Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Tampa for 2023. Tampa, known for its rich culture and beautiful beaches, has a diverse economic base that include the tourism, health care, finance, insurance, technology, construction, and maritime industries. This year’s awardees are leaders whose achievements, mentorship and contributions to their organizations and communities are leaving a lasting impact. Their abilities and talents are undeniable, fueling growth and creating more sustainability within the Tampa area and beyond.
Among this year’s awardees is Mary Melgaard, Group Vice President of Oracle, who has spent nearly 28 years serving for the organization, leading Oracle consultants, partners, and customer executives in multiple industries including telecommunication, financial services, manufacturing, and the travel industry. Awardee Allison Shaub, Chief Marketing Officer of TrueLook, is a transformational marketing leader with vast experience leading innovative change for start-ups, agencies, and Fortune 100/500 companies. Also awarded is Sabrina Calhoun, Vice President of Engineering for Bright House, who has responsibility for the network architecture and construction of outside plants, which includes over $100 million in construction capital annually.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 50 Women Leaders of Tampa for 2023.
1. Miriam Barack
Chief Operating Officer of ICG Loans Operations, Citi
Miriam Barack began her professional career 37 years ago. Today, she is the Chief Operating Officer of ICG Loans Operations of Citi. Citi's mission is to serve as a trusted partner to its clients by responsibly providing financial services that enable growth and economic progress. Its core activities are safeguarding assets, lending money, making payments and accessing the capital markets on behalf of its clients. Barack is a financial industry executive with vast experience in global management, creating organizations, leading geographically dispersed teams, managing vendor relationships and directing large organizational change efforts.
Barack first got her start in 1985 as a lead software engineer at GTE Government Systems. From there, she went on to Alsys Inc, before eventually rising to SEQAP manager at Tadiran Communications, her most recent position prior to joining Citi. Barack graduated from Boston University with an undergraduate degree in engineering.
2. Johanna Herrmann
VP of Global Communications, Merck
Johanna Herrmann brings more than a decade of experience helping some of the world’s largest and most valuable brands build their reputation and deliver results. She currently serves as the Vice President of Global Communications of Merck. With a blended skillset across corporate communication, brand PR and journalism, Johanna applies her breadth and depth of expertise to shape holistic strategies that truly work with internal and external stakeholders. She has led numerous global campaigns with internal, media, digital, social and community outreach components, and is in her element leading high-stakes, high-visibility engagements.
Johanna guides clients through a broad range of challenges, including finance and M&A communications, crisis strategy, employee communications and engagement, and strategic message development. She has proven experience providing strategic communications counsel to executive leadership teams and other internal stakeholder groups. She has served as a critical leader in key company announcements and priorities, the creation and execution of global PR strategies for product launches, the advancement of sustainability agendas and more. Johanna graduated from Boston University with an undergraduate degree in journalism and from the University of Southern California with a master’s degree in communication management.
4. Joo Sangrene
Chief Marketing Officer, BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital
Joo Sangrene is an accomplished executive with success in building high performing, engaged teams and new capabilities that drive profit and efficiency through analytic marketing. Over an 18-year career as a strategic leader, she has been recognized for numerous accomplishments with success in driving change through thought leadership and collaboration with peers. Joo understands and analyzes existing processes to bring about new, improved, efficient systems for both short- and long-term success of business. She is tech savvy, confident, and tenacious, creating expanded avenues of growth, brand awareness, and customer reach.
