Since its founding, USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy
has sought to encourage and develop the intellectual and leadership
potential of women in the Tampa Bay Area. As a proud USF
alumna, it has been my honor to serve as chairman as we continue
to grow the program and its mission. At the recent 2017 WLP Fall
Symposium, we were treated to an inspiring message from a fellow
USF alumna Grace Gealey Byers, USF Honors College theatre
grad and star of the popular Fox series “Empire”, who challenged
us to know our worth and the value of relationships. My time as
your chairman has given me moments of clarity and purpose in the
stewardship of the people and programs of WLP, and has further
strengthened my commitment to give my all to advance both the
strategic goals of WLP and of my alma mater, the University of
South Florida.
Our organization is well known for our highly impactful scholarship,
mentorship, and faculty research awards programs, but it is
important to recognize and appreciate that by working together
to advance these objectives, our collective engagement creates
opportunities to strengthen the skills we need to compete, to thrive,
and to be successful in our life journey. Our overall success depends
upon the participation of all of our members - founding, lifetime,
individual and corporate – giving generously of their time, talent
and treasure in pursuit of our mutually-shared values and goals. I
commend our outstanding WLP staff and impactful committees
for the tremendous contributions they have made to the success of
our programs, events, student engagement and overall progress.
Over the last year, we have witnessed the power and impact that
the collective contributions of our 300-plus members can generate.
Once again, WLP continued its trajectory of tremendous growth
and excellence, enjoyed a
record-setting 22% increase
in membership; an almost
100% increase in the principal
of the WLP Endowed Scholarship
fund; and a remarkable 537% increase
in the dollars dispersed by our WLP
First Generation Scholarship fund. Add that
to another sold-out WLP Fall Symposium and the successful
launch of our WLP W.I.S.E. (Women Who Ignite Student
Engagement) student leadership initiative, and I think we can all
agree that we have a tremendous reason to be proud of our organization.
If you aren’t already involved, I encourage you to “step up” your
membership engagement and join a committee in the coming year.
We need your talent, skills, passion and influence to continue on
this path. Harnessing the power of our collective skills and experiences
is necessary if we hope to continue our admirable trajectory
of success.
As an USF alumna and first generation college graduate it gives
me pleasure to support and represent USF and women making a
difference in their communities. Thank you for this privilege to
serve and for making this world a better place for women.
Sincerely,
Carolyn House Stewart ‘74
1 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
MISSION
The mission of the USF System Women in Leadership &
Philanthropy program is to engage and educate visionary
leaders and philanthropists to make a difference for women
throughout the USF System and the community.
SOURCES OF WLP FUNDS
The structure and function of the USF WLP program
requires a consistent source of spendable income. Because
the majority of individual gifts to WLP are made to restricted
endowed funds, our primary sources of operating income
include annual membership contributions, corporate
memberships, sponsorships and ticket sales from the Annual
Fall Symposium and other WLP events, and contributions
from the USF Faculty & Staff Campaign. WLP also benefits
from the investment of staff salary and budgetary support
provided by the USF Foundation.
MEMBERSHIP
USF WLP’s groundwork was established over a decade ago
by our founding members whose initial investments created
a firm foundation for the fulfillment of WLP’s mission.
By establishing individual endowed scholarship funds,
contributing to the WLP endowed scholarship, and building
the program endowment, our Founding, Lifetime, Individual
and Corporate members provide WLP the strong basis for
the tremendous growth and impact that distinguishes the
program today.
OUR IMPACT
Founded in 2005 by a small group of individuals and a
handful of Tampa Bay area corporations, WLP advanced a
vision shared by noted philanthropist Carol Morsani and USF
System President Judy Genshaft to create the first women’s
philanthropic organization in the Tampa Bay region focused
on developing the intellectual and leadership potential of
women through the promotion of mentorship, philanthropy,
community engagement and scholarly excellence. Fast forward
12 years and WLP - now numbering more than 300 individual
and 19 corporate members strong - has helped stimulate
numerous transformational gifts to benefit the USF System; has
directly raised well over $3 million; and has invested more than
$1 million in grants, scholarships, and programmatic funding
to assist female students, faculty members, and women in the
Tampa Bay region. These achievements are a clear sign that
USF WLP is a trailblazer in advancing women’s leadership
and philanthropy in our communities and is fulfilling the
vision of our founding members.
Throughout the past decade, WLP has awarded over
$1 million in scholarships, devoted mentoring hours to over
430 students, and has provided research awards to 23 female
faculty members. WLP presents a wide variety of educational
and leadership development programs annually at all three
USF System institutions and in our surrounding communities,
and has formed formal mentoring partnerships with USF’s
Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement, Office of Veteran
Success, Athletics, Transitional Advising Center, the Honors
College, USF St. Petersburg and USF Sarasota-Manatee.
