People from all over the world gravitate toward Tampa Bay to pursue higher education and start new careers attracted by the quality of life, and talented people and innovative companies already here.
Why does such diversity matter? How does diversity add value to the community? What are traditional organizations doing to become more inclusive? How are emerging industries leading change when it comes to diversity? What are the challenges and opportunities in Tampa Bay's globally diverse population and workforce?
Be part of an emerging community dialogue designed to help shape our future as
83 Degrees Media presents "Valuing Diversity: Wealth Components of a Global City,'' the sixth in a series of community conversations led by "Not Your Average Speakers.''
The Thursday, May 17, 2012 event, hosted at the
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, 400 N. Ashley Drive, will start at 5 p.m. with networking. The panel discussion will begin promptly at 5:30 and go till 7. Admission is free and drinks will be provided.
Not Your Average Speakers
• Al Karnavicius, the founder and president of
Bayprint, a printing and marketing services firm in St. Petersburg, is Honorary Consul to the Republic of Lithuania. Karnavicius, a native of Chicago, has lived in St. Petersburg since 1958 and is a graduate of the
University of South Florida. He is also active on several nonprofit arts-related boards and in business organizations such as the
St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce.
• Grace Yang is an attorney at
GrayRobinson in Tampa, where she specializes in licensing issues surrounding alcohol and food service providers, retail stores, hotels, resorts and restaurants. She's a graduate of Yale University with a BA in political science and earned her JD at Cornell Law School. She's also a member of
HAWL (Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers), the
Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay and the
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Tampa Bay, and is a former fellow with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
• Joel Fenelon, a Tampa native who grew up in France, is the founder of
Muzime,
a web-based music platform designed to give music lovers access to a diverse global music catalog of un-commercialized music, while empowering musicians with the online tools to promote themselves via innovative technology. He is also a classical musician and orchestra conductor who has led orchestras in the U.S., France, Ireland and Russia. He earned his bachelor of music performance from the
University of Tampa, and his master of music conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
• Jean-Charles Faust is the owner of Faust Realty in Clearwater and president of the
French American Business Council of West Florida. He has a BA in international trade from the European Business School in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Elaine Terenzi, chief probation officer at the
U.S. Probation Office in the Middle District of Florida, began her career providing psychological assessment and counseling to youthful offenders and brain injured adolescents in residential treatment in New York. She joined the eastern district of New York as a U.S. probation officer in 1983 and held the position of deputy chief in New York before relocating to Florida in 1996. Terenzi earned an MA in psychology from the New School for Social Research in Manhattan and an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology.
Playing Key Roles
The conversation (audience participation is encouraged) will be moderated by LaFern Batie of
The Batie Group in Tampa. Batie is an international business strategist, executive coach, professional speaker and author of "Marketing Brand You: Moving From Chaos to Clarity.'' She's also a graduate of Salisbury University on the eastern shore of Maryland and earned her MBA at the University of Maryland.
The event is underwritten by
Tucker Hall, a national public relations and communications consulting firm based in Tampa.
Additional contributors include
Mighty Fine Production and the
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.
Tweet up using #83degreesNYAS! We're listening.
Diane Egner is publisher and managing editor of 83 Degrees Media. Comments? Contact 83 Degrees.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.