Joo currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for BluePearl Specialty + Emergency Pet Hospital, a subsidiary of Mars Inc. Mars is a national provider of emergency & specialty veterinary care. With 100+ hospitals in the US and an annual revenue of $1B+, Joo drives the organization’s overall performance through successful analytic marketing strategy. She previously led marketing for BluePearl from $350 million to over $1+ billion in revenue per year. Joo earned an undergraduate degree in public relations and journalism from the University of Minnesota and an MBA in marketing from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
6. Hercillia Henderson
Chief Executive Officer, Stadium Dates
Retired US Army veteran Cindy Henderson has launched an interactive dating site in hopes of knocking the social lives of sports loving singles out of the ballpark. StadiumDates.com offers fanatics of athletics a safe place to chat, get acquainted and plan a date at a sporting event with a potential love match. Henderson’s concept introduces a great dating opportunity for football, baseball, hockey and enthusiasts of all sports to meet, communicate on the website’s Sports Talk Forum and attend matches with someone just as passionate about their favorite team.
In addition to her roles with Stadium Dates, Henderson is a HR specialist for the US Army. She is responsible for personnel management, training and welfare of a diverse team of nearly 100 joint-service military, DIA government civilian and contractor personnel. Henderson graduated from the University of Phoenix with an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurial and small business operations.
11. Sabrina Calhoun
VP of Engineering, Bright House
Sabrina Calhoun is the Corporate Vice President of Engineering for Bright House Networks Engineering Design and Construction Department. She has responsibility for the network architecture and construction of outside plants for all six Bright House markets, which includes over 65,000 miles of plant and over $100 million in construction capital annually. Recent projects include launching FTTH service with Gigabit data in an exclusive managed property area, conversion of internal mapping systems to a geo-spatial platform, and deployment of over 15,000 public WiFi access points. Sabrina joined Bright House in 2008, and has over 27 years of engineering management experience in the telecommunications industry.
Previously, Sabrina was executive director of engineering at Cox Communications in Atlanta, Georgia where she led the implementation of strategic technology initiatives, as well as the standardization of technology, processes, and tools at Cox. Sabrina started her engineering career at BellSouth Telecommunications, where she spent 10 years before joining Cox.
Sabrina is a member of Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, Women in Cable & Telecommunications, the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers and the National Cable Telecommunications Association. She recently served as the WICT Florida Chapter President during 2013-2014. In 2006-2015, Sabrina was named as one of CableWorld’s Top Women in Technology. She received the 2001 Women in Technology Award from Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and Women in Cable & Telecommunications. In addition, Sabrina was featured in Communication Technology’s Broadband Leaders Yearbook, Cable World’s 50 To Watch-People Who Are Reshaping the Industry, and National Register’s Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals. Sabrina has an undergraduate degree and master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
14. Sindi Kelly
VP of Supply Chain Operations, Vizient
Sindi Kelly serves as the Vice President of Supply Chain Operations for Vizient. Her background and experience encompasses the entire supply chain process including contract negotiations, procurement, distribution and logistics, technology and automation. She has extensive knowledge in materials management both from a hospital as well as a distributors perspective. She has worked in single hospitals and IDN’s ranging from small – large size hospitals to Academic Medical Centers. With over 25 years’ experience in the healthcare industry Sindi brings excellent communication, leadership, negotiating and motivational skills that effectively influence staff, internal and external customers.
Sindi has worked with healthcare executives, clinicians, and supply chain operations staff to develop and implement processes for both procurement and logistics to maximize savings and drive efficiencies, while supporting the clinicians and physicians in the ability to provide superior patient care. Prior to becoming a consultant Sindi was the director of corporate materials management for a four-hospital system responsible for; purchasing, contracting, logistics, case cart, mail room, print shop, and central supply in all facilities. She also spent 13 years working for Cardinal Health (previously American Hospital Supply, Baxter, Allegiance) working in various aspects of operations including logistics, manager of custom pack production and value link coordinator for Vanderbilt University.
15. Brittany Scott
VP of SMB Sales, KnowBe4
Brittany Scott serves as Vice President of SMB Sales for KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. She was able to work her way quickly up the ranks at KnowBe4 and contributed to the recent accomplishment of the organization going public in April 2021. She has won awards for her contributions to KnowBe4’s sales success, including a 2x Stevie Award for Woman of the Year in Sales – Bronze Winner and is a recipient of the SVUS Women in Business and Professions World Awards – Silver Winner.
