Michele triple majored in Psychology, Animal Studies, and French at Eckerd. She initially started at Eckerd with a plan to major in Psychology with a French minor, but fell more in love with the French language than she could imagine, so she added it as a second major. Halfway through her time at Eckerd, Dr. Highfill launched the new Animal Studies major and she knew she had to add that major as well. At Eckerd, she was a member of the Riptides dance team, French Club, and the Comparative Psychology Club.  She assisted with Dr. Highfill's Comparative Psychology Lab/Dog Cognition Lab  which included presenting research at the CO3 conference in Melbourne, Florida and assisting with other lab projects. Michele loved to travel during her time at Eckerd. She did various Winter Term trips to France, Africa, and London in addition to spending a semester in France - she took as many opportunities as she could to get out and travel. When Michele wasn't in class or at dance practice, she loved spending her Saturdays on Kappa Field and her evenings watching the sunset at the seawall. 

During her time at Eckerd, Michele did various animal internships to prepare for her career in animal training. She was an Animal Training Intern at Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana in the Summer of 2018, Marine Mammal Training Intern at Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in the Summer of 2019, Behavioral Research Intern at ZooTampa in Spring 2019, Animal Care and Training Intern at Dolphin Research Center in Marathon, Florida in Summer 2020 and 2021.  All of these internships gave her various skills that have helped me secure my current job at SeaWorld Orlando. 

After graduating from Eckerd, Michele knew she wanted to travel before settling down, so she moved to Cannes, on the French Riviera, to work as an English Language Assistant with TAPIF. This is a program where you work in France for 8 months in a French school and teach English. She worked in a high school with students aged 14-17. This program was not only a great way to improve her French language abilities, but it also allowed her to share information about English and her life in the United States. 

After her time in France, Michele missed animals and knew she had to get back in the field. She was worried that taking a break from training could be detrimental, but was able to secure a job quickly after returning to the US! Currently, she is an Associate Zoological Specialist at SeaWorld Orlando on the Wild Arctic team. She has the privilege of working with a very unique collection of animals including Beluga Whales, Walruses, and Harbor Seals! On the Wild Arctic team, they combine animal training with good animal welfare and animal care practices to cater to our animal's needs. This includes daily training sessions, husbandry training, and enrichment design.

Outside of work, Michele likes to spend her free time reading, crocheting, hanging out with her friends, and going to the parks in Orlando.

Originally from the Washington DC metro area, Jackie was thrilled to attend Eckerd College with its abundant sunshine. Going into undergrad, she hoped to prepare for veterinary school while getting hands-on animal experiences and learning about wildlife health. 

At Eckerd, Jackie quickly found a home in the Biology department. In addition to taking classes and working as a TA, she was involved in extracurriculars such as the Herpetology Club, Pre-Vet Society, Women’s Rugby (go Sirens!), and EC Field Hockey. Some of her most interesting moments came from off-campus activities, specifically volunteering with the FWC MMPL at the edge of campus. She spent Winter Term of 2010 completing an independent study there, necropsing hundreds of manatees and other animals as well as assisting in rescue calls. Other interesting animal experiences included a Winter Term independent study at ARCAS Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Peten, Guatemala. Additionally, as a Hollings Scholar, Jackie spent a summer at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California completing a project on leptospirosis epidemiology in California Sea Lions in addition to participating in animal husbandry, veterinary care, and necropsies. 

After graduating from Eckerd in 2012 Jackie stayed close by, living in Pinellas County while working as a veterinary assistant at a small animal practice. During that year after college, she established her residency in Florida and applied to veterinary school. In 2013 Jackie moved to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. She completed a dual degree program, earning a DVM and Masters of Public Health as well as a certificate in aquatic animal medicine. During veterinary school, she tracked mixed animals and continued to pursue exposure to a wide variety of species, particularly wildlife. Externship and clinical experiences included the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, The Marine Mammal Center, Connecticut Veterinary Diagnostic Lab, and the ASPCA Forensics unit. Following vet school she completed a one-year small animal rotating internship at BluePearl Tampa and stayed on as a second year as an emergency clinician. While she enjoyed parts of emergency medicine, her clinical interests became more focused on diagnostics. Jackie returned to the University of Florida in 2019 for a clinical pathology residency, which she completed in 2022. Currently, she is living in Massachusetts and working as a diagnostic clinical pathologist for Idexx.

Outside of work she enjoys being outside, preferably by the water. Other hobbies include biking, cooking, and baking, as well as checking out new breweries and traveling. Highlights include almost yearly get-togethers with her close-knit group of Eckerd friends.

Jeremy George graduated from Eckerd college in 2012 with a B.S. in biology. Most of Jeremy’s time at Eckerd revolved around finding opportunities to work with animals; he was the president of the Herpetology club, participated in sea turtle conservation research projects and Rainbow Run sampling trips with Professor Meylan, and volunteered with marine animal rescue and rehabilitation organizations. Outside of class, Jeremy was a rugby player, lifeguard at the college pool, and spent a large amount of time surfing and skating around Florida.

After graduation, Jeremy worked as a chemist for a small defense contractor and then transitioned to a small private healthcare toxicology and pharmacogenetics lab in Tampa. He worked for four years before attending Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine to obtain his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 2020. During his time in veterinary school Jeremy completed multiple internships with Gulf World Marine Park, SeaWorld Orlando, and Gulf World Marine Institute. Jeremy worked in the clinical pharmacology lab at Auburn researching endocannabinoids in dogs and phytocannabinoids in pet products.  Jeremy was Auburn's national Delegate for Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) where he began the advocacy for tuition transparency of veterinary schools and met with state representatives to discuss the issue of veterinary student loan debt.

Jeremy was an associate veterinarian for two years in general practice before starting Paws in Paradise Animal hospital in 2022. Currently, Jeremy is planning a second hospital with expanded services and has begun a veterinary startup advising company with his business partner. Jeremy’s free time is mainly spent on the beach, surfing, playing volleyball, free-diving, or playing with his two-year-old Dalmatian.

Cassi Lyon entered Eckerd with an interest in Zoology and Marine Biology. She quickly realized that the heavy lab-centered style research of these fields wasn't a good fit for her. The Animal Studies major didn't exist when she was at Eckerd, but she was still lucky enough to work with Dr. Lauren Highfill. Joining the Comparative Psychology Club is where she discovered my love of and interest in animal behavior. With this group, Cassi coded videos for Zoo Tampa, studied Western Lowland gorillas at Busch Gardens, and helped with other animal-related projects. In addition, she was an Autumn Term Activator from sophomore year to senior year, volunteered at the Sarasota Manatee Association for Riding Therapy (SMART) all four years at Eckerd, and was a Ford Apprentice Scholar. Cassi took a service trip to New York with Dean (now President) Annarelli, did a zoo studies course with Dr. Highfill where we went to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park, and did a spring into summer with Dr. Felice where we traveled to Geneva to visit the UN and other international bodies to learn about policy and governance. 

All these experiences led Cassi to first work at Disney, where she was an Animal Behavior Professional Intern, and later joined the team as a full-time employee as the Animal Behavior Research Assistant. What she learned in those positions led me back to graduate school. She started at Arizona State University in 2019 with an interest in the complicated ways in which we perceive, understand, study, and care for animals. Particularly, Cassi cares about how we interact with and treat zoo animals, which is why her dissertation work focuses on conservation messages and anthropomorphism in accredited zoos' great ape exhibits.

While at Eckerd, Kerri double Majored in Animal Studies & Psychology, and minored in Theatre. Kerri initially chose Eckerd with an interest in Marine Science, but quickly realized that Biology and Psychology aligned more with her long term goals of animal care, conservation, and research. Luckily, after just one semester, Animal Studies was created and Dr. Erin Frick joined Eckerd to initiate the new Major. This fulfilled all of Kerri’s interests and led Kerri to assist Dr. Erin Frick in the beginnings of the Dr. Erin Frick Animal Behavior Laboratory (FAB Lab). Kerri went on to become the lab’s first manager and participated in various research projects including behavioral studies with dolphins at Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Otter Enrichment projects. Kerri was also a member of College 101, this club was a mentorship program for local middle and highschool students in St. Petersburg, designed to inspire them to seek higher education and provide support for current academic success. 

While Kerri was at Eckerd she was selected for various internships and volunteerships at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, FL. She was able to learn the in’s and out’s of working at an aquarium with a variety of species. Ranging from lemurs, otters, and penguins to sharks, stingrays, and rehabilitation with sea turtles. In 2020 Kerri was hired at the Florida Aquarium as an Animal Care and Health associate, here she was responsible for the diet preparations for all animals at the aquarium and she assisted the animal care teams with husbandry duties. In 2021, Kerri was promoted to a Biologist. This role led to Kerri working with Sharks, Rays, Sea Turtles, and various invertebrate species. Kerri also worked at a local animal health and wellness store, The Modern Paws, working there provided her with interpersonal and professional management skills. 

Kerri graduated early in 2022 and continued her work at the Florida Aquarium until August of 2022, from there she moved back to her hometown of Chicago, Illinois and accepted a position at the Shedd Aquarium. Kerri now works with a variety of species of animals and is working on starting research projects surrounding some of her favorite species. 

When Kerri is not surrounded by animals, you can usually find her anywhere there is live music! Kerri also enjoys yoga and spending time outside in a hammock.

Liz Price attended Eckerd College from 2014-2018. While at Eckerd she double majored in Biology and Psychology with a minor in both Chemistry and Spanish. She was an EMT with EC-ERT and acted as a shift leader and a training coordinator during her four years. When Liz entered Eckerd, she had a love for marine mammals, specifically rescue and rehabilitation (still does!). For four years, she was a volunteer for the marine mammal pathobiology lab that is on campus where she got to participate in necropsies of dolphins/whales/sharks/lots of manatees and in rescue operations alongside SeaWorld and Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA). 

Over the summers, she interned with CMA as a rescue intern and then down in the Florida Keys with Dolphins Plus as a Veterinary Extern. At the time, she knew she wanted to work with marine mammals but wasn't sure in what capacity or role that would be. During her time with CMA, she had the opportunity to work with the veterinarians of SeaWorld and that's when she knew she wanted to pursue veterinary medicine. When she was at Eckerd, there wasn't too much focus on pre-vet in the pre-health club, so she decided to spearhead this but make it more inclusive. The EC Animal Careers Club was born. Her goal was to bring together the pre-vet students as well as those that were interested in careers with animals from conservation to behavior. They provided lectures and labs over the next couple of years. They even had the opportunity to attend two American Pre-Vet Medical Association (APVMA) conferences. During her senior year, Liz became the secretary for the APVMA, a national organization for all of the pre-vet clubs in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Starting the summer of her junior year, Liz started the grueling application process for vet school. She applied to six schools and was accepted to Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Indiana. During the summers, she externed at the Palm Beach Veterinary Specialist in their surgery and emergency department. This is where she really fell in love with emergency veterinary medicine. She always loved emergency medicine from being an EMT but didn't have much experience with veterinary ER. During her clinical year of vet school, she did externships with the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and the Navy's Marine Mammal Program in San Diego. Currently, Liz is an Emergency Veterinarian for Fetch Vets in Brandon. Her goal is to continue to pursue marine mammal medicine as she obtains more clinical experience.

When Liz is not working, she enjoys bodybuilding/powerlifting, exploring St. Pete, being on the water as much as she can, and spending time with friends.

Katie Willgohs graduated from Eckerd in 2021 with a bachelor of science in psychology and animal studies. While at Eckerd, Katie was heavily involved in academic research: she was a research assistant in and lab manager of Dr. Lauren Highfill’s Eckerd College Comparative Psychology Lab, a research assistant in Dr. Erin Frick’s Frick Animal Behavior Lab, and a Ford Scholar. Her research primarily focused on elephant cooperation at ZooTampa, dog welfare and creativity, and the role of comparative psychology in academia. Her research connected her with the Amazon River Dolphin Conservation Foundation, through which she pursued a development and marketing internship while at Eckerd. Katie was a statistics tutor and was also involved in the peer mentor program, being a peer, lead, and uber mentor.

Upon graduation, Katie was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, and received the Sarah K. Dean Women in Leadership Award and the Animal Studies Distinguished Student Award. She also received the George P. E. Meese Writing Excellence Award for her writing portfolio.

