Doctor of Business Administration
Class of 2021
Ruben Cintron
Whole Foods Market
Ruben Cintron is unique in that he straddles finance and operations. He became involved
in both worlds after starting out in operations with customer service while completing
his undergraduate degree in finance. Since then, he has seen the impact each field
has on the other. His passion for these disparate fields has brought into focus his
intense desire to learn about and solve complex problems in his work. He is one of
six children all of whom earned college degrees and three of whom went on to earn
master’s degrees.
Cintron now is a seasoned financial leader of Whole Foods Markets with more than 12 years of experience in coordinating and leading financial and business performance at the food retailer. His experience in accounting, budget planning and monitoring has made him a trusted liaison and advisor to executive leadership in the company’s financial operations and strategies.
He received an MBA with a concentration in international business in 2013 from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2016 from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Jay Civitillo
Sales-Path
Jay Civitillo operates Sales-Path, a consulting company that advises business owners
and managers on sales operations and sales effectiveness. He also counsels them on
strategic planning, sales management, process creation/improvement for project management
and operations. Prior to starting the consulting business, he ran global sales operations
for a U.S. Department of Defense contractor. Prior to that, he had held various sales
and sales management positions for a variety of businesses and corporations.
His goal now is to grow his business and, through the DBA program, he hopes his interaction with thought leaders involved in the course and exposure to cutting edge concepts and ideas will motivate him to push himself and his consulting business to new level. Learning various research methods and discovering new ways to analyze data, he says, is key to success.
Civitillo earned an MBA from the University of South Florida in 2012 and a bachelor’s degree in management information systems in 1995 from the University of Pittsburgh.
John Couris
Tampa General Hospital
John Couris is a nationally recognized leader in the health-care industry, having
received tremendous success through innovation, technological integration and strategic
collaborations while ensuring world-class performance.
As president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, where he is responsible for the strategic and operational performance of the entire organization, Couris writes a blog on health care and executive leadership and hosts a podcast that provides listeners with insights into topics and trends in the industry. His career started at Massachusetts General Hospital where he led operational research and strategic activity. He also served as president and CEO of Jupiter Health/Jupiter Medical Center. There, Couris expanded medical services and forged innovative partnerships with some of the leading providers in the nation.
He received a master’s degree in management in 1995 from Lesley University in Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a special interest in industrial and organizational psychology in 1990 from Boston University.
Sue Ryan Goodman
Sue Ryan Goodman has a passion for teaching accounting and finance, which explains
why she enrolled in the DBA program. She retired in 2013 after a 24-year career in
investments in New York City, and prior to that, she helped build a global, private-equity
portfolio of natural resource assets for a large European pension fund. This job took
her to six continents looking at timber, mining and energy assets.
In her early retirement, Goodman served on several non-profit boards and for a year as the interim executive director of the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of Greater New Jersey. Her research interests include the intersection of corporate sustainability and investment performance, as well as and nonprofit governance, financial and investment management. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant. She and her husband, Mark, moved to St Petersburg in 2017 and have two adult children.
Goodman earned an MBA with a concentration in finance in 1989 from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1983 from Marquette University in Wisconsin.
Marcus Green
Jacobs Technology
Marcus Green is a life-long learner who serves as a senior enterprise security incident
response analyst providing cybersecurity expertise and support for Jacobs Technology,
a contractor working for the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force
Base. He has more than 10 years of information security experience and is a Certified
Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Security Manager
and Certified Advanced Security Practitioner.
He is a retired U.S. Army officer of 27 years, serving over the years as an information systems security officer, assistant professor at Oregon State University, combat platoon leader and various enlisted positions while assigned to the U.S. Cavalry. His biggest lesson learned in his extensive leadership experience has been that the human being is the most vital component of any operation.
Green received a master’s degree in information technology management in 2014 from Webster University in Missouri and bachelor's degrees in organizational leadership from Waldorf University (2012) in Iowa and business administration from Columbia Southern University (2008) in Alabama.
Darin Grimm
Summit Consulting
Darin Grimm considers himself a lifelong learner, whether it involves formal education,
hobbies or the simple lessons he can learn from his children. He passionately believes
learning is a gift not to be wasted or taken for granted and one that can take him
anywhere he desires to go.