Brittany was also recognized as a Top 100 LinkedIn Sales Star for her engaging posts and contributions to thought leadership in both sales and cybersecurity. She founded the Women in Technology Employee Resource Group at KnowBe4. She also was recognized as a 2022 nominee for #GirlsClub Mentor of the Year where she has participated the last three years working with women in sales looking to move into leadership positions. Brittany holds an MBA from Johnson and Wales University and an undergraduate degree in hospitality management from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
View the complete list of awardees.
17. Samantha Champagnie
Vice President of Revenue Cycle, Florida Medical Clinic
Samantha Champagnie began her professional career 27 years ago. Today, she is the Vice President of Revenue Cycle of Florida Medical Clinic. Florida Medical Clinic has proudly served the Tampa Bay community since 1993, growing along with its rapidly expanding population. It has built new facilities, expanded its technology and services, and increased its medical staff to include over 350 highly skilled physicians and medical providers located in more than 50 convenient locations. The clinic is a multi-specialty medical facility dedicated to improving both the quality and delivery of healthcare to the communities we serve. Its team of highly trained primary care and specialty physicians and healthcare providers offer an expansive range of care in more than 40 medical and surgical modalities. It prides itself in its coordinated care approach to healthcare.
Champagnie first got her start in 1995 as a call center manager at AT&T. From there, she went on to AOL, before eventually rising to senior director of operations at Himagine Solutions Inc., her most recent position prior to joining Florida Medical Clinic. Champagnie graduated from the University of South Florida with a DBA, and from the University of North Florida with an MBA and an undergraduate degree in business administration.
18. Kelly Barrena
VP of Global Talent Brand & Outreach, KnowBe4
Kelly Barrena is the Vice President of Global Talent Brand and Outreach for KnowBe4. She is a bilingual employer branding and recruitment marketing executive with over 12 years in talent brand, talent acquisition and consulting. In her current role, Barrena is responsible for overseeing a team that manages KnowBe4’s global employer branding and recruitment marketing, as well as the internships, scholarships, recruitment programs, recruiting events and talent pipelines for each of KnowBe4’s 12 offices worldwide.
Barrena is a distinguished leader, passionate about creating innovative & scalable programs, experiences, and messaging to help organizations grow quickly and scale effectively by attracting top-quality candidates from all types of diverse backgrounds. As President and Founder of her organization’s employee resource group for parents, Barrena is also an advocate for parents in the workplace and has worked to improve benefits and provide resources for parents from all walks of life. Prior to joining KnowBe4, she built and sold two small businesses while living in Madrid, Spain. Barrena graduated from the University of Florida with an undergraduate degree in psychology and with minors in business administration and Spanish.
20. Holly Costello
SVP of Property Operations, Corvias
Holly Costello is the Senior Vice President of Property Operations of Corvias, a real estate company owned by John Picerne, a Rhode Island real estate heir who founded Picerne Military Housing (now Corvias Military Living) in 1998. Corvias is a privately owned family of companies with a diversified national presence. It provides creative, sustainable and long-term solutions for a wide range of clients including the military, higher education and the public sector. Costello has 23 years of experience. She began her career in 1999.
Before joining Corvias, Costello was a principal at CPM Consulting Services, LLC and before that a president and COO at Finlay Management, Inc. Earlier in her career she worked with Walden Residential as an SVP. Costello graduated from the University of South Florida with an undergraduate degree in geology.
21. Allison Shaub
Chief Marketing Officer, TrueLook
Allison Shaub is a transformational marketing leader with 13+ years of experience leading innovative change for start-ups, agencies, and Fortune 100/500 companies. In her tenure, she’s directed all phases of the creative and technical aspects of the industry and excelled in a variety of B2B and B2C markets including technology, construction, automotive, education, healthcare, business services, and more. She credits her success to her results-oriented, customer-first approach that has helped her consistently deliver higher ROI, pipeline growth, and exceptional product development.