In 2016, in partnership with USAmeriBank, WLP formed
the WISE (Women Who Ignite Student Engagement)
Advisory Council. Together with the WLP Mentoring and
Program Committees and with the WLP/WISE Advisory
Council, we developed and launched the USF System’s
first student-led leadership symposium in spring 2017,
and are in the planning stages for another successful
WISE Student Symposium in March 2018.
The continued success of WLP is the result of the collective
generosity of all of our members, who lend their time, talent,
and treasure to make WLP the impactful organization that
it has become. We thank our Founding, Lifetime, Corporate,
and Individual members for their engagement and continued
leadership and support.
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 2
3 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 4
Retired Math Professor Liana Fernandez Fox
Offers a Window on USF, Old Tampa and a
New WLP Scholarship
By Dave Scheiber
Liana Fernandez Fox looks outside a first-floor window of the
Marshall Student Center on a sun-splashed afternoon and marvels
at the sight. She sees more than a steady wave of young people
walking to and from class, more than the tree-lined landscape and
the large bronze bulls overlooking the MLK plaza in the distance.
She sees a scene that holds her own story – from the wide-eyed
Ybor City teen whose life was changed by USF to the career
educator whose passion and boundless energy have helped the
lives of so many others.
In her mind’s eye, she has a clear view through the decades –
picturing the campus as it was in the mid-1960s, covered with
more sand than sidewalks and barren patches devoid of greenery.
“We used to joke that our logo should have sandspurs – it was
really nasty walking around back then,” she says, punctuating the
memory with one of her infectious laughs.
“And all these trees you see now? There might have been one or two
back then I think. I was president of the Alumni Association when
we celebrated the completion of MLK Plaza in 1997. And I thought,
‘We were so busy surviving, just going from day to day and trying
to pass, we didn’t realize we were part of history.’ We were living it.”
Fox lived it fully as a member of one of USF’s early classes,
the daughter of loving, hard-working and highly protective
parents of Hispanic and Sicilian descent. Back then, the relatively
new university offered local high school students a viable option
that hadn’t existed before: a chance to attend a four-year public
institution in Tampa Bay without having to leave home, since
USF provided the much needed access and affordability of a
higher education.
“If this university hadn’t been built when and where it was,” she
says, “an entire generation – especially Latin females – wouldn’t
have gone to college.”
USF became a formative stop for her in a journey that would
entwine many chapters – falling in love, marrying and raising
a family with her hometown sweetheart, Bob Fox; becoming a
fixture as a mathematics professor at Hillsborough Community
College for 33 years – and simultaneously at USF for nearly half
that span; returning to earn her master’s and PhD at USF after
actually completing her bachelor’s degree at Florida State; and
a prominent presence through the years with USF’s Alumni
Association and Women in Leadership & Philanthropy.
Today, her impact with the WLP organization is being felt in a
powerful new way. She and her husband have established an
endowed scholarship to support USF transfer students from
Hillsborough Community College – cementing the enduring
relationship Fox has with both institutions. The scholarship goes
5 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
hand in hand with the new FUSE program, which assists transfer
students from HCC and colleges around the state complete
their bachelor’s degrees in the USF System.
“My hope is that it will help a student who’ll have a profile like
I had,” she says. “My parents were so hard working but couldn’t
give me any advice about college, because they’d never gone. So
we just want to be a support for someone like that.”
Liana grew up drawing on the support of her tight-knit family
near Ybor City. Her father, Frank Fernandez, had Cuban roots,
and always ran or worked in multiple businesses simultaneously.
As an ad manager at Sears, he fell in love with a young woman
in the department, Rose. They married and Liana was the first
born of their three children, followed by two brothers.
Even as a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a teacher, practicing
holding class at home on her unsuspecting brothers. Math was
always her favorite subject and she was a standout student at
Tampa’s Sacred Heart Academy, winning the school’s math award
as a senior. Though, like most of her classmates, Liana had no
college plans. But she aced a 12th grade test and that paved her
way to admittance in 1964 to eight-year-old USF – the only
college her parents would allow their daughter to attend due to
its proximity to home. Liana still remembers her USF student
number: 15976, meaning she was the 15,976th USF attendee ever.
She enrolled in the fourth year that the university actually accepted
freshmen. Liana eventually became vice president of her Tri SIS
(later Alpha Delta Pi) soriority and assisted University Center
director Phyllis Marshall in helping USF’s sororities and
fraternities go from small clubs to affiliation on the national
level. In short order, she became sorority vice president and
pledge trainer for 90 young women, while juggling her studies.
