Doctor of Business Administration
Class of 2022
Leroy Alexander
Convergent Solutions
After a 20-year career in the U.S. Army, Leroy Alexander now is a global source manager
working for Convergent Solutions at MacDill Air Force Base, where he coordinates intelligence
operations while enabling combined joint military activities with allies and coalition
partners.
During his post-graduate education in the Executive MBA program at the Muma College of Business, Alexander learned the finer points of research and he hopes the DBA program will strengthen his abilities to conduct meaningful and relevant research that will assist him in his career as a civilian intelligence officer. Alexander’s goal is to assist local area federal government agencies and private sector defense contractors produce better contracts and to facilitate beneficial outcomes for contract disputes. A long-term goal is to expand his expertise to other geographic combatant commands and national-level agencies.
Alexander earned an Executive MBA from USF and a bachelor’s degree in management from Wayland Baptist University.
Justin Belcher
BlueGrace Logistics
Justin Belcher is focused on artificial intelligence in business and supply chain
management and it is that passion that drives him to examine and improve customer
and employee experiences. As a senior leader of information systems at BlueGrace Logistics,
he plays an integral part in developing the company’s strong focus on innovation and
planning.
He is a proponent of the implementation of A.I. strategies to create new business opportunities and increase profitability and he is set on using emerging technologies to achieve a competitive advantage and reduce capital expenditures. He has held various technology positions within the transportation and telecommunication industries including several key roles at Verizon Data Services.
Belcher earned a master’s degree in supply chain management from the Pennsylvania State University, an MBA and a masters’ degree in management information systems from the University of South Florida, and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University with a concentration on information systems and management.
Brian Burton
Instinct Dog Training
Brian Burton has merged his passions in business and animal behavior and is the co-CEO
of Instinct Dog Training. He is an experienced Inc. 5000 executive with a unique blend
of computer science expertise with a behavioral science education that has enabled
him to scale and grow organizations through his career. He has a keen interest in
operational efficiency and worker-friendly environments that unleash team potential
to create synergy that is driven and motivated by customer success.
He has helped Instinct Dog Training share its vision of “A Kinder World through Dog Training” across the country. His research lies in determining different ways of teaching complex behaviors to employees and how those behaviors improve efficiency, as well as workplace changes that better support low-wage workers. Formerly, he was a management consultant with Sapient and he has consulted for Fortune 500 companies including Caesar’s/Harrah’s Entertainment, the Wall Street Journal and the Food Network.
Burton earned a master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation from Hunter College in the City University of New York and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Dalhousie University.
Sarah Combs
University Area CDC
Sarah Combs is the CEO of the University Area CDC, joining the organization in 2010
and under her leadership, it has more than tripled the number of adults and children
reached through education, health, workforce and cultural arts programming, among
others. Her main focus is the holistic redevelopment of the Uptown/University Area
and in partnership with the community, she created a three-year neighborhood strategy
to stabilize the community holistically.
Sarah moved from Colorado to Tampa nearly 16 years ago, taking a position as area director of Best Buddies of Tampa Bay, working to create employment and friendship opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. She created more than 20 middle school and high school chapters in Hillsborough County, started an employment program and launched a networking group. She was recently recognized as a Tampa Bay Business Journal “40 Under 40” honoree, a WFTS-TV “Game Changer” and a Tampa Bay Times “Top Business People” honoree.
Combs received a bachelor’s degree in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice and a minor in legal studies from the University of Northern Colorado.
Ashraf Dehlawi
Morphogenesis
As director of regulatory affairs with Morphogenesis, Ashraf Dehlawi has a special
interest on quality management, continuous quality improvement and regulatory compliance.
His career focus areas include clinical development strategy, regulatory compliance,
clinical trial design and clinical trial management. Morphogenesis develops novel
cell and gene therapies with an eye toward changing the way chronic diseases are treated.
