About Us
Leadership
2024-2025 Board of Advisors, OLLI-USF's Leadership Team
The OLLI Board of Advisors' mission is to ensure the effectiveness and continuity of OLLI-USF by guiding decision making, enabling program excellence, responding to the membership, and promoting member participation. Sharing leadership with the OLLI staff, the board is future-oriented, continually striving to improve while addressing present challenges and opportunities.
We are currently accepting applications for our board!
Learn more about us and our board here. View or download our application here.
Officers
Linda Feeney, Chair, originally from Boston, moved to Tampa upon retiring from a 17-year career at the Ford Foundation, a major philanthropy with headquarters in New York and field offices worldwide. At the foundation she experienced and learned collegiality, a willingness to understand and value experiences, and consensus, the active solicitation of input and the flexibility to adapt to it. When Linda first encountered OLLI, she was impressed with the quality and depth of the classes and continues to contribute to OLLI’s instructional quality as a frequent moderator in Literature courses. She believes that OLLI is a wonderful example of how a community of members can develop and sustain an organization serving a meaningful purpose.
George Hyde, Board Secretary, is a former OLLI Board Chair, and has Chaired the OLLI Membership, Travel, and Marketing Committees, served as a member of the OLLI Executive Committee, and created and taught more than 40 OLLI courses. A lifelong broadcaster, George managed the nation’s largest Spanish-language Radio stations (in Miami) and served as Vice Chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters and Executive Vice President of the Radio Advertising Bureau, as well as on Advisory Boards of the Florida Association of Broadcasters, Associated Press, United Press International, and Arbitron Radio (now Nielsen). He also served as Marketing Chair of the White House Council for a Drug-Free America. George was Executive Producer of “An American Idea,” which aired in all of the Top 100 Radio markets and was voted the best syndicated daily radio series in the country during the Bicentennial year. A native of Providence, RI, George graduated from Brown University and received his MBA from York College of Pennsylvania after ten years of night classes in three different cities.
Committee Chairs
Pam Tyler, Membership Committee Chair, was born in Ankara, Turkey; raised in Morocco and Okinawa; and is an FSU alumnus (in French) who later earned a graduate degree from Yale Divinity School and a Law Degree from the University of Florida. Her varied background prepared Pam for a varied career, including seven years as a full-time astrologer in London and eight as Felony Division Chief of the MiamiDade County State Attorney’s Office. Pam is an ordained priest who officiated in parishes in Laguna Hills (CA) and Taos (NM), directed a refugee resettlement program as Vice Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, and owned and managed a lodge and retreat center in Taos. In retirement, Pam returned to her family’s roots in Dade City and has undertaken a broad-based effort to generate awareness of OLLI and growth in membership in that fast-growing area and throughout Tampa Bay.
Kevin Chittim, Development Committee Chair, is a retired tech CEO who has served on OLLI’s Finance, Marketing, Program Planning, and Executive Committees. Kevin has taken more than 350 OLLI classes at OLLI-USF and other OLLI institutions and taught scores of classes, principally under the “Great Books” banner. Many OLLI members may not realize that more than 20% of OLLI’s operating expenses are not covered by membership and tuition fees and must be met by philanthropic donations and other sources of revenue; it’s Kevin’s goal to expand the scope and the sophistication of the fund-raising effort. Kevin’s roots are in New England, but the Dartmouth grad held management positions in California, New York, and Florida before retiring to Pinellas County. His specialties are in finance, marketing, and general management, with experience in volunteer fundraising and board experience in both religious and community organizations. He was CEO of three companies, served on a broad variety of boards including school boards and the Great Books of Tampa board, and was chair of the Florida Business Incubator.
Diane White, Volunteer Engagement Committee Chair, is a proud USF alum, having graduated from the university with a Master’s degree in Education. She retired from Verizon after 28 years in Information Technology as a systems engineer and project manager. Currently she writes and develops curriculums for a wide variety of management subjects including project management and process improvement. In addition, she has coauthored a book on project management. Volunteering is a life-long passion for Diane, who has led many international and local non-profit and volunteer organizations. She joined OLLI in 2014 and, after taking the Leadership class, she joined the Volunteer Management Committee. Diane teaches technology classes for OLLI on a wide variety of subjects and is always searching for new ways to use technology to connect us to people and information around the world.
Karen Wright, Chair, Travel Opportunities Committee, is a transplanted Pennsylvanian who escaped the Lehigh Valley snowfalls to attend the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and never moved back North after settling in Tampa. Karen’s degree in Computer Science led to a 40-year career in Marketing, Customer Service, and Project Management with IBM and AT&T, during which time she made the most of Florida’s outdoor recreational opportunities, including more than 700 scuba diving adventures in the Atlantic and Caribbean. An avid traveler and photographer, she has enjoyed OLLI classes in both, and she is also involved with the Florida Native Plant Society, serving as Editor of the bimonthly newsletter for the Nature Coast Chapter. As a member of the Travel Committee, she has developed several of the most successful group trips in OLLI’s travel history.
At-Large Members and Shared Interest Group (SIG) Liaison
Nancy Baily-Williamson, Shared Interest Group (SIG) Liaison, joined OLLI in 2021 after retiring from a lengthy career in the property & casualty insurance business, mostly with a large multi-national corporation where she developed expertise in Operations and Financial Management. In 2013, however, Nancy decided to work with a team to help create a smaller, more focused, and nimble insurance carrier, a project which proved successful and eventually expanded into six states in the Southeast. Since joining OLLI, Nancy has taken a variety of Liberal Arts classes – history, music, entertainment, mystery, and intrigue. She enjoys the variety of learning experiences. In May of 2023, Nancy became the Shared Interest Group Liaison and Board of Advisors member, where her personal goals include raising the level of member engagement in OLLI by broadening the awareness of the many opportunities OLLI offers to Tampa Bay area seniors.
Earl Richardson, Instructor Support Leader, retired as an Air Force officer, having served more than 26 years as an Air Force bomber pilot and instructor pilot. He commanded a squadron that supported the day-to-day alert of our nation’s nuclear forces and was responsible for the safety and operational readiness of nuclear weapons. He also held senior leadership positions in military space programs and at the Pentagon. While at the Pentagon, he worked with our nation’s most senior military leaders as he managed the procurement of major new military weapons systems. Earl holds a Doctorate in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University and has taught graduate school in Business and Public Administration. Since retiring to the Tampa area, he has been an active local community volunteer in various leadership positions. Earl loves teaching and has especially enjoyed teaching here at OLLI-USF.
Veronica Maxwell, OLLI Director (ex officio) - Veronica Maxwell came to OLLI-USF from Hillsborough County Aging Services, where she spent seven years working with the county’s senior centers as senior program coordinator for nutrition and wellness. “I am excited to be working with the committed OLLI-USF members, volunteers and staff to help guide the organization’s programs and expansion,” said Maxwell, who also previously served as a teacher in Hillsborough County Public Schools and has been an active volunteer with community organizations that work with older adults. In addition to her bachelor’s degree, Maxwell holds a master’s degree in science education in instructional leadership. She is currently a doctoral student in curriculum and instruction in the USF College of Education and a recipient of the Dr. Kathryn Hyer Supervisor Award from the School of Aging Studies.
(The position of Finance Committee Chair is currently vacant.)