During that time, a West Tampa boy she knew from early
childhood, Bob Fox, came into the picture. Their friendship
was casual until they began to date midway through college.
And when she became overwhelmed by all her commitments
at USF, he suggested she transfer to FSU for her senior year.
They became engaged during the summer after their junior
year in 1967 and got married as seniors. And their adventure
together was underway – with the couple becoming parents
to two sons and each thriving in their respective careers. Bob
began in hospitality and then teamed with a brother to buy
their father’s dental lab and grow it for the next 40 years.
Liana followed her dream path as a teacher, going from Tampa
Catholic to part-time math instructor at HCC’s Ybor City
campus in 1977 – and then going fulltime in 1980, becoming
a fixture of the staff.
She also found time to earn her master’s from USF in 1980
and spent 15 years on USF Tampa campus helping freshmen
meet their mathematics requirements.
With encouragement and support from USF professors,
Drs. Don and Betty Lichtenberg, she earned her doctorate
in Mathematics Education from USF in 1998.
“It’s been an amazing ride,” she says. Four years ago, the
couple created a scholarship at HCC in the name of Liana’s
parents, Frank and Rose Fernandez. But when it came time
to create a new scholarship, they had no doubt where it
should be. “We sold a piece of property this year and wanted
to do something meaningful,” he says. “So we considered
several options and decided to do the scholarship right here
at USF, and through WLP.”
After all, it’s where the story began on a sandy, sunbaked
campus, and has blossomed through the decades to the
vibrant view just outside the Marshall Center window.
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 6
By Melissa Wolfe
The Inaugural Women who Ignite Student Engagement (WISE)
Symposium, presented by USAmeriBank, brought together more
than 150 participants across the USF System to connect with
dynamic professionals, exchange ideas and begin charting their
own paths.
Modeled after WLP’s signature Fall Symposium, the half-day
networking event focused on the theme “What I Wish I Would
Have Known: Lessons from the Future” and explored topics such
as resiliency, developing a personal brand and cultivating curiosity.
The student-led program featured all-women panel sessions with
well-known business executives, community leaders and elected
officials who have found success despite the typical hurdles
women encounter. In the breakout sessions, panelists shared
inspiring stories of their struggles and triumphs, lessons learned
and practical advice for young professionals.
“Women in male dominated fields bring something to the table
their peers don’t have,” explained Sarah MacDonald, President of
TECO Services. “A different point of view adds value and makes
you a valuable employee. Don’t try to blend in – be proud,
standout and you’ll get noticed!”
Krithika Venugopal, a student on the WISE Advisory Council
was amazed at the results of the Symposium, a year in the making.
“Participating on the WISE Advisory Council and helping to plan
this event was an incredible experience and one of my proudest
achievements,” said Venugopal. “It required some serious
time-management skills and allowed me the opportunity to
play a part in something I’ve always believed in – promoting
equality and empowering women.”
The symposium featured keynote speaker Pam Iorio, a former
two-term Mayor of Tampa (2003-2011) and current CEO of Big
Brothers Big Sisters of America. Iorio shared words of wisdom on
community service, leadership and the future.
“If you can provide service to others, even if it’s something you’ve
never done before, you should say yes,” said Iorio. “Expand your
limits and break your barriers. Each individual has the power to
impact others.”
Topping off an incredible symposium was a surprise
announcement that the event raised $9,000 for WLP student
scholarships - a powerful example of the impact women can
make when they encourage and support each other.
7 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
Annual members ($1,000 per year, $500 per year for those 35 and younger) and corporate members ($5,000 per year)
support WLP programmatic offerings and outreach initiatives and help expand the impact of the WLP Endowed, WLP/USF
St. Petersburg and WLP/USF Sarasota-Manatee scholarship funds. Members contributing at the
endowment level ($25,000 or above) join our list of lifetime members.
CORPORATE MEMBER PROGRAM
Our Corporate Member program has grown from one member (Florida Blue) in July 2013 to 19 the members listed below.
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 8
THE USF WLP FACULTY RESEARCH AWARD program provides grant awards to USF System faculty whose research and creative
efforts focus on women and issues affecting women. This award is presented in the spring of each year through a competitive process,
with the recipient receiving a one-time $5,000 award to support their research. To date, WLP has awarded 23 grants to deserving faculty
members whose research helps to support and advance women throughout the world. In recognition of the outstanding research
throughout the USF System, this year WLP awarded its newest faculty research grant for USF Health that recognizes the research
contributions of female faculty in USF Health.
JEANNE TRAVERS is a Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance, USF Tampa. Travers is
dedicated to enhancing audience awareness about human rights and women’s issues. Her research projects
are interdisciplinary and multicultural in nature, and address issues of social concern and injustice that
impact and give voice to women.