She is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for TrueLook, a pioneer in the construction software space that is changing the way construction professionals view, document, and secure their job sites. In her role, she is responsible for developing strategic marketing and communications programs that generate awareness, achieve business targets, and drive deeper consumer engagement.
Prior to TrueLook, Allison was the digital strategy lead at Lenovo, leading the worldwide division responsible for driving growth and engagement across the globe for Lenovo’s enterprise solutions. Prior to Lenovo, she was at Oxford University Press leading end-user marketing initiatives. Allison is active in her community and serves as the VP of communications for the Tampa Chapter of the American Marketing Association, a not-for-profit agency dedicated to creating an essential community for marketers. Outside of business hours she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and her rescue pups.
24. Stacy Warren
Chief Sales & Customer Experience Officer, Vault
Stacy Warren a Co-Founder and Chief Sales & Customer Experience Officer at Vault, a service provider of insurance and risk management solutions for the unique needs of the affluent. Vault launched in 2017 with a mission to be a disruptor and create a modern insurance concept that surpasses the confines of traditional providers – upending archaic industry practices, leveraging cutting-edge technology and only working with the best, brightest and most innovative talent.
Stacy is passionate about cultivating a culture that creates an exceptional experience for Vault’s partners, customers and employees. She believes that simplicity, flexibility, transparency and a willingness to go the extra mile are the keys to building successful, long-term relationships.
Stacy brings more than 30 years of insurance industry experience in sales, process optimization, operations and customer experience. Prior to joining Vault, Stacy held a variety of leadership roles with AIG where she has a demonstrated track record of driving cost efficiencies, sales and shifting culture to rally around the customer experience. She also successfully led and ensured the cohesion of her teams throughout both the financial crisis and internal merger.
26. Jeanie Poley
Chief Administrative Officer, Hill Ward Henderson
Jeanie Poley joined Hill Ward Henderson in 2000. She previously served as recruiting and HR manager, director and then senior director before taking on the role of Chief Administrative Officer in 2016. As CAO, Jeanie oversees the efforts of the firm in the areas of business development and marketing, professional development, recruiting, human resources and operations. She works with the firm’s management committee, administrative leadership team and other firm committees to execute initiatives in line with firm strategy and philosophy.
Prior to joining Hill Ward Henderson, Jeanie practiced law for five years at a full-service law firm in the Midwest. She focused her practice in the areas of employment law and litigation. Jeanie has served as president, VP and treasurer of the Tampa Bay Legal Recruiters Association. She has spoken at national conferences and at law schools on various topics related to employment law and recruiting, and has been published in the National Association for Law Placement’s monthly professional publication.
Over the years Jeanie has been active in various charitable and civic organizations. Currently she serves on the board of trustees of her child's school, where she chaired the strategic planning committee and served on the head of school search committee.
27. Andrea Sugden
Chief Global Sales Officer, Workforce Logiq
Andrea Sugden is the Global Chief Sales Officer at Workforce Logiq. She is an industry expert, transforming how organizations win talent across the globe. A proven performer and an executive that brings over 20 years of industry experience and expertise, she has led large operations, sales, account management, and supplier management teams supporting both US and global client relationships. Andrea's staffing industry leadership has been recognized by a multitude of awards for sales growth and client retention. She began as a recruiter and worked her way through several roles in the industry to include branch management, account management, business development and regional and divisional management.
Prior to joining Workforce Logiq, Sugden was EVP for Adecco Group and began in 2008 as a SVP of the Adecco USA Southern Division, which included 85 branches and 350 colleagues in 18 states, generating $450 million in annual revenue and went on to lead a portfolio of large, enterprise clients exceeding $1 billion in annual revenues. Sugden is a graduate of the University of Tampa.
View the complete list of awardees.