Immediately after graduating from Eckerd, Katie worked in Eckerd’s office of advancement for two years to gain some professional experience before heading to graduate school. Now, Katie is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Josh Plotnik’s Comparative Cognition for Conservation Lab at the Graduate Center, City University of New York in Manhattan. Katie’s research focuses on investigating elephant cognition to better inform conservation practices; more specifically, looking at elephant problem-solving abilities and educating the public on their intelligence.

Outside of work, Katie enjoys watching sunsets—something that has stuck with her since her Eckerd days—listening to her favorite artists (Chelsea Cutler, Banks, Noah Kahan, and Quinn XCII), dipping her toes into photography, and watching Survivor.

Abby Heller-Leib graduated in 2011 with a B.A. in Anthropology and Ancient Studies. While at Eckerd, Abby worked all over campus for all four years, making smoothies at the cafeteria, milkshakes and coffee at the Pub, and sorting pencils at the Leadership Development Institute. She spent the summer after freshman year at an archaeological field school in the Caribbean, which led to independent study courses in osteology, subsequent research and a presentation on dental chipping, and an obsession with dead things. 

After Eckerd, Abby went to N.C. State University for her M.A. in Anthropology, where she took classes in forensics, Geographic Information Systems, museum studies, and everything else she could think of that might help her get a job. She spent over a year volunteering at the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology where she played with broken bottles, plates, and rusty metal. 

Following graduation, she took a job in Hawai’i where she spent a year as an archaeologist in the mud and sun. She then moved to an engineering firm back on the mainland and spent the next 7 years traveling the country, climbing barbed wire fences, and digging holes.  Abby is now back in her hometown of Chicago as a project manager for cultural resource management at a large engineering firm. She is currently juggling all sorts of responsibilities but ultimately works as a consultant to protect prehistoric and historic archaeological sites that might be destroyed by development projects. 

After work, Abby spends a lot of time in the garden, doing yoga, hating workouts, drinking wine, cooking, complaining, and snuggling with her giant Great Pyrenees puppy.

Lindsay Huban graduated from Eckerd College in 2005 with a B.A. in History and Music.  While at Eckerd, Lindsay sang in the choir for four years, served as Choir President her senior year, played handbells, and was active in the Swing Dance Club.  Lindsay wrote a senior thesis on a special unit of the Waffen SS in Nazi Germany.  She worked all four years at the Leadership Development Institute.  She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and won the Outstanding History Student Award in 2005.

After graduating from Eckerd, Lindsay moved to Washington, D.C. where she studied history at American University, earning a M.A. in 2007.  She conducted original research on the links between baseball and national identity in the Caribbean and wrote a thesis on public perception of Major League Baseball players.  She interned at the American Red Cross National Headquarters in the History and Education Programs, later working for the department full-time.  Lindsay developed exhibits and worked in the archives and historical collections.  Lindsay also taught history as an adjunct at American University.

After seven years in D.C., Lindsay returned to Florida, working at the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples in volunteer management and guest services.  She started at the Henry Plant Museum in October 2014, working in several different positions before being selected as the Executive Director in April 2023.  Lindsay has worked in all aspects of the museum field and has presented at conferences and as a guest lecturer on her experiences.  She is passionate about reaching new audiences for museums and telling diverse stories.  She is a member of the Florida Association of Museums Foundation Board, a graduate of Leadership Tampa (one of the oldest programs of its kind in the nation), and a certified Zamboni driver.

Outside of work, Lindsay enjoys playing classical guitar, sampling excellent craft beers, reading science fiction, and spending time with her husband and their yellow lab, Cosmo.

Allison graduated from Eckerd in 2001 where she majored in East Asian Studies and minored in Anthropology. While at Eckerd she studied three languages; tutored in the Writing Center; was a Ford Scholar; studied abroad in Greece, Austria, and Sweden; sampled classes ranging from Chinese philosophy to modern dance; joined the cross-country team her senior year; and spent a good deal of time on the beach at Pass-a-Grille. She also worked at an art gallery off-campus for three years. Originally from rural Wisconsin, she found Eckerd as a result of a basketball scholarship and snow-bird grandparents in the area.

After graduating from Eckerd, Allison studied French baking & pastry arts at a culinary school in western Canada and subsequently spent a year dipping truffles and baking bread in the wee hours of the morning prior to enrolling in a graduate program in arts management with a focus on museum studies. While at the University of Oregon, she earned a fellowship in the education department of a museum, pursued research into gender equity in the management of American art museums, and decided upon a career path in the art world.

Since then, Allison has worked in Seattle’s art community as a fundraiser for two museums (National Nordic Museum, Museum of Glass), one nonprofit art school (Pilchuck Glass School), and a large performing arts organization (Pacific Northwest Ballet); worked in art galleries specializing in Japanese prints (utilizing that East Asian Studies degree!) and contemporary sculpture, respectively; and led private sales at the studio of artist Dale Chihuly. Today, she works independently assisting collectors with acquisitions and with a bi-coastal art advisory & appraisal firm serving private, corporate, and institutional clients around the country. She’s also recently become more involved with her mother’s business, a private gallery specializing in Scandinavian antiques and art based in the upper Midwest. Allison credits the people who provided her with opportunities & mentorship at different stages of her career for the interesting career path she's walked and believes it is important to do the same for others if one can.

Outside of work, Allison has served on nonprofit arts boards and currently volunteers with the elder community. She raises orchids and collects ceramic art. She’s found the Pacific Northwest a great place to ski and her newest hobby is crabbing in the Puget Sound.

With ten years of stage experience, Charles came to Eckerd in 1976 with a tunnel-visioned focus (according to Prof. Empric!) on “pre-law.” That lasted a whole three weeks and after cycling through four potential majors, designed his own  

graduating with a B.A. in Fine Arts. His senior thesis was writing 3 one-act plays, acting in two, directing the third, designing sets and costumes, a retrospective art showing in the lobby, and a final Flentrop organ recital  

climaxing in the d-minor Toccata and Fugue earning him a place among the “with honors” graduates. In his rare free hours, he performed with the Eckerd   Folk Dancers, helped found the Straight/Gay Alliance, eschewed 8 am classes, and on his too-small bike visited friends while observers hummed the Mrs. Gulch/Wicked Witch theme. 

Charles has been teaching in professional programs and in private practice since 1981. First invited to teach acting and playwriting at Carnegie-Mellon University (where he holds his MFA), New York City’s Roundabout Theatre imported him to create and serve as Conservatory Director and instructor for the Roundabout Theatre  Conservatory. During his tenure there, he also served as Assistant Casting Director for two seasons. 

After observing a class with the legendary Stella Adler, Charles joined the Stella Adler Conservatory’s faculty as a specialist in script analysis and eventually became Program Director. He taught script analysis, and scene study, and directed projects for the conservatory as well as New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts B.F.A program. During this time, he was honored to sit at Miss Adler’s side for a good deal of the last five years of her New York City teaching, absorbing her techniques and studying her profoundly insightful eye. In 1998 his book, The Actor’s Script—script analysis for performers—was published by a division of  Houghton-Mifflin, and is currently in its 21st printing. After 11 years with Miss Adler’s New York City school, he joined the faculty of The Stella Adler Academy Los Angeles where he taught professional scene study, basic and advanced script analysis, and directed showcases. He taught and served as Creative Director of Training there for 7 years before moving to Seattle for live stage theatre, his first passion, rather than film and television which he found too materialistic. 

Raised by a celebrated Broadway parent, Charles joined the theatre at age 7. Before leaving NYC for Los  Angeles to explore “the other half of acting,” he performed in his own play An Alternate Recipe on Off Broadway’s 42nd Street “Theatre Row.”  In LA he directed theatre, had scripts produced, and taught  “movie stars” until he was invited by The National Theatre in Mexico City to lead (with a translator) a  workshop for over 50 Mexican and Central American professional actors. This magnificent week inspired his return to theatre choosing Seattle as his next home. He was invited by a young theatre company to serve as  Artistic Director helping them achieve two Seattle Times Footlight Awards, before founding Theatre 9/12— Actor Development with respected colleagues. 

Over ten productions of his plays were produced in NYC, four in L.A., and to date nine in Seattle. He is the recipient of The Bud Yorkin Playwriting Award and was nominated by The Arena Stage in D.C. as a finalist in the Foundation of the Dramatist Guild/CBS National Playwriting Contest. He was a resident playwright and Playwright’s Representative for the Manhattan Class Company (MCC Theatre) who developed his play  Personal Formulas for an Off-Broadway production, also on Theatre Row. 

Charles has directed dozens of plays both professionally and in workshop/educational theatre ranging from Moliere to Tennessee Williams, to new scripts still in development. His production of Edward Albee’s  Everything in the Garden played to excellent reviews and sold-out houses for Los Angeles’ Dreamhouse  Ensemble Theatre, before his journey to the northwest. 

"It's as though Charles put glasses on me” —Antonio Banderas

Emma White graduated from Eckerd in 2003 with a BA in Environmental Studies. While at Eckerd, Emma utilized numerous scholarships and worked as a Writing Tutor at the Eckerd College Writing Center. She was part of the EC Hiking Team and organized beach and campus cleanups. Because of Eckerd's generous study abroad scholarships, Emma studied abroad at Australia's Southern Cross University and interned on permaculture farms in New Zealand and Hawai'i. Through her senior project, Emma interned at the Sierra Club on a successful campaign protecting Eckerd's waters from offshore oil drilling.

After Eckerd, Emma worked as a Community Organizer for the Building Environmental Communities Campaign with Sierra Club. She then entered the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. There, she served as a Teaching Assistant for Legal Writing. Emma was an Editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy and externed with the region’s US Attorney's Office. Emma also lectured on Constitutional Law and Legal Writing for Paralegal courses at Santa Fe College, Gainesville. Upon graduating cum laude from law school, Emma and her husband and classmate Johann Smith moved to Emma's childhood home state, Hawai'i.

During law school, Emma realized she was happiest teaching writing, legal or otherwise. So, she passed the Hawaii Bar, briefly clerked for a Circuit Court judge, and began a lecturer position at Hawai'i Community College. Soon after, Emma was hired as a tenured English instructor at Maui College. Now ten years later as an Associate Professor, she's the English Department Chair and has the honor of impacting the lives of thousands of students via teaching, mentorship, career counseling, and community support initiatives.

Emma's focus is on creating a balanced life where joy thrives. She hikes weekly, bikes daily, and swims with friends nearly as often. Cooking and slow-living/travel light her up. Merging poetry and botany the way her degree from EC did, she volunteers for the Merwin Conservancy and the Hawaiian Island Land Trust. Emma is happiest reading books to her daughter on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Bo Aleksic was born and raised in Bosnia (Former Yugoslavia) and is a survivor of the civil war that forced him and his family to immigrate as refugees to Germany at the age of 12. Consequently, Bo lived in three different countries under three different political environments and schooling systems, which enabled him to learn different languages, cultures, and local customs, as well as broad education levels while growing and strengthening his international network.

Bo joined Eckerd College on a soccer scholarship and graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in International Business. While at Eckerd in addition to being a full-time student-athlete, he was significantly involved with the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and International Students’ Association.

Following graduation, Bo joined T. Rowe Price as a retirement account advisor. After a year at the firm, he was recruited to join Citigroup’s (today Citi) Leadership Development Program. Bo was selected as one of eight individuals globally to participate in Citi’s most prestigious and highly competitive global leadership development program. Over the years at the firm, he held various positions within the Corporate office, Enterprise Risk Management, and Latin & North America Financial Centers working out of Tampa, NYC, and Zurich, Switzerland offices.

In his current role, Bo serves as an executive leader with the Citi Security & Investigative Services division, leading an expansive and diverse global analytical portfolio of 100+ analysts across the world who oversee strategic, tactical, and operational products and analysis of financial crimes and security threats faced by Citi and its worldwide subsidiaries and legacy companies.

Bo currently resides in Pinellas County after moving back to the area a few years ago from Zurich, Switzerland. Outside of work, Bo enjoys spending time with his family and being a “dance dad” supporting his daughter and her teammates compete across the country.