DR. KATHRYN ARTHUR is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and
Sciences, University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She is an archaeologist specializing in community
archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, gender, stone tool technology, and the historical archaeology of Africa.
DR. FAWN T. NGO is an Associate Professor of Criminology at USF Sarasota-Manatee’s College
of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. Dr. Ngo’s research on stalking focuses on gender differences in stalking
incidents and police reporting.
DR. STEPHANIE MARHEFKA is an Associate Professor for Community and Family Health,
USF Health. Her doctoral dissertation work focuses on the assessment of medication adherence among
caregivers of children ages 2 to 12 who were perinatally infected with HIV.
9 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
DR. ELIZABETH MILLER is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the College of Arts and
Sciences, University of South Florida Tampa. Her research program ranges from the study of human milk
composition and infant feeding practices to infant immune function through studies at field sites in Kenya
and the United States.
DR. DOREEN MACAULAY MacAulay is an instructor in the Department of Information Systems
Decision Sciences, teaching organizational behavior analysis and strategic management. Her research focuses
the historical development of knowledge and the fundamental gendered assumptions that inform
organizational behavior research.
2016
Dr. Kyoung Cho
Associate Professor
School of Music
College of The Arts, Tampa
2016
Dr. Melissa Sloan
Associate Professor
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Sarasota-Manatee
2016
Dr. Jessie D. Turner
Instructor, Department of
Women’s and Gender Studies,
College of Arts and Sciences, Tampa
2016
Dr. Jill McCracken
Associate Professor for the Department of
Languages, Literature, and Writing;
Chair for the Department of Social Sciences;
Coordinator for the Honors Program
St. Petersburg
2016
Dr. Alicia Gill Rossiter
Sequence Director
Veteran to Bachelor of Science in
Nursing Program, USF Health,
College of Nursing, Tampa
2015
Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman
Assistant Professor
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Sociology, Tampa
2015
Dr. Heidi Casteneda
Associate Professor and Graduate Director
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Anthropology, Tampa
2015
Dr. Tiffany Chenneville
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Psychology
Joint Appointment
Department of Pediatrics, St. Petersburg
2015
Dr. Kathy Black
Full Professor of Social Work
and Gerontology
Chair of Interdisciplinary
Faculty in Aging
College of Arts & Sciences
Sarasota-Manatee
2014
Dr. Susan Macmanus
Distinguished University Professor
Department of Government
& International Affairs
Tampa
2013
Dr. Griselle Centeno
Associate Professor of Industrial
and Management Systems
USF College of Engineering
Tampa
2012
Dr. Jamie Goldenberg
Associate Professor of Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences
Tampa
2009
Dr. Patrica A. Kruk
Professor in the Department of
Pathology & Cell Biology
USF Health Morsani
College of Medicine, Tampa
2011
Dr. Jody Lynn McBrien
Assistant Professor
College of Education
Sarasota-Manatee
2010
Dr. Ellen Daley
Associate Professor of Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences
Tampa
2008
Dr. Linda M. Whiteford
Professor of Anthropology
College of Arts & Sciences, Tampa
2007
Dr. Naomi Yavneh
Associate Professor of Humanities
College of Arts & Sciences, Tampa
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 10
You can start with their own words.
ENDOWING WLP’S
FACULTY RESEARCH
AWARD
By Dave Scheiber
It is a program that has enriched lives, expanded horizons and
enhanced our understanding of pressing issues for more than
a decade. Yet how do you truly measure the impact of USF’s
Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Faculty Research
Award – beyond the financial support it annually provides
to deserving and distinguished recipients across the
university system?
Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos
Inaugural WLP Faculty
Research Award Winner 2007
“The message this award sent me meant so much: It
wasn’t simply, ‘Oh, we think you’re doing a really good
job,’ but more like, ‘We really want to support you as
you move forward,’ ” recalls our very first honoree in
2007, Dr. Naomi Yavneh Klos, former associate dean
of USF’s Honors College and today director of Loyola
University’s honors program. There have been 23
WLP Faculty Research Award recipients to date, and
Dr. Yavneh Klos could speak for all of them when
describing the feeling of validation for her past work
and encouragement to push onward – in her case with
research in the field of Italian Renaissance spirituality:
“I will always be incredibly grateful for the support of
WLP when I truly needed it.”
Then again, perhaps the program’s impact can be
gauged best by considering the vast range of work it
has nurtured. The lengthy and impressive list includes
researching ways to provide access to reproductive
health care for impoverished women around the world;
exploring educational needs of women and girls
affected by war; providing psycho-social and behavioral
health services to children and adolescents with HIV;
and creating new opportunities for females in the
traditionally male-dominated realm of engineering –
and so much more.