28. Debbie Sweet
Managing Director of Applied Intelligence in Health & Life Sciences, Accenture AI
Debbie Sweet is an experienced data and analytics executive who has spent 25+ years effecting change and better business insights across the healthcare and life sciences industries. Her passion for improving the future for patients, providers, payers, and life sciences organizations is evident through strategy development and disciplined execution of data-driven enterprise transformations focused on innovations around people, process, and technology. At heart, Debbie is a problem-solver who is drawn to ideation, analysis, and realization of business value from projects.
Debbie's leadership on recent projects crosses clinical research, pharmaceutical and biotech, and health industry convergence, involving data and analytics strategy, modern data architecture, cloud data migration, portfolio and program management, analytics and AI modernization, data integration, data literacy and culture, and data and analytics governance. As a lifelong learner, she strives to learn something new every day and help "connect the dots" for a better world and future. She actively participates in sustainability initiatives through coral reef restoration, beach and ocean cleanups, and research in the areas of biomimicry, rare diseases, pharmacogenomics, artificial intelligence, and environmental conservation education.
30. Anita Gonzalez-Scott
President, Partner & Co-Founder, CTR FACTOR
Chief Client Engagement Officer, Diversity Learning Solutions
Anita Gonzalez-Scott is President and Partner at CTR Factor, as well as Chief Client Engagement Officer at Diversity Learning Solutions (DLS). In this capacity, she is responsible for leading day to day operations and client engagements and partnerships. She is a performance results-driven management executive with over 21 years of experience and advanced strategic leadership skills in managing sales, marketing, and client relationship teams.
Prior to CTR, Anita served as CMO and managing partner at EZ Language Services, a nationwide interpretation, translation and transportation company where she continues to serve on the board of directors. She has also served as head of sales and marketing reporting to the president of the southeast region for Verizon, with responsibility for delivering $321 million in revenue and for managing all marketing and sales channels. She has previously partnered with and worked for are Long & Foster, Bertucci’s Corporate, National Amusements, Tac Temps Corporate, Arthur Murray Studios, Noble Construction, First Centrum, Hilton Hotels, Starwood Hotel & Resorts, One Point Communications, Bloomingdales Corporate, First Centrum, The TJX Companies, Dermalogica Worldwide, Aerotek, Teligent Communications, Coca-Cola and Interamerica Bank. Anita graduated from George Mason University with an undergraduate degree and from Georgetown University with an MBA.
32. Shannon Eichberg
VP, Deputy General Counsel of Global Litigation & Chief Global Litigation Counsel, Jabil
Shannon Eichberg is Jabil's Chief Litigation Counsel, and leads the Global Litigation team. She takes a strategic approach to complex commercial litigation, and has a strong track record of securing cost-efficient results in litigation. With clear and creative advice, Eichberg is a proven go-to litigator. For high-stakes commercial litigation and arbitration, she uses a pragmatic approach. She assesses cases early and efficiently, and collaborates with the business to form the right strategy and ultimately support business goals.
In 2021, the Tampa Bay Business Journal named Eichberg one of its Top Corporate Counsel honorees. The leadership award is for outstanding in-house counsel, attorneys, and general counsel. Eichberg’s colleagues outside the company also praise her accomplishments and leadership skills. She graduated from Columbia College with an undergraduate degree and from the Stetson University College of Law with a JD.
33. Hellen Davis
Chief People Officer, Alvaria
For more than two decades, Hellen Davis has been a successful and innovative entrepreneur. She started in the computer science field, working for a large consulting and coding organization. As a result of an assignment, she was drawn to sales management in the financial services arena. Later, her salesmanship, consulting experience, entrepreneurial skills, and computer science skills resulted in the creation of Indaba Global. As her book of business grew, her clients asked her to turn her educational, coaching, and consulting materials into eLearning courses focused on executive development, sales training, and personal development.