Johnny Boykins graduated from Eckerd in 2008, where he studied political science and communications with a minor in international relations and global affairs. As a student, he was involved in ECOS, Omicron Delta Kappa, Eckerd College Young Democrats, and was a Wittner Family Scholar, Take Stock in Children Scholar, and Doorways Scholar. 

Johnny went on to obtain an M.A. in Security Studies and Diplomacy from Norwich University. While a student and after graduating from Eckerd, he worked in maritime enforcement for the United States Coast Guard Reserves. He has been with PalAmerican Security since 2016, currently serving as the regional director of operations for the Southeastern U.S. 

Johnny volunteers with many local organizations including but not limited to the Pinellas Education Foundation, the Better Future Project, St. Petersburg College, Car Free St. Pete Committee.

Laetitia Boyle graduated in 2006 from Eckerd College with a degree in International Business and a minor in Mandarin Chinese. While attending Eckerd, Laetitia traveled to Southeast Asia and Morocco on separate Winter Term trips to learn about the nuances of finance and commerce against the backdrop of other cultures. She also met her future husband on the trip to Asia, fellow Eckerd alum Ben Boyle. These important tenets have stayed with Laetitia as she has risen from intern to department leader at Raymond James Bank.

Her first official role at Raymond James was in the Accelerated Development Program (previously known as the Options Rotational Development Program), completing a year-long training before transitioning into Corporate & Commercial Real Estate Banking. In 2011, she was given an opportunity to build out the new Securities Based Lending department, implementing the overall business strategy and growing it to over $2 billion in loan balances. Currently, she is Head of Sales, Education & Engagement for Private Client Banking, which offers cash and lending solutions to Raymond James' 8,700+ financial advisors.

Laetitia is the executive sponsor for Raymond James Bank & Trust's Diversity and Inclusion Council and a member of the Eckerd College National Advisory Council. She is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute at Wharton and attended Developing Black Leaders in Financial Services at Columbia University. She is also a recipient of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 40 under 40 recognition in 2021. Laetitia is also a board member for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay and an active volunteer for Lasagna Love, which helps to tackle food insecurity. Outside of work Laetitia and her husband Ben have two children and love to play golf when they can.

Candis Carmichael graduated from Eckerd with a double major in International Business and Spanish (and one credit shy of a minor in Classics). She was one of three students in the Class of 2003 granted early admission during the application cycle. Originally from Chicago, Candis started her academic path as a Biology major with the ultimate goal of becoming a veterinarian. After a self-guided independent study shadowing a veterinarian, her path (and major) transitioned to International Business, focusing on entrepreneurship and marketing.

While at Eckerd, Candis spent one year working at the Waterfront, two years as an assistant in the International Business department, three years as an editor for Arts & Entertainment/Lifestyles section for The Triton (the student newspaper at that time), and one year as the photography editor for the yearbook. She also participated in Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and volunteered at both Creative Clay and Enterprise Village at the Stavros Institute.

After a 15-year career in business-to-business (B2B) marketing ranging from media buying for national brands like Ideal Image to experiential marketing initiatives at Cannes Lions Festival and CES for companies like eBay, Candis has shifted her focus back to the family business of residential real estate to have a more direct impact on her community and neighbors. This current adventure has kept her in Pinellas County, where she still lives. 

The common thread through Candis' career has been unrivaled customer service, strong communication, extensive organization skills, and a desire to teach in order to elevate those around her.

Originally from beautiful, Narragansett, RI, Brandon Cooke graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a degree in Business Administration. While attending Eckerd, Brandon was active with the Eckerd College Homeless Outreach (ECHO), Men’s Rugby Club, Eckerd College Organization of Students (ECOS), intramurals, and spent many afternoons fishing out in Tampa Bay. His fondest memories of Eckerd are of the community and the service learning opportunities. These experiences are fundamental to who he has become and how he approaches his career and the community he lives in.

After graduating from Eckerd, he briefly worked at Capital One and started with Raymond James’ Customer Accounts team in 2012. Over the next few years, he obtained his series 7, 24, and 66 licenses and worked with various compliance and supervision teams. These roles helped him develop a strong understanding of the regulatory environment that governs the financial services industry and how that impacts Raymond James’ business units.  In 2020, he transitioned out of brokerage and into Information Technology Compliance, supporting the Raymond James Privacy office and Information Technology teams with a focus on information compliance and risk management. He has since obtained his CIPP/US and continues to grow in this area of emerging risk.

Brandon continues to live in St. Petersburg and stays busy with the Pinellas County School Lunch Pals program, enjoying the many beaches and museums, and birding throughout Florida’s many parks and preserves.  

Jessica Doolittle graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a B.A. in International Business, and minors in Political Science, Marketing  

and, Italian. While at Eckerd, she studied abroad twice - once in Italy for a semester, and in Belgium for  Winter Term. Jessica was on the women’s golf team and still enjoys playing the game today. During her senior year, she interned at a local women’s professional networking company and volunteered at the First Tee, St. Petersburg.

Following graduation, Jessica joined Target Corp. where she gained valuable experience managing process mapping, strategic planning, and dynamic management of global supply chains. In 2017, Jessica joined Petco Health and Wellness Co., and has held progressive leadership roles in Petco’s Global  Sourcing organization. As Director of Global Sourcing at Petco, Jessica has extensive vendor, supply chain, and cost management experience, and enjoys leading a global team.

When she is not working, you can find Jessica on one of San Diego’s beautiful golf courses. She also enjoys cooking, hosting parties, and spending time on the beach with her husband and pup, Pepita.

Grace Gair graduated from Eckerd in 2008 with a double major in Anthropology and International Relations. While at Eckerd, Grace was an avid member of ECOS being a part of the Student Senate, VP of Academic Affairs, and President. She also was a Ford Scholar, RA, and an Ethics Bowl participant. Grace was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Following graduation, Grace received a Fulbright scholarship to South Korea, where she taught English. Grace then spent three years in Berlin, Germany, where she completed her Master's degree in Public Policy and worked as a consultant. 

Grace is currently Director, Technology & Cyber Risk Officer at Capital One, where she helps the Bank assess and manage risk associated with new commercialization efforts. Prior to starting this role, Grace worked with a variety of public and private sector organizations on identifying, assessing, and managing cyber and operational risks. In particular, she has specialized in helping companies adopt new methodologies for quantifying and communicating risk to non-technical stakeholders.  

Doreen Galli attended Eckerd College from 1985-1989 and graduated with the Highest Honors. Her majors were Business, Computer Science, and Mathematics. She was a GTE-CoSIDA All-American Cross Country runner and was active in 17 clubs and committees.

Throughout Dr. Galli's career, she has served as a director and/or C-Level executive for IBM, DHL, Dell, AT&T, and Gartner, to name a few. Dr. Galli has also been trained as a professional speaker, and she has been invited to speak at distinguished venues such as the Forbes Executive Summit, CIO Summit, CIO Academy, Network+ Interop Las Vegas & Atlanta, The Internet Security Conference, WITI Conference, Grace Hopper, Strategic Analytics Summit, CES WITI Innovation Panel, and Gartner’s Catalyst Conference.

Originally from Cape Cod, MA, Philip transferred as a freshman from landlocked Wheaton College in Illinois, to a more appropriate seaside life at Eckerd College. During his 3.5 years at Eckerd, he frequented the Waterfront and was a regular on wakeboarding trips. Philip co-led reestablishing EC Men’s Club Lacrosse (which took a several-year hiatus prior to his time at Eckerd) and served as club President. He also studied abroad at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. After graduating with honors in 2014 with a B.A. in Economics, he started a career as a software designer.

Philip is a hobbyist photographer–some of his photos can still be found in Eckerd’s marketing material. He spent five years moonlighting as a music journalist and photographer, providing coverage across the country for artists and festivals.

In 2020, he joined his brother Peter to help build Wunderite, an insurance automation platform. Together they participated in Techstars Boston, an accelerator program for startups. In January 2023, they successfully raised a Series A round of funding, led by Spark Capital. He’s the Manager of User Experience, leads the design of the software, and co-leads the Product-Engineering team.

In his personal time, he’s a familiar face in the local Swing and Salsa dance communities, an avid reader, and enjoys swimming, walking, rollerblading, and eating waffle cones at local parks and beaches.

John Meiners started Eckerd as a Chemistry major and halfway through his junior year he realized that he liked his elective courses of Economics, Business, and Political Science far more than Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus. So he changed his major to Business Management and took some summer courses to graduate on time. This was among the best decisions he ever made and set him up for the most satisfying career he could have ever imagined. 

John was very involved in the waterfront program and specifically EC-SAR…it was a key reason he decided to come to Eckerd. Having become a certified SCUBA diver at age 15,  EC-SAR was just beginning to form a dive rescue program following the Sunshine Skyway disaster. He started as a trainee “pube” but eventually did most everything. Divemaster, Boat Captain, EMT, Sar Coordinator.  My work study was working on the waterfront boats, teaching sailing and skiing in the summers.  Not much time for other things being “On Duty” 50% of the time.

After graduation, John worked at the Eckerd College Waterfront Program securing donated boats and helping manage EC-SAR. Eventually, John knew it was time to leave and landed a role with Dale Carnegie Training Systems in Tampa. Within a few months, he was promoted to sales manager and opened a new office and territory in Pinellas County. After a few successful years selling and teaching, a colleague mentioned the American Heart Association (AHA) was looking for someone with fundraising and sales experience to lead their St. Petersburg chapter. It sounded interesting to him and 32 years later John is still with AHA. He has had many positions with AHA over the years in fundraising, volunteer management, multi-state region management, and national consulting, however, the role he has now is his favorite. Over the last 12 years, John has had the privilege to create new lines of business in Healthcare Quality and Professional Education that has grown to $350m in revenue each year for the AHA’s life-saving mission. 

In addition, these businesses train more than 22 million people, in 104 countries, and save countless lives each year. Among the business areas, he leads are Emergency Cardiovascular Care, Hospital Quality and Certification, Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) Partners, and the Center for Health Teach and Innovation, and is now the president of Healthcare Quality and Research Systems (a global subsidiary of AHA). 

Outside of work, John still loves to sail, boat, and dive whenever he can. He has spent a lot of time boating on the Great Lakes when he worked from Ohio and later the Chesapeake Bay for a couple of summers. More recently he has started track racing his AMG GTS.

RJ Nowling graduated from Eckerd College in 2010 with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics.  RJ was a Ford Scholar and participated in undergraduate research at and outside of Eckerd.

After Eckerd, RJ earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.  RJ's research focused on mathematical models and numerical algorithms for molecular dynamics simulations and applications of data science to genomes.  After his Ph.D., RJ took a detour into the industry.  As a software engineer at Red Hat, RJ contributed to open-source software for scalable data processing (e.g., Apache Spark).  RJ then joined AdRoll as a data science engineer and worked on teams that implemented and operated recommendation systems for online advertising.

In Fall 2018, RJ joined the Milwaukee School of Engineering as a faculty member in Computer Science. RJ teaches courses in data science, machine learning, data structures, algorithms, and software architecture. RJ draws on his combined industry and academic experience to ensure that courses prepare students for real-world applications.

Outside of work, RJ spends his time with his wife and two dogs, riding a gravel bike, practicing karate, and watching baseball games.

Caroline Weatherill graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a major in International Business and minors in Spanish and Psychology. While at Eckerd, Caroline spent time as the Director of the Student Community Standards Board, interned at a local marketing consulting group, studied abroad in London, England, and Athens, Greece, as well as participated in Spring Break Service Trips to Lima, Peru and St. John, USVI. After graduation, Caroline spent three years as an Admission Counselor at Eckerd and then went on to obtain her MBA from Simmons University in Boston, MA. 

Following business school, Caroline joined Bank of America’s Leadership Development Program and has held roles across consumer banking, including managing a market of 27 financial centers, strategic operational enhancement design, and digital product adoption strategy. Caroline is currently a Senior Vice President Program Manager within Global Human Resources, leading enterprise-wide program initiatives to support Bank of America’s 300,000 employees and contractors. 

Caroline resides in Portland, Maine and spends most of her free time spoiling her dog, Mavis. 