While you’re at it, imagine the impact of all the vital
research endeavors to be embraced by WLP in the
years to come – thanks to the program that annually
awards a $5,000 grant to faculty members whose
research and creative efforts focus on women, women’s
issues and women’s initiatives.
11 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
“This is our hope – that the award makes a genuine
difference in the important research efforts of our
deserving faculty members, ultimately impacting
women in positive ways not only around the United
States but across the world,” says Lagretta Lenker,
chair of WLP’s Faculty Research Awards Committee.
“And we feel very gratified to know that our winners
continually express how much the award meant to
them at a key moment in their careers.”
But for that very reason, it is imperative for us now to
find additional sources of support for the program, which
is currently funded through the WLP Fund and the USF
Foundation. In the long-term, the current funding source
simply is not sustainable. That is why the time has come
to create an endowment that will guarantee the WLP
Faculty Research Award program will flourish well into
the future.
The program recognizes outstanding faculty members
in the USF System (USF Tampa, USF St. Petersburg
and USF Sarasota-Manatee). In addition to the one-time
financial award to support their continued work,
recipients enjoy honorary annual membership in WLP
for two years. There are four separate annual categories
for honorees: Three institution-based Faculty Research
Awards (one award per USF System institution); a Junior
Faculty Research Award; an instructor award; and a newly
created award for research in the realm of Health Sciences.
“This award is so meaningful – as an attractor of
additional funding for a faculty member, a catalyst for
growth within their professional field, and a spotlight
on the regional, national and international acclaim
they have garnered,” says WLP Executive Director
India Witte. “All of that serves to benefit the USF
System and underscores our mission – to build the
potential of women while partnering with the USF
System to achieve its strategic goals and objectives.”
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 12
Dr. Kathleen Moore has always recognized the vital importance
of the Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Faculty Research
Awards. Her perspective on the 10-year-old program has been
forged both as a founding member and past chair of WLP and
from her distinguished, 25-year career at University of South
Florida, highlighted by the monumental task of creating the
USF System from separately accredited institutions.
From that vantage point, Moore has been a firm believer the power
of WLP’s Faculty Research Awards, inspired by the vast array
of System-wide work done by USF faculty members whose efforts
have been propelled by individual $5,000 grants.
She has seen how the program has provided much-needed financial
support at key junctures in their research, which has enriched
lives and opened doors to greater understanding on a wide swath
of issues – from providing access to reproductive health care for
impoverished women around the world; to exploring educational
needs of women and girls affected by war, to creating new opportunities
for females in the traditionally male-dominated realm of
engineering – and so much more.
That is why Moore and her husband, Nicholas Nitch, have taken a
step to ensure that future decades of the program will remain as vibrant
as its first. The couple has established a deferred gift that will
one day serve in part to endow the WLP Faculty Research Awards.
In the meantime, they intend to make early payments to support
the program, as well as WLP’s efforts on behalf of promising first
generation students and outstanding faculty.
“The need for philanthropy with respect to scholarships is obvious,”
says Moore, who paid tribute to her mother’s legacy as an
independent, hard-working woman by creating the Elsie A. Moore
Memorial Scholarship through WLP. “Costs continue to rise, and
many young women who are the first in their families to attend
college don’t have the family resources to support their academic
pursuits. I’m very gratified that so many WLP members are there
to help them.”
Yet Moore and her husband have seen an increasing need to
personally bolster and even broaden WLP’s parallel mission to
support faculty research, assuring it will continue to have impact in
the years ahead.
13
2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
“The need for investment in faculty research – and, in this
case, research that ultimately benefits women – is perhaps less
obvious,” she explains. “The general public doesn’t always understand
the importance of faculty research. In order to maintain
the academic infrastructure, there has to be adequate funding for
research. While revenue streams from the federal government are
critical for the university, there’s also a need to support lower-profile
types of projects. And what we’ve seen, since we began the
Faculty Research Awards, is that a relatively small amount of
money can be critical in helping faculty – particularly at the start
of their careers – leverage that award into a larger grant opportunity
or a chance to continue a project.”
One prime example is Dr. Griselle Centeno, professor of Industrial
and Management Systems Engineering. An expert in systems
research, she undertook a project to increase the modest ranks
of females in the engineering field, by creating new engineering
opportunities in health care. The faculty award for her initiative,
USF IDEAL (Increasing Diversity in Engineering Education and
Labor-force) couldn’t have come at a better time. “WLP gave me
my first investment in this endeavor and by getting that recognition,
I was able to immediately showcase my work to the Nation
Science Foundation,” she says. “The WLP faculty award served
as a stamp to confirm that people believed in our initiatives.
