The Tampa Bay Chamber was a proud partner of the 2nd Annual AMP Conference hosted by the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. The May 7th conference brought Chamber partners, scholars, and business leaders together to bridge the gap between business research and business practices. Throughout the day, attendees learned about cutting-edge research, and sources of data and analytics that can enhance business operations and outcomes.
Kicking off the day was Dr. Matthew Mullarkey, Director of the USF Doctor of Business Administration Program at USF, Dr. Bob Rohrlack, President & CEO of the Tampa Bay Chamber, and Dr. Sarah Combs, CEO of the University Area CDC. Dr. Combs’ keynote addressing community wellbeing “Through the Residents’ Lens” captivated the audience with the powerful collection of photographs taken by residents during their daily lives.
“By empowering residents to share their lived experiences through the art of photography, this component of her research shed light on three critical themes impacting the university area neighborhood: affordable housing, employment and resident engagement," explained Dr. Combs. It's a doctoral research project now driving meaningful action towards a more equitable future in the university area neighborhood. Dr. Combs, a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, shared her data with the full board late last year, inspiring business leaders across various sectors to apply her “residents’ lens” approach to data collection & analysis.
The in-person panels and keynotes at the business school was the first of AMP’s two-phased approach. In June, AMP will host additional panels during a 2-day virtual event to facilitate the participation of scholars and researchers beyond Florida. Among the many topics drawing subject experts from as far away as London today were A.I. innovations, workforce talent, and cyber risk management. Olivier Millour, the Chamber’s Vice Chair of the Workforce Development Committee, was among the subject experts during the panel on workforce talent, recruitment, upskilling and retention. The audience benefited from Millour’s perspective and student success stories in his role as the Director of the 3DE Partnerships & Development at Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay and the Director of Government Affairs for Junior Achievement in Florida.
The workforce development panel was among the highest attended, the dynamic interaction with small business owners and entrepreneurs in the audience even extending beyond the session’s planned 90-minutes. Leading and moderating the engaging panel was Dr. Jackie Skryd, Vice President of Workforce Development at St. Petersburg College. Subject experts joining Millour on the panel also included Dr. Lucia Farris, Senior Director of Research, Analytics & Public Policy at the Tampa Bay Partnership; Danielle Ruiz, Director of Economic Development Industry Recruitment for Duke Energy; and Ann Shaler, Senior Vice President, and Tampa Bay Market Executive of the Bank of America.
Special thanks to our MoU’s at the Central Hillsborough County Chamber of Commerce, Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce, Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, North Tampa Bay Chamber, South Tampa Chamber, Tampa Downtown Partnership and Westshore Alliance for joining us in partnership with the Muma College of Business. For more information on what’s next for the USF Muma College of Business AMP Conference, visit the AMP website.