Hellen is also currently the Chief People Officer of Alvaria, the world leader in enterprise-scale customer experience (CX) and workforce engagement management (WEM). Alvaria is technology innovators in call center software, cloud contact center solutions, workforce optimization and customer service experience. It helps companies create better experiences for their customers and the employees who serve them. From product development to customer and technical support, everything at Alvaria affects an entire ecosystem of customer experience. Hellen has also written many books including the bestseller, 21 Laws of Influence.
36. Christina Wojcik
Director Innovation, Citi Global Legal
Christina Wojcik, Esq.’s, career is focused on building innovative solutions to solve critical legal and business challenges. By consulting on and implementing best practices, leveraging technology, outsourcing and rethinking status-quo processes she is successful at addressing complex problems. Through her career she has assisted organizations and clients in driving revenue, achieving cost savings and optimization, and reduced their risk exposure across the enterprise.
Christina is currently at Citi where she is responsible for driving technology and process innovation for the legal organization and at the intersection of legal and business. Prior to joining Citi, Christina led the Solutions and Enablement team, globally, at Seal Software (acquired by DocuSign). As VP of solutions and enablement, she managed a team of technical pre-sales solution consultants to demonstrate best-in-class solutions to meet the complex contractual needs of Fortune 1000 organizations. Christina also served as a practice executive for contract management at IBM, where she was responsible for contract management strategy & best practices.
37. Simi Ranajee
Managing Director, Johnson Controls
Simi Ranajee is a results driven c-level experienced executive with the ability to produce sustained revenue and EBITDA growth in dynamic and changing markets. She has over 25 years of experience in communications, selling and marketing complex products and services to various industries including pharmaceuticals/healthcare, education, retail, fitness, IT, subscription-based software, food and beverage, and more. She has led and managed sales teams, consistently meeting and exceeding multi-million-dollar sales goals.
In addition to corporate roles, Simi co-founded Mission Neem 5 and serves on the Women’s Board for American Cancer Society, American Patient Rights Association and volunteers for many others. She has also received numerous awards and was named one of Chicago’s ‘Rising Stars’ by Today’s Chicago Woman named 40 under 40. Simi was a former host of Bombay Broadcast Network, a responsibility of her Miss India Worldwide title. She has also authored a children’s book, The World of Wonder, part of the WOW series. Simi graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with an undergraduate degree in marketing and finance, from Loyola University Chicago with an MBA and from the Commonwealth University with a PhD in public health.
38. Melody Pressnell
Market Executive Director of West Central Florida Area, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Melody Pressnell is an accomplished executive offering 20 years non-profit development experience identifying opportunities. She has led staff and volunteer teams in generating sustainable annual fund results including major giving, corporate and foundation development, distinguished event development and peer to peer fundraising. She currently serves as the Market Executive Director of the West Central Florida Area for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Melody is a multifaceted leader with broad background in long-range strategic planning, constituent relationship management, community engagement, campaign development and project management. Prior to joining St. Jude, she was a regional director of Florida and Texas for JDRF, and before that, a VP of field operations for the American Cancer Society. Melody graduated from Eckerd College with an undergraduate degree and from Harvard Extension School with an MBA.
View the complete list of awardees.
41. Peggy Vo
Director of Global Marketing in Retail and Commercial, iFIT Health and Fitness
A global marketing leader, whose energy, tenacity, and commitment to innovation have earned Peggy a renowned reputation worldwide. Her hard work has resulted in the growth and success of major global fitness organizations, through effective strategic marketing and brand expansion. Peggy spent 20+ years leading global programs including territory launches and scale-ups, first-to-market strategies, integrated marketing campaigns, and enhanced customer experiences.
Not content with shaping and redefining the world of health and fitness, Peggy is passionate about making a difference. She dedicates a considerable amount of free time to volunteering and supporting charities and not-for-profit organizations. A couple that are particularly close to Peggy’s heart are “Building Beds” and “Sleep in Heavenly Peace”, created to ensure that every child in her community in Florida has their own bed to sleep in at night. She has been instrumental in helping to deliver almost 500 beds to families and children who need them.