And only a few weeks after I received the WLP award, I received
approval from the National Science Foundation for almost
$200,000, allowing me to continue this relevant research.”
Or there’s the case of Dr. Susan MacManus, USF’s high-profile
professor of political science and author whose insights have
made her a fixture on local and national TV during election
seasons. With the help of the WLP grant, MacManus was able
to pay for essential research assistance and complete a book
rooted in a lifetime passion for Florida politics, Florida’s Minority
Trailblazers: The Men and Women Who Changed the Face of
Florida Government – an exhaustive work that took 10 years to
complete. “I’m very excited about it – and grateful to the support
WLP provided in giving me the seed money to make it a reality,”
she says.
Stories like that made Moore and Nitch aware that WLP’s Faculty
Research Awards serve an invaluable purpose, worthy of their
support and hopefully the support of others. “There aren’t many
organizations like WLP that could step in and direct philanthropy
in ways that will help women faculty, especially junior faculty,
begin building a research agenda – and one that will ultimately
be broader in scope than anything WLP could ever fund,” Moore
says. “These projects have to get started, and we can help them
take those first few steps up the ladder.”
Nitch, one of the longest-serving adjunct professors at St. Leo
University at 35 years, is glad to be a part of WLP’s initiatives for
an additional reason. “Both Kathleen and I are first generation
college graduates ourselves, and we each had a parent who would
have loved to go to college, but were limited by war or the Depression,”
he says. “They were very bright, and although they missed
out on that opportunity, they offered it to us.”
To WLP Executive Director India Witte, the couple’s deferred
gift – in conjunction with their ongoing immediate support
– makes an enormous statement. “What is most exciting and
meaningful is the sustainability of the program their generosity
will make possible,” she says. “This affords the program much
more resonance and gravitas as the gift is from people who
intimately know the USF System and our organization. And
we’re incredibly grateful to them.”
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 14
By Dave Scheiber
TAMPA – One is a talented TV star and University of South
Florida alumna working in the spotlight of a hit prime-time series,
the other a gifted USF biological sciences student studying
diligently on a pre-med track. But Grace Byers and Katherine
Garcia have each traveled a similar path of overcoming formidable
challenges in chasing their dreams. And they combined to steal
the show at the 12th annual WLP Fall Symposium.
Byers, a Class of 2006 theater graduate and a cast member in
FOX’s drama Empire, uplifted the sellout crowd at the Hilton
Tampa Downtown with a keynote speech tailored to the event’s
theme of “Finding Your Grace.” Garcia, a WLP scholar, inspired
the audience with a tale of her enormous will to succeed in spite
of the unimaginable obstacles she and her family faced after
arriving in America.
Their stories of personal strength and courage in the face of
hardship delivered ideal messages for WLP and its mission of
empowering and supporting women. Garcia started by pointing
out that she, like Byers, shared something in common: an
education made possible through scholarships. But her story
would also serve as an ideal bookend to Byers in her own search
for grace amid adversity.
“Throughout my childhood, I dreamed of attending college,” she
began. “But it was a dream similar to that of a child who dreams of
being an astronaut, and has
the rocket ship but has no access to the fuel necessary to get
into space.”
Garcia explained how her impoverished, immigrant parents
were devoted to making a better life for their young daughter
and son. They eventually arrived in Tampa from Panama, living
in a small, single-room apartment that adjoined a bathroom –
the place Garcia would stay up late doing her rigorous
International Baccalaureate program homework in high
school, with the toilet serving as a chair and the sink as her
desk, so not to disturb her sleeping family.
“Our family confronted and overcame every challenge that life
brought our way,” she explained. “...Every challenge was a
learning opportunity; every obstacle, the chance to learn more
about myself – what I could achieve in the now, and what I
could become in the future.”
It was a poignant, powerful show of grace, followed soon after
by Grace herself. An experienced public speaker, Byers was
thrilled to learn several weeks earlier of the event’s theme and
purpose and decided to customize her talk to the occasion,
weaving in stories she’d never before shared at the podium.
She began by discussing the meaning of grace.
“Now I may be a little biased, but I think it’s an amazing word,”
she said, triggering a wave of laughter. She went on to explain
how she felt constant pressure to live up
15 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
to the name’s many definitions, but gradually came to feel that
they “not only continued to lift and inspire me, but they’ve taught
me how I can empower myself through grace itself.”