Graham graduated Eckerd in 2011 with a double major in Environmental Studies and Biology. As a student, he spent ample time on the water as part of Eckerd College Search and Rescue (EC-SAR), as the Waterfront Boat Captain, or just fishing off the seawall.

Following graduation, Graham worked with the Department of Natural Resources Blue Crab program in Maryland conducting population research before attending Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, where he received his Master's in Environmental Science. While working toward his Masters, Graham worked as a Team Leader for the National Spill Control School teaching oil spill response and prevention. He continued to develop his skills for emergency response in the environment while working for Arcadis (Environmental Consulting Firm). He conducted emergency response for train derailments and underground water plume restoration. Graham now works in the Superfund program as a Scientist for the USEPA. 

Outside of work, Graham spends time on the Chesapeake Bay on his 20' bay boat when he is not traveling the world and experiencing new cultures. 

Mike graduated from Eckerd in 2012 with a B.S. in Marine Science (Geology Track) and a minor in Environmental Studies.  After transferring to Eckerd as a sophomore, Mike had the opportunity to spend a spring break studying sharks at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas, spent a summer conducting geological research at Xiamen University in Xiamen, China, and interned as a seawater chemist at the United States Geological Survey in St. Pete.  

After graduation, Mike spent the next ten years as a geologist in the environmental consulting industry, working both in Tampa and the Chicagoland area.  As a consultant, he managed environmental due diligence and remediation projects for both federal and state governments and private clients.  During this time, he earned his MS in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver and became a Licensed Professional Geologist.

This December, Mike plans to graduate with an MBA from the University of Illinois.

Seeking a new challenge, Mike left the environmental consulting industry in January 2023 and joined the United States Environmental Protection Agency in their Region 5 Office in Chicago.  As an Infrastructure Specialist in the Drinking Water branch, he manages state and programmatic grants focused on securing funding for water infrastructure projects (lead pipe replacement, drinking water/wastewater system upgrades, stormwater system repairs, etc.) in underserved communities.

When Mike is not working or in school, he enjoys spending time with his wife and pets, watching Chicago sports, and occasionally trying to learn how to play the guitar from YouTube videos.

Allyson Porter graduated from Eckerd College in 1982 with a degree in Economics. She also has a masters in International Management.

Allyson started her career in the mid-'80s as an economic analyst in appropriate technologies/alternative energy and transitioned to environmental impact assessments, development management plans, and evaluating sustainable development projects. By the early 90s, her career track was more focused on the environmental industry, where she headed up international sales and marketing for an environmental laboratory specializing in dioxin analysis. More recently, she was Managing Director for 20 years of Keika Ventures, an environmental consulting company with clients on every continent including Antarctica.

Upon retiring in 2021, Allyson took the opportunity to change tracks completely and focused on the human condition as a humanitarian. As a wilderness first responder in the desert southwest, she is a volunteer with People Helping People in the Border Zone, supporting residents in providing humanitarian aid to people in distress in the desert. Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors of Arivaca Human Resources, an entity with a 30-year track record of empowering individuals toward health, well-being, and stability by providing essential quality-of-life services and resources. Finally, she is also the Managing Director of A Gathering Space, an Arizona non-profit tackling heavy topics such as climate change, waste, and pollution, by practicing circular economy through reuse, reduce, repurpose, repair, and regenerate all towards building a resilient system that is good for business, people, and the environment.

Sarah Sieloff graduated from Eckerd in 2006 with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish.

After Sarah graduated from Eckerd, she taught English in Thailand as a Fulbright scholar for a year and returned to Seattle, where she worked with people experiencing homelessness. She went to India to work for an ambulance service, then graduate school where she earned a Master of Public Affairs. Sarah was very focused on international development, and after graduating, she worked for the US Agency for international development in Washington DC for a little over a year, then switch to the domestic side of things and went to work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Memphis, serving as the team lead for the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities. Sarah spent almost 4 years with the federal government before joining the Center for Creative Land Recycling as its executive director, where she served for five years. She then went to Japan for about 15 months as a Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi Fellow, where she researched how Japanese cities are responding to population decline.  After many years away, Sarah is very happy to return to the Pacific NW, where she grew up, and works mostly with local governments as a planner at Maul Foster and Alongi, an interdisciplinary environmental consulting firm. 

Outside of work, Sarah studies Japanese, writes a Substack newsletter that builds on the research she did in Japan, and volunteers with a local dog rescue. She would like to get back into volunteer tutoring, especially adult literacy tutoring, which she did when she lived in Memphis and found to be incredibly valuable and inspiring. She would also like to get back into a band one day.

Liz Wist (Vander Clute) was initially attracted to Eckerd because of its environmental programs, close proximity to water, and all things nature, but soon realized it was the Eckerd community that would always hold her heart. Liz graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a BA in Environmental Studies and minors in Marine Science, Biology, and Coastal Management. Throughout her time at Eckerd, Liz was heavily engaged in campus life, working as a Student Ambassador, a Waterfront Supervisor, and co-chair for Relay for Life during her junior and senior years. She also played club soccer, participated in the Triathlon club, and was proudly part of the team that brought women’s rugby (Go Sirens!) back to EC. She studied abroad in New Zealand, and had the opportunity to attend spring break service trips in both Trinidad and Tobago and Caracas, Venezuela; all of which provided her with the scaffolding for her passion for service and working with communities.

After graduation, Liz headed to Texas to work as a Naturalist for YMCA Camp Grady Spruce, an outdoor environmental education school. This experience gave her an initial taste of the field of environmental education, and she has never looked back. She returned to school in 2013 to obtain her MS in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Education and Interpretation from the University of North Carolina- Wilmington. Liz worked on a grant to build environmental literacy in underserved middle schools and had lead a directed independent study creating a school garden guidebook for elementary schools completed with engineering designs, a community involvement plan, and a curriculum.

After being away for 8 years, Liz found herself drawn back to her small town home of Berlin, Maryland. For the last 6.5 years, she has been the Education Coordinator at the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, a non-profit National Estuary Program that works to enhance the resiliency of the Coastal Bays, the watershed, and their communities through conservation and public engagement. As Education Coordinator, Liz provides the vision and leadership for Maryland Coastal Bay Program’s education and public involvement initiatives. Liz is responsible for the development, creation, and evaluation of environmental education programs. Within these programs, she designs learner-centered curriculum and experiential Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences, leads interpretive programs and summer camps, mentors seasonal staff, and provides professional development for educators. Liz is also responsible for organizing community engagement opportunities and grant writing. Her favorite part about her job is the intertwined connection between the fields of science and education, and being able to provide meaning-making opportunities to her audiences.

Her life outside of work is focused on learning and growing with her young family, spending as much time at the beach exploring and swimming, and finding the newest (hardest) recipe to tackle in the kitchen.

Henry Ashworth graduated from Eckerd in 2016 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Philosophy. While at Eckerd, Henry was one of the first members of EC-ERT, the Club Head of Eckerd College CrossFit, an RA for the Service-Learning Dorm, a Ford Scholar, a Marine Science Researcher, and Mass Gen Summer Intern. Henry was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the President's Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service to the College.

After Eckerd, Henry helped develop a community emergency response team in Nepal on a Fulbright grant and researched equity gaps in the rural area the team responded to through a MPH at University College Dublin. He then attended Harvard Medical School where he focused on implementation science and social emergency medicine. Henry started residency in emergency medicine at Highland in 2022 and currently lives in Oakland. 

Outside of work, Henry likes skipping instead of walking, hugging friends and family, late-night dancing, early-morning adventures, playing the bass, climbing, and trying to speak Nepali or Spanish but ends up speaking Spanpali. Henry, like most Eckerd students, likes being in, around, or on any body of water (puddles included). 

Tom Battey graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a B.S. in Marine Science (Biology) and a minor in Chemistry. While at Eckerd he worked on as many research projects as possible, played rugby, and took advantage of all the watersports St. Pete had to offer. Marine Science was a natural choice since his initial goal coming out of high school was to find a way to get paid to SCUBA dive and do science, although several strong mentoring relationships and formative experiences changed his path. Early in freshman year Dr. Denise Flaherty connected him with a post-doctoral researcher at USF-St. Petersburg focused on marine sensory biology. This began a 3 year position where Tom worked on projects exploring the relationships between sea lion brain structure volumes on MRI and levels of environmental neurotoxins. After this experience, he officially had the research bug and knew he loved imaging. In 2010, Tom was part of the first group of Eckerd interns at the Center for Human Genetic Research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA - an experience organized and supported by alumna Dr. Susan Slaugenhaupt '85 via an NIH grant. During his senior year, he completed a thesis assessing the neurologic and developmental effects of pesticides and personal care product components on zebrafish and nematodes before returning to Boston.

After graduating from Eckerd, Tom spent 4 transformative years working in a stroke imaging and genetics research lab at MGH developing new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for stroke while figuring out if he wanted to pursue a clinical or research career. He subsequently moved back to Baltimore to attend the University of Maryland School of Medicine, graduating in 2019 and completing his intern year in internal medicine at Mercy Medical Center in the midst of COVID-19. He is now chief resident in the Diagnostic Radiology residency program at UVA in Charlottesville. After completing fellowship training in cardiothoracic imaging, Tom plans to pursue a career in academic medicine diagnosing patients using advanced imaging, teaching, conducting research, and mentoring residents, medical and undergraduate students as they work to identify a career path that is right for them.

Outside of the hospital, Tom is an outdoor enthusiast and new Dad who loves spending time with his family, grilling on his kamado, riding his bike on the roads and trails through the mountains around Charlottesville, playing mediocre golf and darts, and traveling around the country and world to meet up with friends from Eckerd. Although the science part is going pretty well so far, he is still working on finding a way to get paid to SCUBA dive. 

Susan Beaven was raised in Jasper, IN, a wonderful small town in southern Indiana where education, arts, basketball, and using your talents and skills to your potential were valued. Her undergraduate and graduate school studies were at Indiana University, graduating from medical school there in 1982.

Susan came to Bayfront Medical Center to serve her Family Medicine Residency and then began practice here in St Pete, Tampa, and Tarpon Springs through the years. She began to formally study Integrative and Functional Medicine and became certified in 2013. In 2016, she was named one of the top 100 physicians who practice Integrative Medicine. Susan focused on wellness, nutrition, preventative health, women's health, and Functional Medicine-finding the root cause of the disease, and then treating them with an individual protocol. 

Susan enjoyed the educational aspects of her practice with patients and also in her community. Outside of her career, Susan has been active in her community. She has served on the board, as a chaplain, and in other volunteer activities at First Unity. And she is beginning to be involved at Pass-A-Grille Community Church. Susan has enjoyed serving her community with the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay board and Greater St. Petersburg, where she served as Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair of that board. Preserving our environment and wildlife has also been a major concern of hers. She has supported environmental causes and wants to ramp up her involvement in these areas.

Martin Davis graduated in 2016 with a B.S. in Biochemistry with High Honors. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. While at Eckerd he was a member of Dr. Denise Flaherty’s lab, working on a research project investigating the role of pesticides in the development of Parkinson’s Disease. He also spent a summer working in a Harvard Medical School research lab as part of the MGH Summer Internship program. Outside of class, he spent his time playing the drums, wakeboarding, SCUBA diving, and climbing trees in the Palm Hammocks.

After graduating from Eckerd Martin moved back to Chicago, where he grew up, and spent the next five years working in academic research labs as a lab technician and then lab manager. As he transitioned from a career in research to one in medicine he volunteered at the University of Illinois Chicago Hospital, eventually helping support the COVID response team in 2020 and 2021. He also spent time working as a COVID tester and as a dental assistant before he finally started medical school at University of Illinois Chicago in 2022. He is an elected Alumni Representative for the Class of 2026, a Patient-Centered Medicine Scholar, and he works in a research lab studying lung cancer. 

In his free time, Martin enjoys playing music with his band, riding his bike regardless of the weather, drinking and sometimes making his own beer, lifting weights, reading fantasy novels, and helping his parents take care of their crazy COVID puppy, Bella.