He has served as director since January 2018. Over the previous five years, he was the chief clinical officer for Morphogenesis. And before that, Dehlawi was the hematology product manager for Abbot Diagnostics in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Dehlawi earned a masters’ degree in biotechnology and bioinformatics from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from King AbdulAziz University. He is certified in clinical laboratory quality management.
Jacob Dorff
Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners
Jacob Dorff has a varied background. He currently serves as a fiscal analyst with
Hillsborough County’s Board of County Commissioners in the Enterprise Solutions and
Quality Assurance Department. He previously worked as a program coordinator with the
county’s Management and Budget Department, Risk Management Division. Prior to working
with the county, he served as operations supervisor at Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park for
three years. In 2014, he helped drive more than $2.1 million in membership revenues,
a 34 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
Academically, Dorff has studied personnel relations, employment law and motivational theory. In addition, he has conducted public-policy research, with interests in the green economy, collaborative governance and leadership. His goal is to improve government and public services through research because there has rarely been a time, he says, in which strong public sector leadership is needed more than now.
Dorff earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Joshua Epstein
Posco Daewoo
Joshua Epstein has a keen interest in decision neuroscience and behavioral economics.
He is intent on learning strategies to influence consumers’ perception of value. He
aims to study the neuroscience behind irrational consumer decision making to evaluate
the effectiveness of marketing strategies. This, he says, will yield scholarly evidence
of ways consumers make decisions.
Epstein works now for Posco Daewoo, a Korean automotive supplier. He provides technical expertise in sales and business development responsibilities across North America. Previously, he worked as new business development manager for Ahresty, a Japanese automotive supplier.
He earned an MBA from American University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan. He has also attended the Harvard Executive Business School certification program.
James Farley
Florida Polytechnic University
James Farley has a love of learning and has flourished in the world of technology.
In a field that is constantly changing, he evolves and grows with it. Reconciling
and working on data while making sense out of chaos has been a skill he has developed
over the years and continues to nurture. He currently is an adjunct professor at Florida
Polytechnic University in the data science and business analytics department and the
department of computer science.
As an adjunct professor, Farley teaches finance, supply chain, programming, and project management. Prior to his current position, he was an operations specialist for over 20 years at a number of hedge funds and investment banks, specializing in derivatives and institutional trading.
Farley earned a master’s degree in business analytics and information systems from USF, an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in finance from St. John’s University and a bachelor’s degree in data analytics from St. Petersburg College.
Matthew Forrester
Consultant
Matthew Forrester started out as an art major, but then turned to the U.S. Army to
learn Arabic. He entered the realm of counterterrorism intelligence analysis and worked
as an intelligence professional at MacDill Air Force Base, where he was responsible
for a team that performed due diligence, compliance checks, background research and
risk assessments on people, units, organizations, missions and operations for the
special operations community.
For the past 13 years he has supported special operations intelligence analysis and targeting, identity and signature management, and strategic risk assessments.
His career path is not typical, but he still counts art as a foundation in his life, making him a better analyst by providing the creativity needed to gain unique perspectives on national security that has had unexpectedly profound and positive impacts.
Forrester received a bachelor’s degree in art from the University of Texas at Austin.
Debra Frank
Ken Fulmer
International Institute of Business Analysis
Ken Fulmer has a passion for blending business with technology and data to enable
change in business models as well as the implied workforce. He considers himself a
lifelong learner with good people and technical skills that strengthen his ability
to help find practical solutions to real problems and to be able to implement those
solutions in large enterprises. As CEO and president of the global non-profit International
Institute of Business Analysis, Fulmer has conducted research in the areas of digital
business and has found the need to change core business practices to include more
digital technology skills to meet the demands of the future.
As CEO, he is responsible for all financial and operational aspects of the business as well as a chief advocate for the profession. He formerly worked as chief technology officer for Sunoco and was the CIO of Delek, a Nashville-based refining and marketing products company.