Byers began her talk by telling the crowd how inspired she was to
hear Katherine’s story. She followed by expanding on the event’s
theme: Finding your grace in the face of opposition. “Believe it
or not,” she said, “grace is most desired and most needed when
we face challenges and opposition.” Byers touched on the obstacles
of her youth. But she focused primarily on a professional experience
as an adult – searching to find the grace to deal with a difficult New
York agent who refused to let her out of a contract to make way for
her move to Chicago.
future, while soaking up her advice and feedback. From the
back of the room, Byers’ USF theater instructor, Fanni
Green, who had a profound influence on her former student,
beamed with pride. “I told her it felt like she was teaching me
today,” she said.
For that matter, anyone in attendance would likely agree that
one word summed up WLP’s day of Grace: Amazing.
Byers struggled to make it clear to the unyielding agent that she
needed to part ways for personal reasons several months before her
contract was up. It was an awkward and tense dispute, but she
relied on her instincts, held her ground with honesty and firmness
and ultimately prevailed.
Her lesson: “There’s a way to show up in this world fully and
authentically you – and to give yourself the grace in order to be able
to do that. I learned from this situation that I have the permission to
give myself the grace to own my ‘yes’ and just stand in my ‘no.’ And
sometimes in life that is the biggest lesson you can possibly learn.
It continues to show people around you that you’re showing up as
an individual, as someone who knows who you are. And that is the
greatest asset you can bring to any company.”
Byers closed by talking about the importance of her spiritual
life. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t include God’s grace,” she said.
“It humbles you. It lays you down in a way that continues to
ground you.” Her 45-minute talk was greeted with a rousing
standing ovation, yet a quieter session that followed carried
a special power of its own.
Byers met privately for severel hours with dozens of WLP
Scholars, seated with her in a large circle. They shared their
own stories of overcoming obstacles and their dreams for the
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 16
We grew from 250 to 306
members in FY17 – a 22%
increase in membership.
Increase in First Generation
Scholarship dollar disbursements
in this fiscal year from $21,000
to $133,750.
17 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
The number of WLP
scholarship funds increased 30%
(33 in FY16 to 43 in FY 17).
The WLP/USF St. Petersburg
Scholarship Fund increased 57%
over the last fiscal year reaching
fully endowed status.
The WLP Endowed Scholarship Fund has increased 95% over the last
fiscal year from $139,561 to $272,676.
ENDOWED
ENDOWED
ENDOWED
ENDOWED
ENDOWED
ENDOWED
OPERATING
OPERATING
OPERATING
OPERATING
OPERATING
OPERATING
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 18
WLP has awarded nearly $1,000,000 in scholarships
to 430 students since WLP’s founding in 2005. These
scholarship awards, paired with the unique mentoring
and engagement opportunities that WLP affords our
recipients, provide opportunities for worthy students
to continue their education and fulfill their dream
of completing their degree at a leading public research
university. Endowed scholarship funds exist in
perpetuity. To achieve the balance between making
awards and sustaining principal growth, WLP adheres
to the USF Foundation spending policy established
annually by the Investment Committee of the
Foundation Board of Directors. A percentage of
earnings on each fund are awarded in the spring for
students enrolled in the following fall semester. The
number of WLP endowed scholarship opportunities
grows in relation to the number of members
contributing at the endowment level. Many WLP
members who contribute at the endowment level have
established a named scholarship to honor a special
person or to serve a defined group of USF students.
WLP/Anne Marie Campbell Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Bank of America East Tampa Scholarship
WLP/Berkman Family Scholarship
WLP/Betty Castor Scholarship for Global Initiatives
WLP/Bob & Liana Fernandez Fox Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Carolyn A. O’Steen Scholarship*
WLP/Carolyn House Stewart Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Chris Maria Reyes Endowed Scholarship*
WLP/Deborah Eaves Endowed Scholarship
* Deferred Scholarship Funds
WLP/Donald & Ruth Anderson Memorial Scholarship
WLP/Dorothy L. Morgran Endowed Scholarship in Marine Science
WLP/Dorothy Warren Burke Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Elicia Renee Byrd Endowed Service Scholarship
WLP/Elsie A. Moore Memorial Scholarship
WLP/Esther Schneid Memorial Scholarship
WLP/Florida Medical Clinic Foundation of Caring
WLP/Geraldine Twine Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Jessica Stands With Girls Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Judith Bryan Darsey Scholarship
WLP/Linda Blume Award
19 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
WLP/Martha Hodge Memorial Scholarship
WLP/Nancy Schneid Scholarship
WLP/National Mah Jongg League Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
WLP/Ouyang Yu Memorial Scholarship
WLP/Pam Iorio Leadership Scholarship
WLP/Philip & Ellen Asherman Scholarship
WLP/USAmeriBank Endowed Scholarship
WLP/USF Sarasota-Manatee Scholarship
WLP/USF St. Petersburg Scholarship
WLP/Valerie D. Riddle, M.D. Endowed Scholarship
WLP/Vincnet Zecchino M.D./Dream Givers USA Scholarship
WLP/Virginia Gregory Endowment in Entrepreneurship
WLP/Waller-Witte Endowed Scholarship
Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Endowed Scholarship
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 20
2017 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD
WLP honors visionary leaders and philanthropists throughout the community doing extraordinary things to make Tampa Bay a
better place for women to live and work. With our Community Leadership Award Program, we showcase individual excellence in
leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work, and inspiration to others. By awarding the Community
Leadership Award as a part of the program at our annual Fall Symposium, WLP publicly affirms and celebrates the immense
contributions and achievements of women in our communities with the intent of raising public awareness and inspiring the
leadership and service potential of current and future generations of women.