Chris Dukes graduated from Eckerd in 2013 with a BS with Honors in Biomedical Science and minors in Chemistry and Psychology. Like many students, he started with an interest in marine science, however, he was unable to fit the coursework he wanted to take into that major as he also had interests in biology, chemistry, psychology, and anthropology. While at Eckerd, he took an average of five classes each semester in addition to completing independent studies, taking CLEP exams, and auditing other courses. His sophomore year, Chris began conducting research with Dr. Denise Flaherty in the C. elegans lab that continued through his junior year, a summer internship before his senior year, and culminated in an extensive senior research thesis. He also had the opportunity to shadow multiple physicians at All Children’s Hospital in St. Pete. He started the Honors Program his freshman year and remained in it all four years until graduation. He was also inducted into Sigma Xi for his biology research and Psi Chi for his psychology work. In addition to academics, Chris worked as an RA in his sophomore year and as an Assistant Residence Coordinator in both his junior and senior years. He traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands on a Winter Term trip and was also able to attend the Bimini Biological Field Station Shark Lab’s research trip. In addition to all that, he also worked as a Dive Master helping to teach students how to SCUBA dive, and took every opportunity to explore St. Pete and the surrounding areas.

After graduating from Eckerd, Chris moved to Tampa and started to pursue graduate courses before being drawn back into research. He worked in a small research center until the laboratory closed due to funding issues and then chose to resume his graduate coursework. He earned his MS in Medical Sciences from the University of South Florida, in addition to completing Graduate Certificates in Health Sciences, Infection Control, and Homeland Security. Chris joined Moffitt Cancer Center in 2018 as a Research Associate where he worked in multiple labs on several projects until the COVID-19 pandemic halted all non-essential research. During that time, he was assigned as essential personnel to begin working on several SARS-CoV-2-related projects, including epidemiological and vaccine studies. Following the completion of these, he was the laboratory manager for a small lab before receiving an offer to work for one of the leading epidemiologists in the world. Chris now works as a Research Project Specialist for the Center for Immunization and Infection Research in Cancer (CIIRC) at Moffitt where he is working on the startup of several global studies on HPV-related cancers in addition to managing other ongoing projects. He has published several papers, including a first-author manuscript, on his work regarding SARS-CoV-2. He is currently pursuing an MPH degree and is considering a doctoral program after that is completed, but regardless he plans on continuing with research in public health, epidemiology, and infectious diseases.

Chris is always willing to help recent graduates break into the medical and research fields and has advised many on how to improve resumes, CVs, and cover letters in addition to applications to medical and graduate programs. He also volunteers with a local police department’s Training Unit and is a certified instructor. Outside of work and volunteering, he enjoys SCUBA diving and anything by or on the water. He likes to hike and loves to explore nature. To relax and decompress, Chris likes to read, play video games (he is obsessed with the Fallout series), watch TV and movies, and spend time at home or by the pool with his fox-red Labrador pup.

Eric graduated from Eckerd in 1998 with a B.S. in Biology. On campus, he was involved in as many science activities as possible, including three years as a teaching assistant for biodiversity and cell biology, plus learned to develop web pages. He also pursued external internships, spending a summer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign after his sophomore year, and at Washington State University after his junior year. His research at Washington State University became the basis of his Eckerd senior thesis and was included in a publication by the host lab. Outside of class, he was often found reading in a hammock.

The next academic stop was the University of Georgia, where he used bioinformatics to study endogenous retroviruses (though he did not even know what bioinformatics was when he started...), finishing a Ph.D. in 2004. He followed that with four years as a SPIRE postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The SPIRE program went beyond the standard postdoctoral research expectations and included training in teaching and mentoring, culminating in a year-long teaching role at Shaw University. While at UNC he also advised the research of three undergraduate students, each including an honors thesis.

Wanting to stay in the Durham, NC area, he started a research position at Syngenta in 2009 working as a bioinformatician in agricultural biotech. He is currently a Principal Scientist at Syngenta, leading an international team of scientists integrating genomic data on crops, pests, and model organisms.

He and his wife Leandra (also a ’98 grad) are fans of wine and travel and have visited 50+ countries across all the continents except Antarctica. 

Jorge is not taking new mentors this upcoming year.

Jorge Giroud is a highly accredited and well-respected Pediatric Cardiologist that spent much of his career working locally in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. He received his BA from the University of Illinois, and his MD from Northwestern University Medical School. Jorge then went on to complete his residency in pediatrics at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, and stay with the University of Miami to complete his fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology Pediatric Critical Care. 

Jorge has served as a cardiologist or consulting cardiologist with All Children’s Hospital, Bayfront Medical Center, and Tampa General Hospital. He was also the Medical Director of Invasive Cardiology at All Children’s Hospital and The Medical Director of Pediatric Cardiology at Tampa Children's Hospital at St. Joseph's Hospital throughout his career. 

Throughout his career, Jorge has over 30 publications, led ground-breaking clinical research & investigations, presented on over 35 different medical talks and panels, and served on numerous advisory committees and review boards for All Children’s Hospitals. 

Now happily retired Jorge, is looking forward to providing mentorship to the next generation of incoming doctors. 

Liz grew up in St. Petersburg and was recruited by Eckerd from St. Petersburg Catholic  High School along with her good friend, Karin Musier (Forsyth). Liz was a National  Merit Finalist and was awarded a full-tuition scholarship. While at Eckerd, she enjoyed a Winter Term in London, was on the Dean’s List, was a member of Zeta Mu Spanish Honor  Society, and enjoyed spending time on the Waterfront kayaking, water-skiing, sailing, and sunning on Zeta Beach while living at Henderson House. 

She graduated from Emory University School of Dentistry with Highest Honors and won the Hinman and American Academy of Oral Pathology Awards. Liz completed her residency training in Oral Maxillofacial Pathology at Emory, received a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Georgia State University, and did her Dental Public  Health Training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. 

Liz served as Director of the Pediatric Dental Program at Hughes Spalding Children’s  Hospital in Atlanta, was a Clinical Asst Professor of Pediatrics at Emory and Morehouse Medical Schools, and went on to serve as the State Dental Public Health Director of  Georgia. She worked closely with the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of  Georgia, serving as President of the Board of Directors. Liz was also one of the founding members of the Board of Serve-Haiti, a non-profit healthcare organization serving a remote region in the mountains of Haiti. For over a dozen years, she traveled frequently to Haiti- helping establish the first dental program in the area. 

More recently, Liz was an Associate Professor of Community Dentistry at the University of Florida where she served on the University-wide Diversity Council, and as faculty advisor for the Hispanic Student Dental Association and Student Dental Public Health  Association. 

Liz enjoys reading mystery novels, hiking, walking in the fresh air, and swimming and kayaking while in Florida.

Ryan graduated Summa Cum Laude from Eckerd College in 2007, with a Bachelor's degree of high distinction in Psychology and minors in Biology and Chemistry. While at Eckerd, Ryan was a part of the Pre-Health club, involved in Tampa Bay Watch, and interned at Moffitt Cancer Center. 

After Eckerd, Ryan earned his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky with High Honors Distinction and national recognition from the American Society of Clinical Pathology in research. He went on to complete his surgical internship in neurosurgery at the University of Toronto and 5 years of neurosurgery residency at the University of Louisville. During Ryan's residency, he patented a 3-D printed cervical collar based upon individual anthropometry (The Align Collar), founded a neurosurgery didactic series (Brain and Spine School), and was awarded the 2016 AANS/CNS joint section award for his research on a spinal trauma classification system. 

Ryan has transitioned from full-time clinical medicine to healthcare entrepreneurship & innovation in 2016 when he founded SurgeonIDEAS, LLC aimed at innovating medical education, physician-driven performance improvement for health systems, and rapid prototyping. He has worked as an adjunct professor at a health professional cadaver lab, served as the Chief Medical Officer for Surgical Labs, LLC, improved care delivery as a healthcare delivery consultant, and has continued to practice medicine traveling with various medical brigades abroad and running a private medicolegal practice that focuses on expert testimony for worker’s compensation and personal injury. 

Ryan has obtained his Executive Master’s in Healthcare Administration (EMHA) from the University of Southern California and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), concentrating on healthcare performance excellence and efficient care delivery. He will be joining the University of Louisville’s Department of Entrepreneurship in the Fall of 2022 to begin his research on healthcare entrepreneurship while also completing a Ph.D. in Innovation.

Ryan is board certified in Disability Medicine, having received special training in the performance of high-quality Independent Medical Evaluations by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME), and received the certification as Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME). He has developed numerous medicolegal protocols for long COVID-19 and head injury that are being used across the country and has taught numerous courses to support continuing medical education (CME). 

When the COVID-19 pandemic made it to the USA in early 2020, Ryan was a leader in performance excellence and process improvement for Norton Healthcare as the Executive Physician Director of Clinical Effectiveness, helping to establish the COVID Command Center. He played a pivotal role in implementing crisis response strategies to safely deliver healthcare in an uncertain time. His subject matter expertise as both a physician and process improvement expert allowed him to integrate the ever-changing literature, research, and guidelines into action plans for frontline workers. He additionally co-founded Norton’s Way to Wellbeing Resilience Program for healthcare workers to combat the psychological stress due to the pandemic. He continues to serve as an executive consultant.

When not at work, Ryan is interested in philosophy, cooking, health and wellness, traveling, surfing, and Newfoundland dogs.

Dr. Brad Pendley graduated from Eckerd College in 1987 with a B.S. in Chemistry after transferring to Eckerd in 1985 from St. Petersburg Junior College. He was a non-residential student as he was married and had a son. While at Eckerd, he was a squadron commander in Civil Air Patrol and was a co-campaign manager for Representative Lars Hafner.

After graduating from Eckerd, he attended Cornell University where he earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 1992. His dissertation involved several aspects of electrochemistry including inventing a technique to construct nanometer-sized electrodes that was patented by Cornell. After graduation from Cornell, he pursued his passion to teach chemistry at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, where he taught a variety of chemistry classes including general, analytical, and physical chemistry as well as a course on the Art and Science of Early Italian Renaissance Painting. In 1998 while on sabbatical leave in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Memphis, he began to apply his knowledge to design sensor technology to solve medical problems. However, his background in the physical sciences did not allow him to adequately understand, formulate and solve such problems so, being a lifelong learner, he recognized his need for additional education. After turning down being a Dean at Rhodes, he resigned from his tenured, endowed position and completed medical school and then residency while still having some teaching and research responsibilities at The University of Memphis.

After residency, he practiced medicine full-time and began teaching as an Affiliate Professor in Biomedical Engineering at The University of Memphis, where he has been for more than a decade. His research involves developing sensor technologies for use in medicine and he has served on the graduate committees of nearly two dozen students, several of whom went on to complete the M.D. degree in addition to their graduate degree. He has published widely and has spoken internationally on sensor technologies. In addition to this professional work, he also has served on the Board of Directors of two not for profit corporations.

Jane Petro is a retired Author, Historian, Sailboat Captain, and Gardener Chef.  She graduated from Eckerd in 1968, majoring in Biology and minoring in Philosophy, and sailing. She applied to Penn State University, Hershey Medical School, mostly on a dare, and got accepted. Her career was frequently determined by accidents of fate, but she completed a general surgery residency, a plastic surgery residency (also at Hershey), and fellowships in Burn Care and in Microsurgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  In 1980 Jane moved out of New York City to Westchester County where she assisted in establishing the Burn Center at the Westchester Medical Center, and became a member of the faculty of New York Medical College. Having attended both a new college and a new medical school, NYMC was one of the oldest medical schools in the US but had recently moved to a new campus in Valhalla NY.  

During the next 20 years, she advanced to Full Professor of Surgery and founded a Microsurgery Reconstruction program and a Pediatric Craniofacial Program at the hospital.  When Jane became exhausted by the continuous trauma call of the University system, she left and entered private practice with a multispecialty Breast Cancer and Plastic Surgery program, where she happily did reconstructive and cosmetic surgery for the next 9 years, retiring from clinical practice in 2009. Read more about Jane's journey here.

Part of the reason for leaving academic medicine was the desire to travel and sail more. Though the academic career had permitted regular annual medical mission trips to Africa and South America there was little support for non-medical travel, so in her new position Jane was able to begin exploring the high seas, doing sailboat deliveries up and down the coast of the US and even bringing a 54’ boat from Panama to Tahiti, taking 3 months. She moved to Boston at the time she retired and since then has become an amateur historian, publishing and lecturing on 19th-century women physicians, health care practices involving medico-legal consulting, and issues surrounding the LGBTQI+ community.