He is vice president of claims for Summit Consulting, a workers’ compensation insurance company headquartered in Lakeland. In this role, he oversees the claims adjudication process as well as the medical network and billing processes for an average of 30,000 claims annually. He has been part of insurance and risk management for the better part of 20 years, first starting out at a Fortune 50 company and later moving to the insurer side with Summit Consulting, where he has held various leadership positions ranging from underwriting to sales to, most recently, claims.
Grimm received an MBA with a concentration in marketing in 2011 from Saint Leo University in Florida and a bachelor's degree business and professional leadership in 2009 from Southeastern University in Florida. Additionally, he completed the Executive Scholar Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois.
Andy Hafer
Dynamic Communities, DCE Productions, Communities Inc., Synapse Ecosystem Development
Corp., Global Village Ventures
Andy Hafer is a consummate learner, constantly thirsting for knowledge and understanding.
He also places a high value on contributing to and relying on the community for learning.
“The wisdom of the crowd,” he says, is one of the most powerful tools he can use to
achieve his goals. In 2004, he put this concept to use while searching for a specific
software training services. He assembled a learning community that became Dynamic
Communities, now his most successful business.
He’s a leader in several companies besides Dynamic Communities. He currently is founder and chairman of DCE Productions, founder and chairman of Communities Inc., cofounder of Global Village Ventures and cofounder of Synapse Ecosystem Development. He doesn’t move from job to job. He creates his next job. Each of his endeavors has focused on the greater good of communities and not necessarily limited to just financial success.
Hafer received an MBA in 1990 from the University of South Florida with a concentration in finance and marketing and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1988 from the same university.
Darwin Hale
Advocate Health Advisors
Darwin Hale thinks big. The founder and CEO of Advocate Health is hoping to expand
that successful business to the next level, meaning acquisitions. Learning from the
community of doctoral-degree-seeking program mates is the rung on that ladder. He
is looking beyond that, though, imagining a conglomerate of his own in the future,
something that will require advanced research and feedback, which will result in boundless
business opportunities. And earning a doctorate will check those boxes.
Beyond that, public service may be in his future and a doctorate will help not only in his professional development, but in distinguishing him from his peers. Hale is a U.S. Army veteran, a retired colonel who has served both active duty and in the reserves. He has served as company commander in Croatia and participated in combat tours in Afghanistan with U.S. Special Operations. He draws on his 30 years of leadership experience in his motivational talks during speaking engagements around the country.
Hale earned an MBA in 1997 from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in international studies in 1990 from the same university.
Chad Jones
Allen & Company of Florida
Chad Jones is a wealth management professional with Allen & Company of Florida, the
state’s oldest investment firm. Since retiring from the military with over 20 years
of non-commissioned and commissioned service, he has helped families and businesses
navigate estate, investment and risk issues as their personal financial and investment
advisor. He is retired from the U.S. Army, where he served as an enlisted soldier
in reconnaissance and as an executive officer with the U.S. Central Command, he helped
oversee a $27 billion budget of overseas contingency operational funds. He also served
as the lead finance and accounting representative in 2010-11 for all U.S. forces in
Saudi Arabia.
As a Certified Financial Planner, Jones now helps families and business owners grow and protect their wealth. He specializes in helping clients navigate the costs of inflated commissions by focusing on frequent communication and implementing innovative approaches to risk and estate management.
Jones earned an MBA in 2006 from Webster University in Missouri and a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2004 from the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Dan Kaufmann
New York Jets
Dan Kaufmann is getting ready for the future. As director of corporate partnerships
with the NFL’s New York Jets, he sees the emerging importance of data analytics, something
that is being mentioned more in boardrooms, classrooms and staff meetings. With the
increasing availability of data, making smarter business decisions comes down to having
the right data to bring about the desired results.
His career began as a paralegal in Los Angeles, but soon shifted to the world of sports, landing a position as account executive with the Pensacola Ice Pilots, a minor league hockey team. A four-year stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a sales representative generating sales in luxury suites and group tickets, gave way to a job as account executive with the Learfield Sports/Rocket Sports Properties working first at the University of Toledo in Ohio and then at the Learfield Sports/Badger Sports Properties at University of Wisconsin before joining the Jets.