DEBBIE N. SEMBLER
WLP COMMUNITY
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Debbie N. Sembler has been an unwavering and
passionate supporter of the USF System and of USF
St. Petersburg for more than a decade. As Chair of the
USFSP Campus Board, she helped facilitate the
burgeoning growth at USFSP in recent years. During
her tenure, USFSP received the two largest gifts in its
history from Kate Tiedemann and Lynn Pippenger,
and a number of major construction projects were
completed – the Science and Technology Building; the
Debbie Nye Sembler Student Center; the HarborWalk;
and an iconic feature at the heart of the campus, the
Debbie and Brent Sembler Family Fountain.
A former marketing executive, Debbie’s career included
serving as senior account executive for Hill & Knowlton;
director of public relations for Wyndham Hotel Sea
World in Orlando; and as the first director of marketing
for Old Hyde Park Village. While raising her three
children, she shifted her focus to community work where
she has served on the boards of All Children’s Hospital,
the Florida Holocaust Museum, the Florida Governor’s
Mansion Foundation, Shorecrest Preparatory School
and Temple Beth-El.
As a member of the Holocaust Museum Advisory Board,
she initiated a collaboration between USFSP and the
museum, focusing on collecting and preserving the
testimonies of Holocaust survivors living in the area.
That effort led to the establishment of the Debbie and
Brent Sembler Florida Holocaust Museum Lecture Series
at USFSP. They also have established a philanthropic
fund through the Tampa-Orlando-Pinellas Jewish
Foundation, Inc.
Debbie is one of the USF System’s longest-tenured
trustees, devoting 12 years of service, until her recent
retirement. Her commitment to the USF System
continues, as she now serves as the USFSP Member
at Large on the WLP Executive Committee, and has
recently joined the USF Foundation Board of Directors.
She became involved with USF when then-Gov. Jeb
Bush appointed her to the board, with subsequent
appointments coming from governors Charlie Crist
and Rick Scott. In 2015, Debbie was chosen to serve
as co-chair of USFSP’s 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Her philanthropy there and as a member of WLP reflects
her tireless commitment to higher education and passion
for student success. Through it all, Debbie continually
has modeled WLP’s mission of engaging and developing
the intellectual and leadership potential of women that
enhances life at USF and beyond.
21 2016-17 ANNUAL REPORT
ANN MCKEEL ROSS ’79
WLP LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ann McKeel Ross, a USF alumna, worked as Director
of Community Relations at the university from 1980-
1996, receiving the Affirmative Action Award from
USF’s Equal Opportunity Committee for her continued
efforts to recruit and hire minorities, women and those
with disabilities. She became a founding director of
Pilot Bank and Vice President of Advancement for the
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (now the Straz
Center). Though she retired from that position in
2001, Ann continues to serve as a member of the board
of trustees.
In addition to her professional achievements, Ann has
made a significant mark as a volunteer. She is currently
a member of the Athena Society and an honorary
member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and has
served as a board member for the Museum of Science
and Industry, Temple Terrace Friends of the Library,
the Home Association, the Southwest Florida Board
Bank, and the Children’s Center for Cancer and
Blood Disorders. Her contributions have led to
numerous honors such as Florida Arts Recognition
Award from the State of Florida, the Arts Patron of
the Year Award from the Arts Council of Hillsborough
County and the Outstanding Cultural Contributor
Award from the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of
Commerce.
A native of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Ann attended
and studied art at the University of Kentucky and
Western Kentucky University. She halted her studies
to raise three sons with her husband, Dr. James C.
Ross, whose service in the U.S. Air Force led to an
assignment at MacDill Air Force Base that brought
the family to Tampa. She eventually earned her
Bachelor of Arts in Art from USF in 1979, later
becoming a Life Member of the USF Alumni
Association and serving on the boards of the USF
Foundation and USF Contemporary Arts Museum.
She and her husband, a retired dentist, helped establish
the museum and USF Graphicstudio. Ann also founded
CADRE, the first arts support group at USF.
USF WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP & PHILANTHROPY 22
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