By Christopher “Pappy” Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (MacDill AFB)The final trip for eLiTe ’19. A bittersweet, but excellent end to a chain of invaluable events that integrated this class into Tampa’s amazing ...

By Aimée Jeansonne Becka, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay“The wheels on the bus go round and round…” – American Folk SongFor one of our final trips together as Leadership Tampa 2019, we embarked on an epic road trip to our ...

By Kevin Caldwell, Raymond James FinancialOn March 20, 2019, we had a behind the scenes look at the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Rays, Bucs, and Lightning. We heard from leadership at each organization and gained a deeper understanding of the impact ...

By Shelley Sharp, Ryan Nece FoundationWhat do strawberries, corn dogs, potash, and midnight buffets have in common? They are all major contributors to the economic success of the Tampa Bay region. Plant City is the winter strawberry capital of the ...

By Gina Evans, Tampa International AirportTransportation impacts all of our industries and on February 20th we had the opportunity to spend the day with leaders in our community followed by experiencing various transportation modes in Tampa ...

By: Nicole Justice, Tampa General Hospital Tampa’s "Skies are Filled with the Nation's First Line of Defense"(1). This is because every 2.8 minutes, an Air Mobility Command aircraft departs worldwide (2) and Tampa is home to the prestigious ...

By: Charlotte McHenry, Senior Connection Center, Inc. “In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin Leadership Tampa’s ...

Living in the land of 9,000 neighborhoods…..committed to growth and inclusion.By: Monnie Wertz, The University of TampaOn January 9th, the LT Class of 2019 had the opportunity to learn more about the governing and economic development aims ...

Change. Challenge. Chance.These three, alliterative words came to light as descriptors of today’s media landscape on Wednesday, Nov. 28 as LT’19 delved into its annual Media Day.In terms of change, we learned technology has drastically ...

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to the think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – MLK, Jr.“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and ...

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain a child when we grow up.”- Pablo Picasso “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense ...

Jennifer Suarez Jankes, Citigroup On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, fresh off the back of individual ride-a-longs with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Tampa Police Department, LT ’19 set off on Law Enforcement Day during ...

Elena P. Ketchum, Stichter, Riedel, Blain & Postler,P.A."Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve."Martin Luther King, Jr.“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”Anne ...

Emily Farkas, MacDill Air Force Base“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince LombardiAs a member of the military, there is an unwritten, courteous rule that where ever you are ...

Rachel Feinman, Florida-Israel Business AcceleratorAs someone who recently transitioned to a career that is focused on shining a bright light on innovation with a goal of stimulating economic development, I can say that I was truly inspired and, ...

LaKisha M. Kinsey-Sallis, Johnson Jackson LLCRecently, people from all different walks of life participated in the March for Our Lives to advocate for gun control. At the forefront of the march are teens from Stoneman Douglas High School in ...

Kiana Wilson, A Sharper U, LLCLeadership TampaPort Tampa Bay and Agriculture DayThe Leadership Tampa Class of 2018 spent a fun-filled day at the Florida Strawberry Festival and Port Tampa Bay learning about the impact that agriculture and port ...

Kari Goetz, Tampa International AirportMilitary Day BriefingGreetings fellow classmates, I’m Kari Goetz, your scribe for Military Day 2018. This is an UNCLASSIFIED information briefing. The purpose is to give an overview of Military Day for ...

Jennifer LaRocco, GrayRobinson, P.A.From the County Commission Chambers to the streets and sidewalks of Tampa, Government and Transportation Day gave our class in-depth (and hands on) perspectives on both the obstacles and the opportunities facing ...

Jennifer Yeagley, M.A., Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community ServicesIt’s not every day that you step into an air shower before touring a mouse clinic, but at Leadership Tampa, anything can happen.Leadership Tampa ‘18’s Health ...

By Lindsay Grinstead, Tonic Consulting“The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being” - Thomas JeffersonAs our country’s founding fathers recognized, the ...

Sarah Ham, AACSB InternationalWhat’s in your backpack? Books? Check. Bass guitar? Check. Chef’s knife…? CHECK.When most people think of education, a traditional learning environment often comes to mind: an inspiring teacher, ...

Natalie Roberts, Flagship Law, PLLC Here's to the ones who dreamFoolish as they may seemHere's to the hearts that acheHere's to the mess we make She told me"A bit of madness is keyTo give us new colors to seeWho knows where it will lead us?And ...

By: Ginny Veit, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Atticus Finch tells his daughter, Scout, in To Kill ...

Goodwill Bookworks Dr. Alberto Vázquez, HCPS What an inspiring visit to see Goodwill be able to promote literacy in early childhood through their Bookworks program. It was impressive to see that this program is now impacting eight counties ...

The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce announces the members of the 2018 Leadership Tampa Class. Established by the Chamber in 1970, Leadership Tampa is the third oldest leadership program in the nation and strives to identify, guide and enhance ...

By: Maria Porto-DuarteThe final day for Leadership Tampa Class of 2017 – G.O.A.T. had come! I could hardly believe that this day had arrived; Tourism Day was here. The day started, as usual, at the crack of dawn. As I was driving over the ...

Leadership Tampa, a program of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, celebrated the graduation of 50 members of the class of 2017 on April 26th, 2017 at Embassy Suites in Tampa, FL. The 2017 class marks the 46th class to graduate from the ...

By: Scott WaldenI think it is safe to assume each attending member of our LT 2017 class would agree, the highly anticipated two-day visit of our State Capitol did not disappoint. The session was intended to provide our class with a broad overview of ...

By: Julia Ruddock220720RMAR17: Early morning haze, a stillness in the air, and the hum of engines and feet pitter-pattering in cadence off into the near distance. It was an all too familiar o’dark:30 start to Military Day for the Leadership ...