He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Marie, and three dogs. Kaufmann earned an MBA and a master’s degree in marketing in 2010 from the University of Tampa and a bachelor’s degree in communications and government in 2003 from Hamilton College in New York.
Randell McNair
Chevron
Randell McNair wants to be known as a catalyst for positive change, a person who inspires
others to pursue excellence and make the most effective use of the resources at hand.
As an information management and data governance specialist with Chevron, where he
has worked for nearly 30 years after completing active duty as a cryptology division
officer in the U.S. Navy, he completed a critical capstone piece of a $110 billion
portfolio that involves gas asset development projects in parts of western Australia
and the Indian Ocean.
He plans to continue to focus on real-world business challenges and work to improve decisions support by building bridges of understanding between strategic thought leaders and tactical decision makers. He is recognized as a Subject Matter Expert in the discipline of information management and has produced white papers that have been presented at international forums.
McNair received a master’s degree in management/technology in 1995 from Kennesaw State University in Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1987 from Florida State University.
Chana Mpafe
Waste Pro USA
Chana Mpafe is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 15 years’ leadership experience
in finance and accounting management. Adept at building finance and accounting teams
for executive decision makers, he specializes in synchronizing sales, operations and
management with financial goals as a catalyst for growth and profit.
He is responsible for accounting, financing and budgets for a $150 million-in-revenue region spanning Southeast Florida. In this capacity, Mpafe leads the accounts receivable/payable and shared service center. Previously, he worked as an auditor with Deloitte, which provided a solid background for public cost and causal nature of finance analysis. He also spent four years in Minnesota with Veolia, a French-based, multinational environmental company. There, Mpafe led a division that scored the best Sarbanes Oxley results for three consecutive years.
Mpafe received an MBA in 2005 from New Mexico Highlands University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2003 from the University of Buea in Cameroon.
Fadi Naser Eddin
Makassed Hospital
Fadi Naser Eddin considers learning a non-stop journey that he has been on his whole
life, meeting and overcoming any and all challenges. He says he may lose a battle
or two in achieving a rewarding education, or maybe three, but he will not lose the
war.
Naser Eddin leads the revenue cycle in Makassed General Hospital in Jerusalem. He develops strategic plans and programs and ensures that goals and objectives are properly defined, clearly established and ultimately achieved. He also oversees developing policies, guidelines and implementing procedures for the hospital that provides much-needed medical care to more than 15,000 inpatients and some 60,000 outpatients. He supervises a staff of 19 directly and indirectly in the department that identifies weaknesses and strengths in internal controls and develops strategic plans with goals and objectives.
Naser Eddin received an MBA in 2007 from Sullivan University in Lexington, Kentucky, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting in 2004 from Isra University at Amman, Jordan.
Mark Raney
U.S. Special Operations Command
Mark Raney’s 30-plus-year career with the U.S. Department of Defense has taken him
throughout the world and exposed him to a multitude of cultures, business practices
and leadership and management styles in both U.S. and international organizations.
He is a leader/manager and astute problem solver with a proven ability of working
in high-pressure environments, meeting deadlines with a capability to create and implement
multiple education projects at the local, regional and global levels
Currently, Raney is an award-winning faculty member and director of the Institute of Academic Outreach and Applied Research at the Joint Special Operations University, U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. His research interests revolve around the application of design thinking methodology for organizational change.
Raney received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Washburn University in Kansas, a master's degree in international relations from the University of Oklahoma and is a Project Management Institute Certified Project Management Professional.
Abílio Santos
SIR Company International, USA Brazil Trade, Eva Group, SIR Ambiente, SIR Company
Abílio Santos spends his time designing and implementing business strategies. He’s
currently CEO of SIR Company International and USF Brazil Trade, chairman of SIR Ambiente
and SIR Company and vice president of EVG Group. His work ranges from managing all
operations in Latin America for SIR Company International to importing and distribution
of Brazilian products in the United States for USF Brazil Trade to trading commodities
from Europe, Asia and other countries for EVG Group.
He also works to develop new technologies for recycling and has implemented similar programs for all of Latin America. The main focus throughout his professional work is to reduce, through recycling, waste materials sent to landfills.
Santos received PhDs in industrial engineering from Anderson University in 2008 and Univesidade Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil in 1994; master’s degrees in environmental science from Anderson University in 2006 and from the Univesidade Ibirapuera in 1997 and a bachelor’s degree in software engineering from the Faculdade Cruzeiro do Sul in 1994.
