November 11, 2021
PHILANTHROPY & NONPROFITS

https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2021/11/11/leadership-hillsborough-announces-class-of-2022.html

Leadership Hillsborough reveals class of 2022 members

Leadership Hillsborough has chosen 16 business and community leaders for its class of 2022.

The program provides development opportunities to Hillsborough County professionals who seek to grow as leaders and expand their knowledge of the diverse dynamics, issues, challenges and opportunities impacting their work and community. Class members can be nominated by local leaders, board members, or businesses and then applications are reviewed by a board before the final selections are made.

The main focus of any class is to be as diverse as possible, Paula Scott, director of operations at Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and Leadership Hillsborough chair, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

“We want people from the nonprofit sector, we want people from the government sector, we want people from the private sector so that they can have a really rich, diverse group of individuals who they can turn to after they go through the class,” said Scott.
Once selected, members of the class go through a 10-month process from September to June. They’ll come face to face with leaders of the Hillsborough community to learn more about what is going on in the area from the top down.
The organization was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, much like other leadership programs in the Tampa Bay area.

“We paused our program for 12 months; it was a tough decision, knowing that we were going to have a class that was going to span a two-year time frame rather than a 10-month,” said Scott. “However, in our hearts, we wanted to give them the best possible program that we could, and if we had to wait a year to return to face to face with individuals, we were willing to do that.”

This class will be looking to impact local businesses and the community immediately.
Here are the class members for this year:
• Alan Davidson, chief clinical officer, Central Florida Behavioral Health Network
• Brenda Brackins, fiscal and asset manager, Hillsborough County
• Daria Dixon, procurement operations coordinator, Hillsborough County
• Javier Rivera, operations engineer, Children’s Board Hillsborough County
• Josie Rocco, chief operating officer, University Area CDC
• Juli Day, Plant City family resource center manager
• Laura Byrne, editor/ creative writer, Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine
• Layla Hartz, director, Tampa Housing Authority
• Melissa Asencio, lead woman and infant resource specialist, Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County
• Michelle Sterling, senior wellness and safety specialist, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital/ BayCare Kids
• Renee McCummings, human resources partner, Hillsborough County Human Resources
• Rosalie Smith, program administrator, Safe and Sound Hillsborough
• Tamika Powe, community health educator/ physician relations and community engagement, Tampa General Hospital
• Tavis Myrick, executive director, Gentleman’s Quest of Tampa Bay Inc.
• Tramaine Whittey, project manager, Hillsborough County Affordability Housing Services
• Victor Avila, VP community development manager, Regions Bank

Leadership Hillsborough is a nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, founded in 1989. For over 30 years, the program has brought together diverse professionals to understand their roles as community leaders.
Sixteen business and community leaders were chosen for the class of 2022.

By Devonta Davis – Digital Producer, Tampa Bay Business Journal