2022 Tampa Bay Women in Leadership Symposium
March 24, 2022
8:00 AM - 11:30 AM (ET)
Theme
Paragon of Womanhood: Restoration, Reintegration & Reemergence
Sponsored By
The Women in Leadership Symposium is designed to bring together a diverse mix of successful c-suite/VP level women leaders in medium-large sized companies who, through the discussion of topics relevant to today’s issues, educate, inspire and encourage women to reflect on their own goals and status as they strive to move higher in their organizations. The goal of this event is to be the premier resource for women to be able to network, mentor and participate in professional development programs geared toward helping them rise in their careers.
Panelists
Cintron
Veronica Cintron joined the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority in April 2020. Prior to joining the Tampa International Airport team as Vice President of Communications, she anchored Spectrum Bay News 9’s weekday evening newscasts for 10 years. The University of South Florida alum has covered major domestic and international stories including the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal, Pope Francis’ first ever visit to Cuba, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria days after it made landfall in Puerto Rico and the earthquakes that rocked the island. Her work has earned six Suncoast Chapter Emmy awards, as well as Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists awards and Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State awards. Veronica has been honored with the Tampa Hispanic Heritage Leadership award, USF’s Hispanic Heritage Service award, Watermark’s Favorite News Anchor WAVE award, and has been Grand Marshal of the Viva Polk Fest Parade by the Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Polk County. She also volunteers her time to impactful causes and organizations throughout the year. Veronica sits on the Board of Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc., the Alzheimer’s Association 2021 Gala Committee, is a proud member of the Athena Society and the USF Alumni Association and a graduate of the Homeland Security Investigations Citizens Academy. She is married and lives with her husband and 6-year-old daughter in Tampa.
Elias
Zarra Elias recently joined the Moffitt Cancer Center, a world-renowned cancer treatment and research center, as its Assistant General Counsel II, Employment. In this role, Zarra is responsible for all aspects of labor and employment matters for Moffitt and works closely with Moffitt’s human resources team. Before joining Moffitt, Zarra was a partner at Akerman LLP, a top 100 U.S. law firm, where she practiced labor and employment law and commercial litigation. In light of her diverse background, Zarra’s clients included local, national, and international AAPI-owned companies. Zarra’s exceptional career extends beyond her legal practice, as she currently serves as a board member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and a Fellow of the Labor & Employment Section of the American Bar Association. She is also the immediate past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay. In 2021, Zarra was recognized as one of the six “Asian-American leaders” in the Tampa Bay area and one of the “40 Under 40” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Zarra was born in Manila, Philippines and attended high school in Hong Kong. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of South Florida and J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Lance
With 25+ years of experience and several prestigious awards, such as the 2021 OnCon HR Professional of the Year Award, Erika Lance is truly a distinguished leader in the Human Resources field. Currently, Erika is the SVP of People Operations at KnowBe4, the world’s largest integrated platform for security awareness training and simulated phishing. Here, she ensures KnowBe4 continues to run properly while maintaining a unique and fun company culture. Under her leadership, the People Operations team has grown from just 10 team members to over 50 team members in 11 countries across 6 continents. Erika is most well known for her radical transparency and her people-centric approach to Human Resources.
Smith
Bonnie K. Smith is Chief Information Officer (CIO) of TD SYNNEX. Bonnie is responsible for all aspects of information technology (IT) delivery, bridging into the innovative product lines the company takes to market. Bonnie previously served Tech Data as Executive Vice President and CIO. Prior to joining Tech Data in 2020, Bonnie served in executive IT positions at Lear Corporation, Eaton Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Abbott Laboratories as well as McKinsey & Company, Whirlpool, and DuPont. Bonnie is active in women-centered global philanthropic organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
White
Dierdre White is the Chief Legal Officer for Grow Financial Federal Credit Union (Tampa, Florida) where her practice focuses on corporate law, banking, regulatory compliance, governance, employment and ethics, litigation, and enterprise risk management. Prior to coming to Grow Financial in 2009, Dierdre worked as a tax attorney for United Airlines, Inc. (Chicago, Illinois) where she was responsible for the compliance of United’s state and local taxes (sales and use, property, fuel, liquor), licenses, and administrative dispute management throughout the airline’s eastern region. Following United, Dierdre was the Associate General Counsel at Alliant Credit Union f/k/a United Airlines Employees’ Credit Union (Chicago, Illinois) where she was responsible for the legal, compliance, and strategic support of all credit union functions. After Alliant, Dierdre was fortunate enough to dedicate her time to a personal mission/cause as the first General Counsel for the national office of the Alzheimer’s Association (Chicago, Illinois). Dierdre serves as the executive sponsor of the Grow Financial Foundation, Inc. and is the founding donor of the Dr. Earnestine Huffman White Endowed Scholarship in Nursing at Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Alabama). In addition, she is a 5-year member of the $1000 Club of Waukegan Township’s Artis Yancey HBCU Tour (Waukegan, Illinois), and is an active member of the Gamma Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Tampa, Florida) and the Chapter’s charitable foundation. In 2016, Dierdre was named by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as the Top Corporate Counsel in the Tampa Bay area and the Top Corporate Counsel in Financial Services. She was also selected as one of the Florida Diversity Council’s 2016 Most Powerful & Influential Women. Dierdre is a graduate of the University of Washington (BA), Chicago-Kent College of Law (JD), and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (MBA). She is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and the District of Columbia, is a Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) as designated by the Credit Union National Association, and Dierdre is a proud member of the Leadership Tampa class of 2016.
