Leaders from throughout the Tampa Bay region spent a day at University of South Florida
Sarasota-Manatee as part of the second Leadership USF cohort. Participants in this
program met monthly for six months to gain a deeper understanding of USF’s various
departments, including academic, research and administrative units on all three campuses
and the Morsani College of Medicine.
The 2025–26 Leadership USF cohort included Lauren Bell, chief operating officer of
the St. Pete Innovation District; Dr. Jennifer Bencie, chief health officer for the
Florida Department of Health; Mark Gordon, managing editor of the Business Observer;
Ram Kancharla, vice president of planning and development at Port Tampa Bay; Keidrian
Kunkel, CEO of CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas; Derek Mateos, president and CEO
of Matcon Construction; Tina Pepin, executive director of the Pepin Family Foundation;
Tara Poulton, chief of staff for the U.S. House of Representatives; Melissa Ramos,
chief strategy officer at Northwestern Mutual; Steven Sinclair, utilities security
director at Convergin; and Owen Young, chief officer of family and community engagement
for Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Attendees were greeted on April 10, 2026 with a morning keynote address delivered
by Dr. Anila Jain — a USF alumna, physician, medical consultant and member of the
Sarasota-Manatee campus board. A short video was presented that captured former USF
presidents and others congratulating Dr. Jain on receiving the 2025 USF Women in Leadership
Gold and Green award. The cohort also learned about the USF Office of Veteran Success
from interim director Renee Amboy. She described the comprehensive services offered
to military-connected students on all three campuses, including about 10% of the student
population on our campus. The group was then provided a tour of the campus, including
stops at the student center, ballroom, Atala Residence Hall and Bloomberg Lab.
At the conclusion of the campus tour, USF’s Security Training Collaborative (STC)
presented “Think Like a Spy” to introduce attendees to this unique program. Located
on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, STC is a 16-week internship program led by USF Corporate
Training and Professional Education that provides students with high-quality, hands-on
training including exercises with the Secret Service and weekly risk assessments for
Fortune 500 companies. USF student interns augmented the program by describing the
CARVER methodology—Criticality, Accessibility, Recoverability, Vulnerability, Effect,
and Recognizability.
Following the STC presentation, attendees were transported to The Circus Arts Conservatory
(CAC) where Interim Regional Chancellor Brett Kemker shared highlights from the current
academic year — including an 88.2% retention rate and a 4.35 average GPA for first-time
in college students.
Jennifer Mitchell, CEO and president of The CAC and the host for the program, then
described the collaboration between USF’s Florida Center for Partnerships in Arts-Integrated Teaching (PAInT) and CAC as well as background about the circus. PAInT is a state-wide resource in
arts-integrated pedagogy that empowers teachers to explore and implement arts integration
in Florida classrooms to increase student engagement and improve student learning
outcomes. This was followed by a performance by PAInT Director Denise Davis-Cotton
who then co-presented a program with CAC Education Outreach Manager Karen Bell about
the partnership between CAC and USF.
This Leadership USF visit showcased the Sarasota-Manatee campus’s unique programs
to the community that inspires this continued innovation.
Denise Davis-Cotton with Karen Bell of The Circus Arts Conservatory
The Circus Arts Conservatory gave a performance
Bloomberg Lab Director Vikas Soni greets attendees
Attendees visit the campus including the Campus Student Center and Atala Residence
Hall
Photography by Kim McDonald