He earned an MBA from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in economics from LaSalle University.
Federico Giovannetti
Trellance, Inc.
Federico Giovannetti has 30 years’ experience in computer systems research and information
technology, having worked in software engineering, embedded systems, storage systems,
IP network management, mobile software systems and information security. His background
includes stints ranging from academia and research in software systems to leading
commercial grade software design and development.
He has published several research papers, presented at industry conferences and was granted three U.S. patents in software design. Additionally, he was awarded the coveted research position of “Distinguished Member of Technical Staff” at Bell Laboratories. Giovannetti also is an accomplished entrepreneur, having co-founded Ogangi Corp. and taking it from two employees to over 30 with annual revenues of more than $4 million. He is fluent in English and Spanish and speaks some Italian.
Giovannetti earned a master’s degree in computer science from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Universidad Simón Bolívar.
Sonia Hollies
Conduent
In her role as the global head of tax for Conduent, a $5 billion, publicly traded
company, Sonia Hollies leads the global tax function, with responsibility for all
aspects of federal, state, local and international income and indirect taxes, as well
as tax planning, provision, policy, compliance and controversy. She partners with
business leaders on planning activities, acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions
to minimize tax cost and manage risk.
Prior to her current position, Hollies served as senior director of tax operations at Xylem, senior business leader and vice president at Mastercard and senior manager at United Technologies Corp. She is a results-driven, high-energy executive with more than 20 years of diversified experience.
She earned an MBA from Pace University, a master’s degree in taxation from Bentley University and a master’s degree in finance from Keller Graduate School. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pace University.
Michael R. Holmes
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Michael R. Holmes Jr. is a physician assistant at the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs providing clinical and surgical care to veterans. He recognizes the complexities
within the healthcare industry and the need for clinicians to have a business acumen
to improve the delivery of health services.
As health care expenditures continue to rise to an unsustainable rate, there is a precedent to reduce cost without sacrificing access and quality. Holmes has a passion to blend his clinical experience with a business acumen to drive strategic change within his organization. Through the University of South Florida’s DBA program, he aims to be a better interpreter, writer and implementer of research to improve clinical outcomes and financial performance. In his down time, he enjoys traveling and motorsports.
Holmes earned an MBA with a focus in health care at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business in 2019, a master’s degree in physician assistant studies at Chatham University in 2012 and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010 following his military service.
Catrina Hopkins
Moss Adams
Catrina Hopkins possesses a strong drive to move forward in life and that’s why, after
more than 20 years in management, she has returned to education to reinvent herself.
She credits her positive attitude and continued perseverance for how she has moved
forward along her career path remaining focused along the way.
She currently serves on the team at Moss Adams as a Senior SOC Compliance Auditor. In that role, she supports external clients as they are working toward earning their SOC Report by examining client systems to ensure that they have the processes and systems in place to protect client and company data. Prior to her current position, she managed customer service teams in excess of 500 members at big-box retailers and has helped users with technical needs around the world.
Hopkins earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity from the Florida Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in business management/security assurance from St. Petersburg College.
Gregory Kober
Harvard Business Publishing
As delivery director for Harvard Business Publishing, Gregory Kober leads a talented
team of 18 leadership development consultants, instructional designers, project managers
and moderators who design, formulate and deliver leadership development solutions
to clients in the United States and around the world. He has spent more than 15 years
leadings teams that partner with clients to develop their most valuable assets: their
current and future leaders.
Over the course of his career, he has focused on designing change in Fortune 1000 organizations to improve their success during turbulent times. He has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Association of Talent Development’s Best of Series Award for transformational training solutions.
Kober earned a master’s degree in public health from Drexel University, a master’s degree in education from the Pennsylvania State University and a bachelor’s degree in government from Franklin and Marshall College.