Jane loves sailing, gardening, reading and writing, theater, music, and travel, and has had the privilege of indulging all of these interests for the past 13 years.  Teaching during Winter Term at Eckerd has been a rewarding and meaningful engagement with the Eckerd Community.

Ilene Robeck received her BA in English from SUNY at Buffalo and received her MD from SUNY at Buffalo Medical School. She did her internal medicine residency at Georgetown University. She was Chief Medical Resident at Fairfax Hospital, a Georgetown University-affiliated tertiary care center from 1980-1981.

She taught internal medicine at the Georgetown University Medical Service at DC General Hospital from 1981 to 1982. She was Medical Director and following that she was the Education Director of Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Services from 1982-1992. She became board certified in addiction medicine in 1990. She launched an internal medicine private practice and also did consultative work in pain management and addiction medicine from 1985-2007. 

She began working at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa in 2007 and established and was section chief of the post-deployment primary care clinic and a high-risk chronic pain clinic embedded in primary care for patients with co-morbid pain with addiction and/or psychiatric problems and/or complex medical problems.  In 2010 she became Chair of the National VA Primary Care Pain Champions Initiative. In 2010 she transferred to the Bay Pines VA Health Care System. While at the Bay Pines VA, she developed an eConsult program doing electronic consulting for patients with chronic pain and an educational program geared for primary care and mental health providers. In 2013 she became the director of virtual pain care for the Richmond VAMC. In this capacity, she produced two case-based webinar programs each week, did e-consults, and saw patients throughout the country using clinical video teleconsulting. 

Throughout her career, she has lectured and written on topics such as pain management, mental health concerns in the primary care setting, high-risk chronic pain patients, and addiction diagnosis/treatment. Once joining the VA she also wrote and lectured about post-deployment concerns in the returning veteran.  She has been on the faculty and lectured for the American Society of Addiction Medicine annual course on pain and addiction. She is the lead editor for the ASAM Manual on Pain and Addiction. 

Since retiring from the VA she continues as an educational consultant for the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center putting together twice monthly webinars on pain as well as addiction. Upon her retirement from the VA, she has become more active in multiple community organizations including ASPEC, The St. Petersburg Free Clinic, and the League of Women Voters. 

Dr. Robinson grew up in Woodbridge, Connecticut, and attended Eckerd College as a legacy following his brother, Mathew Robinson ‘08. Some of his most valuable experiences were attending Spring Break service learning trips to Peru, Trinidad, Northern Ireland, and Venezuela. It was during his Sophomore year in Trinidad that he met his wife, Amanda Bailey ‘13. During his Junior year, he began to give serious consideration to his future career path. He utilized Eckerd’s Winter Term Independent Study program to create a course around shadowing the Cardiology Department at All Children’s Hospital. He spent this Winter Term attending open heart surgeries, catheter surgeries, patient consultations, and morbidity and mortality meetings. This experience was extremely valuable as it provided confirmation that he preferred a clinical environment over a laboratory/research environment. The following Summer, he shadowed his family dentist on a whim and found that the time flew by as it had at All Children’s. The biggest apparent difference was the work-life balance that dentistry provided. 

Doug went on to attend the LECOM School of Dentistry in Bradenton, FL from 2014-2018. After receiving his DMD from LECOM, he went on to attend East Carolina University’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry Residency. In 2019, he and Amanda moved back to St. Petersburg to be close to family and longtime Eckerd friends. They currently reside in the Broadwater neighborhood about 2 miles from Eckerd. Dr. Robinson currently practices at the Westchase Dental Boutique providing full-scope general and cosmetic dentistry. 

He enjoys balancing his spare time between family, friends, kiteboarding, watercolors, and home improvement projects. A majority of his free time is currently spent acting like a toddler with his son, Grant. He and Amanda are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their daughter, Violet, at the end of September.

Patrick graduated from Eckerd in 1997 with a B.A. in Psychology; however, Patrick has always had a passion for the Japanese language and culture ever since his family was stationed in Okinawa, Japan during 5th - 7th grade. While at Eckerd, Patrick created a concentration major in Japanese Area Studies using the East Asian Area Studies major as a foundation and added more courses specific to Japan. This included several independent studies under the mentorship of a Japanese professor.

Immediately after graduation, Patrick moved up the road to Orlando and worked for a local translation and interpreting company called International Planning, Incorporated. At the time they had the account for the second largest tour company in Japan, Kintetsu International.  Patrick worked there in the tour operations section for around two and a half years before stumbling upon a notice that the FBI was hiring linguists. He took the language tests on a whim, and the rest is history. The bulk of Patrick's work is comprised of translation, interpreting, cultural research, and brokering communications between FBI personnel and international partners.

Patrick is very active these days raising his kids and being as involved in their lives as possible. These days that means shuttling them to and from extracurricular activities and sometimes traveling with them to meets and competitions. He is also active in his church and spends a lot of time doing community service work.  In the spaces between all the activities listening to music of all kinds, reading a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, learning new home improvement and other skills by watching YouTube videos, and playing games of all kinds (board, computer, console, etc.) is what you can find Patrick doing.

Samantha Brem graduated from Eckerd College with a BA in Psychology.  After Eckerd, she attended Stetson University College of Law and obtained her JD in 1990.  

Ms. Brem has a very broad legal background which includes both litigation and corporate/transactional experience.  She initially had a litigation practice with two law firms in St Petersburg, Florida, focusing on insurance coverage and environmental coverage litigation.  She attended motion hearings and has conducted bench and jury trials. In 2001, she moved to an in-house role with Jabil, where her litigation skills served her well.  Jabil is a global, publicly traded Fortune 200 company that provides manufacturing services.  As Vice President, Global Legal Affairs, Sam negotiated many different types of contracts with customers in a wide variety of industries as well as mergers and acquisitions with deal values into the billions.  The best part was having the opportunity to travel and work with people all over the world and to lead teams in the US, Asia, and Europe.

Sam is currently Assistant General Counsel at Masonite Corporation in Tampa, Florida.  Masonite makes doors and door systems that are sold through builders, distributors, and retailers such as Lowe’s or The Home Depot.  She continues to function as a corporate generalist, negotiating contracts, and M&A deals, and working with the innovation and marketing teams on new products.  

Away from work, Sam enjoys walking, running, yoga, and training at the gym.  Someday she plans to play golf again.  She also enjoys travel and her most recent trip was to Tuscany, Italy.

Sara Bryant graduated from Eckerd College with degrees in Political Science and Spanish.  While attending Eckerd, Sara studied in Sevilla, Spain, and interned at the Supreme Court of the United States.  She also traveled to Greece on a Winter Term trip and played tennis her sophomore year. 

After graduating from Eckerd, Sara moved to Boston to gain work experience before attending law school.  She worked at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office as a paralegal and lived in Costa Rica for a few months.  She then attended Boston College Law School.  Between her second and third years of law school, Sara was a summer associate at Murtha Cullina, a mid-sized firm with offices in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  She accepted an offer to be a litigation associate at the end of her summer.  Before joining Murtha, she clerked for a year at the Massachusetts Superior Court.

At Murtha, Sara’s litigation practice evolved to specialize in construction law.  She currently represents owners, construction managers, subcontractors and designers in state and federal courts in the trial and resolution of construction disputes on public and private projects.  Sara also drafts and negotiates contracts and contract claims and secures lien and bond rights.  She is the office managing partner of Murtha’s Boston office.

Sara was a founding member and president of the Boston chapter of the Professional Women in Construction.  She lives in Needham, a suburb of Boston, with her husband and two children and enjoys spending free time in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Laura Goodloe’s love for Florida and the outdoors drew her to Eckerd College in 2000. Majoring in Political Science and minoring in International Relations, Laura fostered numerous relationships with faculty, staff, and fellow students on campus. During her college career, Laura took the opportunity to participate in various independent studies and was fortunate enough to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for a Spring Into Summer program focused on international relations and non-governmental organizations. Upon graduation in 2004, Laura went on to receive her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. During law school, Laura interned as a clerk for Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court and worked as a law clerk for a reputable law firm in Bradenton, Florida. Laura returned to Chicago in 2007 to intern with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Laura is a founding partner of Puchalski Goodloe, LLC. Laura’s practice focuses on police and fire pension law as well as immigration law. Her expertise not only covers proper administration and oversight of hundred-million-dollar pension funds throughout the state but also administrative adjudications and circuit and appellate court review. Laura's immigration law practice focuses primarily on representing professional athletes in the NHL and AHL. 

Laura is admitted to practice before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for Illinois. She has argued numerous cases before Illinois’ State and Appellate Courts, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Laura is married to her law partner Jeff, is an avid equestrian who has competed on a national level, and has two Bernese mountain dogs named Finn and Ferris.

Abigail Gustafson graduated from Eckerd with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and a Minor in Spanish. She also has a Masters of Science in International Policy from Kennesaw State University. While at Eckerd she was a member of Palmetto Productions, active in Campus Activities, a lifeguard at the Eckerd pool, ESL Conversation Partner, and member of the Multi-Cultural Dance Club. She studied abroad in Puebla, Mexico for a semester and participated in a Spring Break Service Trip to Biloxi, Mississippi. 

After Eckerd, Abigail moved back to Maine to work for a software company before becoming a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica. Following her time in Jamaica, she moved to Nairobi, Kenya for two years where she worked as a Financial Controller for a Danish agricultural processing equipment company. In 2016, she landed an internship with the State Department Bureau of Populations, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in Washington, D.C. Following her internship, she worked in the Comptroller’s Office for PRM, then later moved into a role at the Pentagon consulting on a project for the Navy. After taking some time off from the government to manage the D.C. office of WildLifeDirect, a Kenyan-based animal conservation NGO, she went back to work for the State Department in 2019 and has been there ever since. Currently, Abigail is a Contracting Officer managing multiple contracts in high-threat environments. 

Outside of work Abigail enjoys hiking, yoga, doing activities with her dog, reading, traveling, and ceramics.

Sean Lawlor graduated from Eckerd in 2012 with a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs. While at Eckerd, Sean was one of the founding members of the Eckerd Current, a member of the Ethics Bowl team, the President of the Political Science Honors Society, a Ford Scholar, and a student assistant for the Letters Collegium. Sean was also inducted into Phi Beta

Kappa and awarded Eckerd’s Bob Shepard Excellence in IRGA ASPEC award. 

After Eckerd, Sean spent two years teaching English in Shenzhen, China after which he attended graduate school at the George Washington University Elliott School. While in Washington DC, Sean spent several years managing international development programs at the U.S. Department of the Interior focused on protected areas management, counter wildlife trafficking, and water resource conservation in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. Sean joined the Foreign Service in 2019 and spent his first assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam’s energy officer. He now serves as a Consular Officer in Taipei, Taiwan. 

Outside of work, Sean likes biking, playing with his son, dragon boat racing, cooking and listening to podcasts, playing the piano, Presidential history, anything related to Disney, 麻将, studying Mandarin, jazz, and walking around a lively night market.

Angela came to Eckerd knowing that she wanted to do something that would help people. Initially, she thought she wanted to be a lawyer so she could work on Capitol Hill and create laws and policies that could positively impact lives. Being the first person in her family to go to college, she didn't know what that path looked like. Angela climbed the literal and figurative Hill and now over 20 years later, she has got a lot to share about the path toward reaching your goals. As your mentor, she will give you guidance about your potential future career, but will also reassure you that the twists and turns are part of the journey, and you are going to be ok. Angela will always cheer you on during the program and beyond as you navigate change with grace. 

While at Eckerd, Angela was an Activator and an RA in Epsilon. She was also active in the Ethics Bowl where they went to the state championship. She was a cheerleader for two years and sang in the choir during her freshman year. For her work-study, she volunteered in a variety of capacities such as helping elementary students with math and reading textbooks to a fellow Eckerd student who had a vision impairment. Angela was the ECOS president her senior year and that campaign experience deepened her interest in politics. Her Eckerd experience was incredible, and it continues to influence her path forward and how she shows up each day at work, in her community, and at home as a mom with two young children. 