Tammy Smith
Dynamic Interventions
Tammy Smith is president and CEO of Dynamic Interventions, a private company that
provides a full array of outpatient and specialized mental health services. Though
the practice is thriving, she sees revolutionary competition emerging in the counseling
marketplace. The new competition is online, offering instantaneous electronic access
to therapists, doctors or life/character coaches without the patient ever leaving
home.
To compete, Smith must explore fresh ideas to sustain and enhance existing services. She’s hoping newly acquired research skills can help her patients, her staff and her business. In 2000, Smith served as the deputy director in the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate. The office serves as an ombudsman role to ensure foster children are safe and secure.
Smith earned a master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology in 1996 from Valdosta State University in Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in counseling/psychology in 1994 from the same university.
Christopher Taylor
CT Equity Group
Christopher Taylor was raised in a household focused on higher education. His father
was a medical doctor, his mother a PhD and a brother has a master’s degree in accounting.
His home was filled with books and education always was lauded as being the primary
occupation of all the family members. Taylor is enamored with the idea of earning
a doctoral degree.
He currently is principal of CT Equity Group, which specializes in commercial real estate investments, as well as director of business solutions for LM Funding, a company that addresses operational problems associated with collecting delinquent client accounts. He considers himself to be a life-long learner, constantly reading and researching topics to improve his knowledge and skills. Education, he says, is the great gate keeper to one’s success in life. He also serves on the Hillsborough Education Foundation Board and is a Hillsborough Community College Foundation board member.
Taylor received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and political science in 1985 from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, where he played on the rugby team.
Jim Wallace
AmeriPlus Select Services and The Wellesley Group
Jim Wallace has seen how, throughout his career in the military and the private sector,
much of the research conducted in the business world goes to accounting, operations,
finance, etc., but very little toward innovation. He says transformative innovation
is being short-changed in research and he wonders why that is and how it can be turned
around. He currently is president of AmeriPlus, leading strategy, operations and marketing
efforts for the 600-facility insurance provider network.
Great strides in businesses often don’t come from brilliant planning or decisions based on data and analytics, but rather are the result of trial and error and false starts. Only true tenacity keeps them moving forward. Innovation is largely uncharted territory, one that he wants to explore, to catalog, to give depth and life to, through research.
Wallace received an MBA with a concentration in strategy and finance in 1989 from Harvard University in Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree in operations research in 1983 from the U.S. Military Academy in New York.
Calvin Williams
University of South Florida
Calvin Williams has called the University of South Florida home for the past three
years, overseeing, as vice president for administrative services, the $2 billion infrastructure
budget. He counts as his staff some 500 employees on the USF Tampa campus. He is a
retired U.S. Air Force officer, serving until 2015 at Andrews Air Force Base.
His USF duties include overseeing all aspects of new construction, maintenance and improvements on existing buildings and upkeep of the grounds. He also supervises the campus parking facilities as well as the Bull Runner bus system. His goal: to provide the highest levels of services to the university in order to facilitate student success.
Williams earned a master’s degrees in national resource strategy in 2007 from the National Defense University, military operational art and science from the Air University in 2002 and public administration from Troy State University in 1994. He received bachelor’s degrees in industrial engineering in 1984 from USF and in industrial technology in 1981 from Southern Illinois University.
Ben Wroblewski
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Ben Wroblewski is a 17-year active duty officer with the U.S. Coast Guard, having
served on both coasts, at sea and ashore. He was on the crisis response teams for
the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and the catastrophic Haitian earthquake
that same year. He is a certified government financial manager and is interested in
conducting research and passing on knowledge to the next generation.
In his role as assistant department head, Wroblewski manages a 14-member faculty, a $40,000 operations budget and support for a 60-credit general business degree for about 160 U.S. Coast Guard Academy students at one of the smallest AACSB-accredited schools in the world. He is the lead accounting instructor responsible for providing 12 credits of accounting education, which is the core of the management-degree program. He has managed the entire technical budget for the Coast Guard and was part of a team that managed the schedule and logistics for entire Coast Guard Atlantic area fleet.
Wroblewski received an MBA and MAcc in 2014 from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation in 2002 from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York.