Kevin Lee
LuCapital Management
With the passion for real estate fueling his business career, Kevin Lee founded his
first real estate investment company in 2014 and since then, he has started three
other companies. He currently is the founder and managing partner of LuCapital Management,
a residential development company in Tampa, a co-founder and team leader for Bay Lux
Group with Keller Williams South Tampa, a brokerage focused on luxury properties as
well as a co-founder of Stridis Renderings, which provides 3D architectural visualization
services throughout the country.
He considers himself a life-long learner, always curious and willing to learn and understand to be as resourceful as possible.
Lee earned an MBA from St. Leo University and bachelor’s degrees in marketing and international business from the University of Tampa.
Mingyuan Li
Amgen
Mingyuan Li is on a path she hopes will lead to an executive position. She currently
is project manager at Amgen and is focused on that career climb. Armed with a well-defined
management acumen and communication, analytical and problem solving skills, she is
capable of multitasking in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment. She speaks
English, Chinese and German.
Over the course of her career, she has successfully built and led several teams in senior management positions and she is passionate about learning the latest trends in leadership. That interest began when she was in graduate school in China when, for the first time, a course in management science was offered. After graduation, she worked in a number of positions, ranging from engineer to consultant to project and general manager. The broad base of knowledge helped her achieve success throughout her career.
Li earned a master’s degree in management science and engineering and a bachelor’s degree in information engineering from Jilin University.
Jerry Mallory
Sodexo
With more than 25 years of demonstrated success spanning the food and beverage, hospitality,
hotel, environmental services, logistics and delivery industries, Jerry Mallory now
serves as a client executive of Sodexo, providing direct and indirect management of
on-site operations for food and facility services. In this role, he also oversees
contract management and negotiations, human resource accounting and financial functions.
In his most recent capacity Mallory has used detailed knowledge of the contract services business and project management skills to assist units in correcting operational issues and client relationships returning them to profitability and re-establishing partnerships with clients at those facilities. He has a sound history of cross sales, service enhancement and has increased top-line and bottom-line results.
He earned an MBA from the USF Muma College of Business and a bachelor’s degree in applied science in business and industrial operations from USF. Additionally, Mallory achieved a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
Quintin McGrath
Quintin McGrath is a driver of global-scale business growth and transformation with a focus on ethics, risk management, sustainability, and emerging technologies. He retired after 24 years at Deloitte where he held multiple IT leadership roles reporting directly to the Global CIO, serving on Deloitte’s Global CIO Council and the Global Technology Executive team. Recent recognitions include the HMG Strategy Group’s 2021 Global Leadership Institute Award and 2019 Top Technology Executive to Watch award.
Over his career, McGrath has held CIO, business consulting, and global program leadership roles in South Africa and the U.S. He is a member of the advisory board for an early-stage venture capital firm and a board member of the Society for Information Management Tampa Bay chapter.
McGrath earned a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa; an MBA-equivalent in business leadership from the University of South Africa, and a master’s degree in missional church movements from Wheaton College.
Lisa Melson
Lisa Melson is a driver of transformational change in the supply chain arena. She
retired after 30 years at PepsiCo where she most recently was a member of the PepsiCo
Global Template SAP project. Prior to that, she worked in a strategic interface position
for PepsiCo’s warehouse delivery business, serving a wide array of customers across
the nation. During her tenure with the food and beverage giant, she filled many roles
spanning the supply chain spectrum from manufacturing to planning to warehouse operations
to transportation to customer integration.
What sets her apart is the variety of responsibilities she has experienced over the course of her career, including the manufacturing of food products and working with sales and the customer to ensure success. One of her previous jobs was working at Northwest Airlines, where she once negotiated a successful bid to transport the White House press corps on an international trip.
Melson earned an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Shirley Morejon
Bank of America
At the Bank of America, Shirley Morejon is a senior relationship manager in global
commercial banking and is responsible for managing a portfolio of clients for whom
the bank consults on global treasury and commercial lending needs. She also is the
enterprise co-chair for the bank’s Employee NetworkHOLA the Hispanic/Latino Organization
for Leadership & Advancement.