Today, Angela uses all the skills she learned at Eckerd to advocate for clean drinking water policies across the country. She works with local community partners to center them and lift up their expertise as it relates to the work. She didn't know much about what we now call "environmental justice" during her time at Eckerd. Growing up as the daughter of immigrants, she saw how systems worked well for some, but not all, and wanted to find a way to address inequities. Eckerd has taught her to be curious, which is why she acknowledges that she has so much more to learn from her job and from others like you.

Joann Lockard is a proud Eckerd parent - her daughter is currently a student. Although Joann did not attend Eckerd, she was very involved with her academic studies. She majored in International Affairs with minors in French and History in 1996, which she studied for a year abroad in France. Joann joined the Foreign Service in May of 1998 after passing entrance exams a year earlier. To join the Foreign Service, applicants must take a series of exams that can last a year or more. Joann's course work in history, economics, political science, and foreign languages, as well as writing intensive classes were the most beneficial for preparing her for her career.

The Foreign Service is a career track. Most entrants plan on remaining for a 20-year or longer career and earn a pension upon retirement. Much of your job training is on the job, but international experience, such as in the Peace Corps, as a foreign missionary, working in international business, or any opportunity to live or work overseas will be excellent preparation for the required lifestyle. Foreign Service Officers, like the military, move every 2-3 years for the entirety of their career. Love of travel and engaging foreign publics and governments, as well as excellent communication and interpersonal skills are requirements for this exciting career. As a Public Affairs Officer, which she was for much of her 24-year career, Joann was the public face of our U.S. embassies overseas. She coordinated all of our external communication, including both traditional and social media, as well as engaged frequently with the public, particularly students, talking about the United States and our foreign policy priorities.

Now as Deputy Chief of Mission at our U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Joann is responsible for over 400 employees and coordinates the activities of nine U.S. government agencies that work in Côte d'Ivoire.  Most of her day-to-day responsibilities focus on internal management of the Embassy and developing our strategy to advance U.S. policy priorities in West Africa. However, when the Ambassador is out of the country, as the number two in the Embassy, she steps into the role of Chargé d'Affaires and is the primary diplomat for the United States in Côte d'Ivoire. 

Outside of work Joann likes to ride horses (when she cans even though she is not very good!), read, and hang out with friends. Joann loves to try new foods in the various countries that she visits. Lastly, of course, she loves to travel. 

Lindsay (Jennings) Ceron graduated from Eckerd in 2010 with a major in Marine Science and a minor in Psychology. While at Eckerd, she explored various activities including women’s club soccer, EC-SAR, and a 6-month study abroad in Australia. She also worked as a campus tour guide and teaching assistant. Off-campus, she interned with the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and The Florida Aquarium. 

Following graduation, Lindsay worked with Florida Fish and Wildlife before attending the University of Miami to obtain her Master of Professional Science (MPS) degree in Marine Affairs and Policy. There, she not only developed field skills in tagging and collecting data for shark research, but found a passion for the intersection of research, policy, and conservation. With this new direction, she took a fellowship in Washington, D.C., where she worked to pass counter-illegal fishing legislation through Congress. She currently is a Senior Project Director for FishWise, a sustainable seafood consultancy based in California. There, she develops programs and innovative ways to leverage the U.S.’s market power to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, seafood mislabeling, and forced labor abuses. Working via direct supply chain engagement, strategic collaborations, and governance reform, Lindsay works to transform global seafood supply chains not only for the oceans but for the people who depend on them. 

Lindsay lives in St. Petersburg and on days when she is working on sustainable seafood issues, you can find her in the kitchen trying new recipes, relaxing on a local beach with a good book, hitting the ski slopes, or adding new countries to her travel bucket list.

Lexi Duscher graduated from Eckerd College with a B.S. in Marine Science and Environmental Studies in 2013. Lexi was an RA for Beta and Nu, a lead Marine Science Camp Instructor, and conducted independent senior thesis research with Dr. Koty Sharp on bacterial sponge disease. At Eckerd, Lexi was an avid recreational sand volleyball player and enjoyed paddleboarding on Frenchmen’s Creek. Lexi was also briefly a member of the Eckerd Golf team. Lexi won Best Overall Presentation at the 2013 Eckerd College Symposium and Best Undergraduate Presentation at the Florida Branch of the American Society of Microbiology for her senior research work.

Lexi went on to work as a Post-Baccalaureate researcher on the metagenomics of Stromatolite communities at the Space Life Sciences Lab in Merritt Island, FL with Dr. Jamie Foster. She was then accepted into the Microbiology and Cell Science PhD program at the University of Florida where she continued to work under Dr. Foster on the impact of stress, specifically modeled microgravity, in a beneficial squid-microbe relationship. Lexi graduated with her PhD in 2019 before working at her first Postdoctoral position under Dr. Christy Schnitzler at the Whitney Lab Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, FL focused on the innate immune response in stem cell regeneration of a cnidarian model system, Hydractinia. Lexi then moved to Hampton Roads, VA where she currently conducts research on fish stem cells and sustainable aquaculture while teaching Marine Science for dual enrollment high school students.

In her free time, Lexi enjoys being outside at the beach, playing volleyball, fishing, camping, hiking, and spending time with her husband and their pup Hazelnut.

Chris Flight graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Marine Science (Biology Track). He engaged with research early on as a Marine Science First-Year researcher working on pipefish genetics and returned to the program during his junior year as an assistant. An interest in genetics lead him to an undergraduate thesis examining the genetic population structure of his favorite animal, the bonnethead shark. He studied sharks as a Hollings Scholar with the APEX Predators Program at the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Rhode Island. He also brought his love of sharks to the local community by organizing shark-themed lessons at local middle schools. Chris participated in the Ford Scholars program, served on the NAS Senate, led campus tours as a Student Ambassador, and spent two years on the EC-SAR team.

Following graduation, Chris began work at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama as an environmental education intern. This internship turned into a full-time job where, for 5 years, Chris was paid to take students to the beach, walk through waist-deep marsh mud, and identify all the cool critters caught in Mobile Bay. Chris then relocated to Maryland where he now uses his marine science background and love of education to coordinate K-12 aquaculture education for Maryland Sea Grant (MDSG). His responsibilities also include coordinating the professional development activities of the graduate Fellows supported by MDSG funding and assisting with the annual Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. He enjoys being able to learn from experts in the different MDSG focus areas and is looking for more ways to implement the Think Outside of Eckerd in the programming he develops in Maryland.

Outside of work Chris stays active as a runner, goes paddle boarding and hiking with his family, and is training to be a Maryland Master Naturalist. He also enjoys board games and connecting with his brothers to roll some dice and play Dungeons and Dragons.

Kristen Jabanoski graduated from Eckerd in 2009 with a B.S. in Marine Science and a minor in Classics. At Eckerd, she participated in the work-study program, was a Ford Apprentice Scholar, and studied abroad at James Cook University in Australia, where she learned about coral reef ecology and conservation. As a NOAA Hollings Scholar, she completed an internship focused on the ecology of deep and mesophotic coral reefs in Hawaii.

Following graduation, Kristen earned her Master’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. During this time, she was a scientific diver and assisted with long-term monitoring of marine sponge communities in Florida and the Caribbean. Her thesis focused on ecosystem services provided by oysters. Driven to understand how science informs environmental policy, Kristen applied for and received the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. She spent five years in Washington, D.C., making research understandable and actionable to policymakers and constituents. She also helped manage NOAA’s higher education programs and worked toward improving diversity and inclusion in the marine and atmospheric sciences.

Kristen is currently a Science Communications Specialist for the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center. She lives in Milford, Connecticut with her partner Andrew and one-year-old son. She looks forward to helping students reach their goals, whether they’re interested in academic research or exploring the innumerable other opportunities their science background can unlock.

Dominique Lazarre graduated from Eckerd College in 2006 with a double major in Marine Science (Biology Track) and Environmental Studies. As a student, Dominique was a mainstay of the Waterfront Program and served as Team Leader for the Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team (EC-SAR). After graduation, she continued working for the Waterfront teaching seamanship and navigational skills.

Dominique completed a Ph.D. in Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Her doctoral research focused on understanding the dynamics that allowed for the spread of invasive lionfish in the southeastern US and Caribbean. During this time she accompanied commercial lobster fishermen at sea to evaluate the impact of lionfish on their catch.

After graduate school Dominique's career focus has shifted towards fisheries management, working as a data analyst to support the stock assessment process and fisheries managers in various roles. Dominique spent five years working as an Associate Research Scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. She led a data management team that provided fisheries data to state and regional partners for stock assessments that evaluate the health of fisheries in Florida. She recently transitioned to a new position as a Fish Biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations, in the National Marine Fisheries Service. She provides analytical support for fisheries managers that set regulations for federal fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast United States, and the Caribbean. Dominique also has experience working in academia. She was previously an adjunct professor for the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and a visiting professor in Environmental Studies at Eckerd College.

Andrew Maurer graduated from Eckerd in 2012 after double majoring in Environmental Studies and Spanish, plus a minor in Biology. During his time at Eckerd, Andrew participated in Earth Society, and various intramurals, volunteered at Tampa Bay Watch, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Delta Pi honors societies.

After Eckerd, Andrew worked seasonal jobs in field biology that took him to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and Puerto Rico. After working for several years, he began graduate school at NC State University, pursuing a Ph.D. with a research program focused on hawksbill sea turtle nesting and migratory ecology in the Caribbean. During his doctoral program, Andrew received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a Fulbright Fellowship.

Andrew completed his Ph.D. in the summer of 2021, after which he moved to San Diego, California to begin a postdoctoral research position with the National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA, work that he continues today. His postdoctoral research is focused on sea turtle movement, habitat use, and demography, all geared toward supporting populations as mandated by the Endangered Species Act. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys an active lifestyle featuring various sports, hiking, backpacking, and camping.

Dr. Mitchell graduated from Eckerd in 2005 with a B.S. in Marine Science in the chemistry track. While at Eckerd, Kristen was a member of the sailing team and was the first intern from Eckerd hired at the University of South Florida’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory at the College of Marine Science.

Upon graduation, Kristen accepted Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Southern Denmark. Subsequently, Dr. Mitchell embarked on her graduate career which began at Utrecht University in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Her graduate career spanned several universities including Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Illinois, and the University of Waterloo. She holds masters of science degrees from Utrecht University and Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from Utrecht University.

After completing her Ph.D. Kristen worked as an adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo before becoming an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. House of Representatives in the Office of Michael M. Honda (CA-17). After completing her AAAS Fellowship Kristen has worked as a President Obama Political Appointee, an independent consultant for scientific startups and industry, and as a contractor for multiple Federal agencies.

Her work includes energy, climate, environment, oceans, plastic pollution, agriculture, STEM education, and scientific research program administration. Kristen has twice sailed with Sea Education Association aboard the Sailing School Vessel (SSV) Robert C. Seamans first as a student while at Eckerd, and later as a guest scientist aboard a Plastics at SEA expedition, and will be joining the Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus as a guest scientist this fall.

Brady O’Donnell graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Marine Science and Environmental Studies, minoring in Political Science. While at Eckerd, he participated in the Marine Science First-Year researcher program, spending time on photo identification of dolphins in the fall and then transitioned to supporting the documentation of impacts of the of the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill. Brady continued research on marine sedimentology through his undergraduate career, presenting his work at state, national, and international conferences before graduation. Brady also served in the Eckerd College Organization of Students (ECOS) all four years of college, including two years as Student Body President. Other college activities included facilitating the Leadership Discovery Practicum for two years, working as Recycling Manager for the Office of Sustainability, one season of rugby, many intermural sports, and participating in the Ford Scholars Program.

Brady then pursued a Masters in Marine Geology, under Dr. Tessa Hill (Eckerd Alumna of ’99) at the University of California, Davis. He researched carbon sequestration of seagrass beds in California estuaries, while also instructing courses and trainings, including Oceanography and Types and Methods of Science Communication. During his degree, he also worked as an Aquaculture Intern for NOAA West Coast Regional Office, a Research Assistant on board cruises for Point Blue Conservation Science, and was the Social Media Coordinator for the NOAA Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. His graduate work and external experiences helped him land the NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship in Washington, D.C. Brady has spent over five years at the marine science policy interface during his time specializing in legislative affairs at the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, an independent, science-based oversight agency of the federal government. 

