, Co-Chair
Ambassadors:
- Community Relations Ambassador: Wil White, Little Saint Nick Foundation
- Marketing Ambassador: Baillee Schott, Yacht Starship
- Recruitment Ambassador: Alexis Black, City of Tampa
- Strategic Brand Ambassador: Sean Billings, Ultimate Medical Academy
About Emerging Leaders of Tampa Bay: Since 2004, this Tampa Bay Chamber program has been providing members with access to business resources, educational opportunities, and community partnerships to enhance the local economy. With the mission of recruiting and retaining talent in the Tampa Bay region, the program has served more than 8-thousand young professionals to date and will reach the 20-year milestone in 2024. To learn more about the Emerging Leaders program and the Deanne Dewey Roberts Emerging Leader Award, visit our website.
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