Previous to her current position, Morejon was an operations market manager for the
bank, leading more than 150 employees who serve customers in 25 financial centers
in Tampa.
During her 15 years with the Bank of America, she has held several positions, including consumer market manager, market growth leader and small business specialist. She is a first-generation, Cuban-American who has dedicated her career to delivering performance results while being an agent for change in her community and organization. Her passion is developing a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Morejon earned an MBA from the University of Tampa and a bachelor’s degree in international business with a concentration in marketing and a minor in economics from the University of South Florida.
Karun Nama
Fortna
Karun Nama has been a software and product delivery lead for 15 years. In this role,
he defines product strategy and release scope, manages product managers and product
owners, establishes budgets and schedules, assesses product quality and evaluates
the results. He is currently working as a senior manager at Fortna, a warehouse distribution
company in Tampa.
He started as a software engineer and transitioned to a successful delivery manager, implementing large programs in various industries, leading teams spread across different regions. The main focus of his job is to identify complex problems and solve them through the newest management techniques. In his current role, he leads the product-development team that is responsible for the timely delivery of products to customers across the nation and beyond. He also serves as the governance leader, implementing best practices and approaches.
Nama earned an MBA from Temple University and a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering from Osmania University, India.
Angelia Payne
A American Container & Trailer Leasing
An entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in the container industry, Angelia
Payne is the owner, president and CEO of A American Container & Trailer Leasing, a
company that has grown from a concept to a rental and sales fleet of more than 1,100
containers and one of the top providers for portable storage in the region.
Her ultimate goal is to retire in 10 to 12 years and then pass on the business acumen she has acquired over the years to the next generation in a university forum. Setting goals such as this is of interest to her. She has seen in her employees that many of those unhappy in their careers and lives are the ones who are unable or unwilling to set achievable goals. She set out on a mission to educate her employees about goal setting. The process was not easy and she now has a focus on conducting research on goal setting and its impact on the workers in their workplace and in their personal lives.
Payne earned an MBA with a concentration in accounting and management and a bachelor’s degree in art with a concentration in accounting from St. Leo University.
Chris Sawchuk
The Hackett Group
Chris Sawchuk leads a global team responsible for advising the supply management leadership
of hundreds of companies globally. He has overall responsibility for the success of
this global business within The Hackett Group which includes research development,
sales and marketing as well as third party alliances. His marketing duties include
being an invited speaker to many professional events annually on the subject of global
supply management.
Additionally, Sawchuk is a member of The Hackett Group’s Global Advisory Leadership Team and is responsible for the reimagining and transformation of Hackett’s global advisory business. Previously, he served as a senior manager at Gibson & Associates and was a sales and marketing professional and development engineer with IBM.
He earned an MBA from Binghamton University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Union College. He currently sits on the advisory board of two emerging technology companies.
Howard Schwartz
Resolute Financial, Hampton Insurance Brokers, Hampton Securities Limited
In a career that has lasted 30 years, Howard Schwartz is proud of what he has accomplished.
He has learned about and seen businesses operate from very unique perspectives and
he has worked under some amazing leaders in analytical, sales and marketing, finance
and operations positions. He has experience in six different industries and has led
several companies through rapidly changing times. He wants to be an example, through
his perseverance, to his children, nieces and nephews, to show them nothing is out
of their reach, to pursue their dreams and challenges, personal and professional,
and not be afraid of failure.
His drive and desire to exceed expectations has instilled a discipline and dedication that has helped him make to the most of his opportunities. He is an accomplished wealth adviser and serves on the board of directors for Hampton Insurance Brokers and Resolute Financial. Through this involvement, he sees an approaching technical revolution in the financial services world, that last for years to come.
Schwartz earned an MBA from Queens University, is a Certified Professional Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.