Moderator
Randolph, Ed.D.
Dra. Luz D. Randolph is the Associate Vice Provost at Louisiana State University. She is responsible for coordination of strategic planning and foundation work for the LSU Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to ensure the development and implementation of programs and services that foster a campus community committed to diversity and inclusion. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Development at St. Petersburg College Foundation where she was responsible for the college-wide fundraising efforts at St. Petersburg College. Since her arrival in January 2020, she has guided the fundraising efforts surrounding the recently established Helios Titan Achievement Program (H-TAP) which received an initial funding of $85,000 and upon completion received a final gift of $1.3M dollar from Helios Education Foundation, the Social Justice Institute Microgrant awarded by the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, the SPC Emergency Fund among other initiatives. Prior to her role at SPC, she served as Assistant Director of Development, Diversity Initiatives. Her primary focus was to assist in cultivating relationships between USF constituents and the Tampa Bay community that will enhance the university’s diverse students’ experiences. Since her arrival successfully fundraised over $3.5 million for diversity initiatives and assisted in the development and implementation of the Black Leadership Network which aims to provide financial and mentoring support to African American students at the University of South Florida. Before coming to USF, Luz served as Director of the Candidate Empowerment Center(CEC) at Florida A&M; University. In this role her team increased FAMU’s College of Education’s Teacher Certification passage rate by 75%. She also served as Assistant Director of the Department of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of Miami where she coordinated services and programs that challenged, motivated, and supported ethnically diverse students in their development at the University of Miami and seek to bring issues of diversity and multiculturalism to the foreground of campus conversation. She is a double alumna from the University of South Florida with a B.A in Interpersonal Communication and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction – College Student Affairs. She completed her Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Leadership Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University. Her dissertation focused on the experience of Latinas in Latina sororities at a predominantly White institution and the impact on their academic persistence. Since, she has presented on topics relating to Latinas and their college experience, philanthropy and diversity, and gender issues and sexual orientation. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Hispanic Services Council and was a member of the Board of Directors at MacDonald Training Center.
Awardee
Lovett
Wiith over 40 years of credit union experience, Victoria G. Lovett is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Suncoast Credit Union. Lovett is responsible for delivering operational excellence throughout the credit union, including lending, care centers, member experience, and various other operational areas. Serving Suncoast’s members since 1981, Lovett progressed through the lending division and spent 12 years as Chief Lending Officer before assuming the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer in October, 2021. As Chief Operating Officer, Lovett’s area of responsibility includes the operations and support functions of the credit union, critical to the organization’s success. As a large and complex financial institution, Suncoast requires a wide variety of support functions with knowledgeable and skilled staff members to deliver first-class service to our members, which Lovett oversees through her leadership. Beyond her current duties, Lovett is a member of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Lending Council, having served as past chairperson of the Member Resource Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee, as well as a past member of the Leadership Committee of the Florida Credit Union League’s Lending Council. She also was a past member of the Mortgage Cadence LFC Executive Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Hillsborough Community College Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund Board and Finance Committee, and the Hillsborough Community College Business Advisory Committee. A Brandon High School and University of South Florida alum, Lovett earned her degree in psychology and has also received several certifications including Certified Credit Union Executive, Certified Financial Services Professional, Certified Lending Specialist designations, and her CUNA Business Lending Certification. She has also earned her Entrepreneurship and Innovation Graduate Certificate from Stanford University. Lovett is a founding member of the local English bulldog breed club, and when she isn’t helping members save more for life, she can be found serving her community through credit union volunteer projects. Lovett enjoys mentoring others and spending time gardening and cooking. Chief Operating Officer’s Areas of Responsibilities: Lending • Mortgage Operations • Mortgage Originations • Loans and Originations • Loan Administration and Compliance Member Experience • Member Care Center Services • Member Care Production • Member Engagement • ITM Delivery and Internal Support Member Solutions Card Services Deposit Services
To celebrate the Tampa Bay Women in Leadership Symposium, we will be part of Your Hour, Her Power®, which is inspired by the belief that when a woman has access to opportunities that can change her life, she becomes powerful beyond measure. By giving the equivalent of just one hour of your pay, you give a Dress for Success woman access to programs, services, and tools that will help her achieve economic advancement.
Additionally, we encourage all attendees who are willing and able to donate your new or nearly-new women’s attire to help get more women back to work or make a financial contribution to help women secure, retain and develop their professional careers.
The donation drive will take place on March 22nd from 10:00am-2:00pm
Your Hour Her Power - Donation Drive
$3 Transaction Fee Will Be Added