42. Kristine Contemplacion
Director of Accounting, Evolve
Kristine Contemplacion has over 20 years of public and corporate accounting experience. She is currently the Director of Accounting of Evolve, a hospitality company that is changing the online rental marketplace experience for its guests and owners.
Prior to Evolve, Kristine was the accounting director of AAMP Global, an automotive aftermarket maker. She also worked at Refresco, the world's largest independent bottling company, as a cost accounting manager and technical accounting manager. For almost fourteen years, she worked at Grant Thornton, one of the largest global public accounting firms where she started as an audit associate and worked her way to becoming an audit director. Kristine has been married for 21 years to her high school sweetheart and they have two daughters who share their love for travel. Kristine and her husband, Paul, were both born and raised in the Philippines and moved to the US in 2006.
43. Laura Kelly
Executive Director, YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg
As Executive Director of Bardmoor YMCA, Laura Kelly leads the branch in operations, supporting the strategic direction of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg. She oversees the management and development of the branch’s staff, member experience, programs and events, as well as the volunteer Bardmoor YMCA Branch Council.
Laura began her Y career in 2010 as a part-time staff member in before-and-after school care at the YMCA of Greater Brandywine. Two years later, she became their director of healthy living, where she oversaw revenue-based fitness programming. In 2015, Laura moved to Florida and joined the YMCA of the Suncoast as their director of healthy living. She was promoted to senior director of branch operations in 2016 and led her branch’s $80,000 Community Support Campaign. Laura earned an undergraduate degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in organizational leadership from Walden University.
44. Cherie Tedesco-Gamble
Managing Director, KW Commercial
Cherie Tedesco-Gamble is the Managing Director of KW Commercial based out of the Channelside - Tampa Central office. She grew up in Germany, but is originally from Amarillo, Texas, and became a Florida resident in 1994. Cherie attended Texas Tech University for studies in restaurant/hotel institutional management and international law. She bridged directly into commercial real estate after a 15-year career in IT working for Fortune 100 & 1000 technology companies as a VCIO and technology advisor.
As a top-producing agent of KW Commercial nationwide, Cherie attributes her tenacity and deep market knowledge to her success with brokering over $21.9MM in deals in 2021. Her focus is on commercial real estate in Tampa Bay and surrounding markets, as well as in the southeastern USA and in the U. Virgin Islands. She specializes in STNL, retail strip-centers, retail redevelopment, boutique beach hotels with retail, and landlord and tenant leasing.
In addition to her expertise in commercial real estate advising and strategic planning, she has extensive experience in market data trend evaluation, market and financial analysis, business development, organizational restructuring, and operational management which provide her with a clear understanding of her clients’ specific needs and business goals so that she may offer solutions to uniquely fulfill their goals.
46. Maria Jameson
Chief Development Officer, Federal Retirement Experts
Maria Jameson’s “servant’s heart” shows in how focused she is on helping federal employees work toward their retirement dreams with a customized strategy for retirement income while protecting their nest eggs. She currently serves as the Chief Development Officer of Federal Retirement Experts. Federal Retirement Experts are nationwide specialists in how federal employee benefits work. Their mission is to make sure federal employees understand their benefits in order to make educated decisions about their financial future and plan for their retirement accordingly while maximizing retirement dollars.
Maria got her start in the industry in 1995 and has also worked in the healthcare and technology fields. She holds life and health licenses in all 50 states and has an undergraduate degree in business administration from Saint Leo University. For over 15 years, Maria has enjoyed volunteering for organizations like Make-A-Wish Foundation and GiGi’s Playhouse in her free time. She loves spending time on the water boating, traveling the globe, Argentine tango/salsa dancing, attending concerts, and cheering on the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rays, and Buccaneers. Maria lives in Tampa Bay with her husband and endlessly dotes on her four rescue dogs, Koby, Mykonos, Mimi, and Magic.
View the complete list of awardees.