Jackie Skryd
St. Petersburg College
Jackie Skryd is the chief of staff at St. Petersburg College, supporting collegewide
operations and strategic initiatives at an institution with more than 47,000 students
and 11 learning sites. She has served the public sector for more than 16 years in
the areas of workforce and education and now plays a key leadership role in the collective
impact work that is transforming education across Tampa Bay.
Her goals are to work with industry, education and government partners to collaborate solutions that expand student access to higher education and improve college completion-to-careers metrics that help close workforce gaps and grow regional economy. Prior to her current role, she was responsible for securing more than $90 million in grant funding for the region as the college’s executive director of grants development and grant director at WorkNet Pinellas.
Skryd received a bachelor’s degree in international studies (business and French) from the University of Michigan and attended the Paris-Sorbonne University on a semester-abroad study program as part of her undergraduate studies.
Cindy Thompson
University of Belize
Cindy Thompson is a self-motivated, dedicated individual with a passion for business
who is focused on inspiring others to achieve their goals. She currently is a full-time
accounting and finance lecturer at the University of Belize. Her research interest
is analyzing the proper implementation of accounting concepts in small, medium and
large enterprises in developing countries.
As part of her job, she coordinates accounting and finance courses and organizes lecturer series on business-related topics. Prior to her work at the university, Thompson served as a senior auditor at Crowe Horwath Belize Limited, where she assessed company records and financial statements to provide recommendations about policy and strategic plans.
Thompson earned an MBA with a concentration in finance from Galen University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Belize. She has successfully completed seven courses in the DBA Advanced Accounting program at North Central University.
RJ Toledo
InvestDefense Investigation Agency & Research Lab
RJ Toledo possesses a passion for learning and exploring and is always on the lookout
for new adventures, which led him to become founding director of the InvestDefense
Investigation Agency & Research Lab. His first love is space, so he became a missiles
and engineering officer in the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office,
serving as space operations and engineering commander, program manager of national
security intelligence programs and flight director of a spacecraft launch.
His interest in investigations led him to become an FBI special agent, leading probes into a multitude of criminal and national security cases. His third love is business, so he began investing early on in real estate and equity markets, which has evolved into a privateequity investment portfolio. He founded his company to create a platform that applies science and innovation to solve prevalent problems.
Toledo earned a masters’ degree in space science from the University of North Dakota and a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the American Military University. He also received a bachelor’s degree in engineering, industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan.
Sonia Weinhaus
Honeywell
Sonia Weinhaus, senior global planner with Honeywell Aerospace, has a wide spectrum
of interests and a varied background. Besides the technical position she now fills,
Weinhaus once owned a television and media production company. And this: She has visited
the stadiums of all 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Currently, Weinhaus works in supply chain planning for commercial aerospace products at Honeywell. She manages production supply and demand and coordinates the transition of manufacturing from one site to another. She has also worked in sales and operations planning, master scheduling and strategy for defense products. Prior to her supply chain career, Weinhaus was a television and media producer. In that role, she created content for such networks as PBS, Discovery, History and National Geographic.
Weinhaus earned an MBA from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College. She is a Certified Supply Chain Professional, Six Sigma Specialist and Microsoft Office Specialist.
Willy Wolfe
MapleMark Bank
Willy Wolfe has approximately 27 years of experience in executive-level financial
planning, analysis and risk management. He currently serves as the vice chairman,
CFO for Maple Financial Holdings. Before founding the company, he held various executive
finance positions at Ernst & Young, AIG, and MUFG Union Bank, where he was responsible
for managing Union Bank’s $140 billion balance sheet and $25 billion investment portfolio.
During his tenure with Union Bank, he also served as vice chairman of UnionBanCal Equities, the private equity arm of UnionBanCal Corp. Previously, Wolfe served as senior vice president and head of credit for ING Direct USA.
He earned an MBA with a concentration in finance from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and graduated from New College of the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in math/economics.