Outside of work, Brady and his wife, a fellow Eckerd alum, spend time hiking and camping with their husky-pit mixed breed dog. He plays board games, forages mushrooms with friends, and plays soccer as often as he can.

Ashford Rosenberg attended Eckerd from 2004-2008, studying Marine Science. While there she engaged in as many opportunities as she could to gain experience in Marine Biology, including a winter term abroad in New Zealand participating in a study on Dusky Dolphins with Dr. Gowans, spending a summer living on Egmont Key surveying sea turtle nests, serving as a teaching assistant with Dr. Flaherty in Cell Biology, participating in a study on Atlantic sting ray barb regeneration with Dr. Szelistowski, and volunteering at a local veterinary clinic and reptile sanctuary. 

After spending a year post-Eckerd contemplating if a master’s degree was the best next step for her, Ashford ultimately decided to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) to get an M.S. in Environmental Science. She continued to concentrate on aquatic ecosystems, taking coursework in limnology, ichthyology, and conservation ecology. Ultimately, she decided to focus on public outreach and education, conducting her master’s project with the Tennessee Aquarium, developing a six-part series on sustainability education, and assisting the Aquarium in the creation of their sustainable seafood education program, Serve and Protect. She graduated from UTC in 2012.

Following UTC, she worked for the Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, continuing her focus on sustainable seafood education. In 2013, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana as the Outreach Manager for the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas’ sustainable seafood initiative, Gulf United for Lasting Fisheries (G.U.L.F.). It was here that she gained firsthand experience working in commercial fisheries, primarily shrimp, blue crab, oyster, and yellowfin tuna. Her work focused on translating the work fishermen do on the water into sustainability criteria and policies developed up the supply chain, and communicating the cultural and ecological importance of commercial fisheries to the general public.  

In 2018, she joined the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, the largest organization of commercial grouper and snapper fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. As the Policy Director, Ashford’s work focuses on advocating for fisheries policies that promote stock health, ecosystem health, and financially stable commercial fishing businesses. While physically located in Nashville, TN, Ashford’s work takes her to the Gulf Coast at least once per month.

Other than a love of fish and fishing, Ashford is passionate about dancing and women’s college basketball. She was part of a Mardi Gras krewe called the Sirens of New Orleans for six years, dancing down a parade route that was up to six miles long and enchanting locals and tourists alike. She also taught a dance fitness class called Level Up for three years. She has been a devoted University of Tennessee Lady Vols fan since she was ten years old and goes to as many games as she can. 

Growing up on an island in Maine, Derek had a deep interest in Marine Science from an early age. He knew that he wanted to go to college to study and ultimately become a research scientist or professor. This dream had hurdles being a first-generation student from a low-income family. With the help of mentors and life-long friends that he met at Eckerd, his decision to go to an out-of-state school was a beneficial one. Derek Sawyer graduated from Eckerd in 2002 with a B.S. in Marine Science focused on Marine Geology. Originally, he was planning a focus on Marine Biology but ultimately switched after taking Oceanography 101 during his first year with Dr. Dave Duncan. In this course, he was introduced to the exciting natural phenomena that exist on, and beneath, the seafloor, as well as the career opportunities within geology and geophysics. While at Eckerd, Derek was a student worker at the Waterfront, a student research assistant in the Marine Geology program with Professor Gregg Brooks, and participated in intramural sports (ultimate frisbee and basketball).

After Eckerd, Derek went to graduate school at Penn State University for his masters degree and then to the University of Texas at Austin for his PhD. After his PhD, Derek worked as an exploration geologist for ExxonMobil for two years and then fortunately got a faculty position at the University of Kentucky for two years. In 2014, he accepted his current position at The Ohio State University and has been there ever since. Derek loves his job! He gets to teach classes to both undergraduate and graduate students, advises students on thesis projects (he has had 2 Eckerd College grads join his group for graduate studies) and gets to do research. Derek’s research is a combination of marine expeditions and other field work, computational work on geophysical data, and hands-on work in his lab on sediment cores. Derek has just returned to the states after being on sabbatical in the Laboratory of Seafloor and Subseafloor Geological Processes at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. 

Outside of work, Derek loves all kinds of sports (golf, tennis, basketball, baseball) and loves to travel. He also has three young daughters who keep him very busy.

Jennifer (Jenni) Wallace graduated from Eckerd in 2000 with a major in Marine Science and a minor in music. While at Eckerd, for fun she performed saxophone/clarinet duets with her roommate and received her SCUBA diving certification (convincing three of her friends to join her!). Most of Jenni’s afternoons and weekends were out on the water as a member of Eckerd’s varsity sailing team, which she served as Team Captain of during her senior year. One of her fondest experiences was spending a semester at Sea Education Association, working on her marine science degree, and cementing her commitment to ocean life as she sailed for 6 weeks from Woods Hole, MA to the Caribbean on the SSV Westward. It was during that program that Jenni learned about fisheries management and knew that was an issue that she wanted to work on.

Following graduation, Jenni attended the Nicholas School of the Environment & Earth Sciences at Duke University, earning a Masters in Environmental Management. Her research during graduate school focused on the Potential Effects of Hypoxia on Shrimpers & Implications for Red Snapper Bycatch in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

In 2002, Jenni was selected as a Presidential Management Intern (now Fellow) and joined NOAA Fisheries' Office of Habitat Conservation/Restoration Center as a fishery biologist. During her almost 10 years in that office she built and led a number of interagency efforts to facilitate coordination of habitat restoration, establishing strong working relationships with representatives of federal and non-federal programs that support coastal habitat restoration, and facilitating the creation of the Great Lakes Restoration Program. In 2011, Jenni transitioned to the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, where she has held progressively more responsible roles, starting as a Branch Chief in the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division (2011-2015), then as the Operations & Regulatory Services Division Chief (2015-2019), and now as the Deputy Director (2019 - current). As Deputy Director, her role is to manage and lead fishery conservation and management activities to ensure sustainable fisheries through effective national and office-level programs and policies.

Jenni lives in Washington, DC with her husband and daughter. During her free time, she likes to hike/camp, garden, read, and plan (and go on!) the next family travel adventure.  

Caitlin Duffy graduated from Eckerd College in 2013 with a B.A. in Creative Writing. While at Eckerd, Caitlin was on The Current working on multiple sections. She was invited to sit on multiple student panels to interview new potential faculty (Communication, Creative Writing and Literature) and candidates for the position of Associate Dean of Faculty. During her Senior year, she participated in the search for the commencement speaker for the Class of 2013, which selected writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben.

While Caitlin studied Creative Writing, her day-to-day work actually leverages data analysis more heavily than her copywriting skills. She started her career in automotive journalism, moved to the social media realm when she was hired by Upworthy and assisted with the 2016 election coverage there. Caitlin then went to another publication, NationSwell, where she went even deeper into understanding analytics and database construction, as well as learning the ins and outs of content marketing strategies and live event production. After NationSwell, she joined Outlier.org, an EdTech startup founded by the CoFounder of Masterclass, as Paid Acquisition Manager and dove deep into paid performance marketing for a time.

Since early 2021, Caitlin has been exploring the waters of freelancing, working for a variety of boutique social media marketing agencies before launching her own at the beginning of 2023. Róisín Consulting currently has a team of 10 employees serving 16 different clients, ranging from celebrity personas to small and large businesses from a variety of industries, including The Baccarat Hotel, 1 Hotels Central Park & Brooklyn Bridge, FairLead Realty, FlightLine Technologies, and Mysterious Adventures Tours. 

Outside of work, Caitlin’s free-time activities include her two dogs, Bobby and Misty; culinary exploration; nail art; needlepoint; and travel.

Alexa Evans graduated from Eckerd in 2014 with a B.A. in Theatre and a minor in Interdisciplinary Arts. While at Eckerd, Alexa performed, stage managed, and directed multiple performances in the Theatre department. She also managed Public Relations for WECX, served as an Autumn Term Activator, participated in the 2011 "Many Experiences, One Spirit" fundraising phone-a-thon, studied abroad over the winter term at Ghost Ranch and in London, and played on the women's Rugby team.

After graduating from Eckerd, Alexa worked in performance, education, and stage management roles at regional theatres across Florida, including Urbanite Theatre, American Stage, and the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. During that time, she supplemented her income as a brand ambassador for Nordstrom cosmetic brands, an administrative associate at her family's accounting firm, and a bid spotter with a live auction company.

In 2017, she joined the development team at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in an associate-level role. There, she worked closely with the marketing department, redeveloping the Theatre's annual fund brochure to generate $80,000 more in contributed revenue than its predecessor. After a year, she was promoted to an events and project management role, where she oversaw the development of all fundraising marketing collateral for the Theatre, managed 70+ events/year, planned an international donor trip to London, associate produced the 2020 annual gala, and drafted an emergency appeal letter in the early days of the pandemic that generated $40,000 in donations.

After being furloughed in the summer of 2020, Alexa seized an opportunity to provide marketing services for a few small businesses. Since then, she has steadily and exponentially grown her practice into a full-service marketing agency, ultimately declining to return to her full-time role at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. Untrendy Marketing now serves service providers, nonprofits, and artists with all of their marketing needs. While Alexa's career path has been far from linear, she finds that all of her experience has proved pertinent to entrepreneurship. Outside of running her own company, Alexa is an active Eckerd College Alumna and loves teaching dance.

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Leandra graduated from Eckerd in 1998 with a B.S. in Biology and two minors in Visual Arts and Philosophy. As an extrovert living off campus all four years, she was heavily involved in both The Triton student newspaper (Arts & Entertainment Editor and Executive Board) and ECOS (Day Student Representative) as a way to meet new people and stay involved. Labs were her favorite part of her biology experience, and her colorfully illustrated lab notebooks were well known amongst students and faculty. One of her favorite escapes was rollerblading along the beach trails in Ft. De Soto Park and two study abroad Winter Terms (Ireland and London) jumpstarted her love for international travel.

After graduation she worked as a graphic and web designer first at the University of Georgia and then at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2007, Leandra quit her job in higher education to start LeGa Design Group, a web development company primarily focused on helping nonprofits and small business owners with creative and affordable website design. Her company specializes in Wordpress theme design and development as well as Adobe Creative Suites applications.

While living in Durham, NC for the last 18 years, she has been involved in the Triangle nonprofit community, serving on the DYP Civic/Community Sub-committee for the Durham Young Professionals and as a core member of the planning committee for the local nonprofit technology conference, NCTech4Good, from 2010-2018. 

Outside of work, Leandra and her husband Eric (also a ’98 grad!) are world travelers (51 countries and counting) and she never turns down an opportunity to take a cooking class in a foreign country or a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir.

Sofia Zrioka graduated from Eckerd in 2011 with a major in Global Business and minor in German. While at Eckerd, Sofia studied abroad doing several independent studies in Denmark, Sweden and Greece and found her passion in the relationship building aspect of business and commercial marketing.

Following graduation from Eckerd, Sofia moved back to Maine and started working at IDEXX Laboratories, an international company headquartered in Maine which focuses on developing veterinary diagnostics and testing. For almost 6 years on the Diagnostic Imaging commercial marketing team, Sofia supported all digital radiography hardware and software commercial activities, from the planning, production, and implementation of all educational content to managing the launch of “Lower the Dose” – the first radiation safety campaign for the veterinary market. In 2018, Sofia accepted a position as a Marketing Manager on the Field Marketing Team supporting IDEXX’s sales organization and their in-house analyzer portfolio. In 2020, Sofia became the Regional Marketing Manager for Chemistry, Hematology and Urinalysis for North America where she is responsible for the region’s marketing plans for those 3 franchises including the creation and implementation of sales tools, programs and promotions. Sofia is currently leading a core team for IDEXX’s first global utilization program for customers to trial IDEXX’s innovative SDMA test which evaluates kidney function of cats and dogs. 

Sofia lives in Bath, Maine with her partner Robert renovating their 1890s home and with their cat Tusse-Lou. They hope to add a pup to the mix soon but in the meantime, Sofia enjoys spending time with family, hiking, and looking forward to her PGL (Personal Growth Leave) from IDEXX as next year will be her 10th year with the company.

Blanca Catalina García graduated Eckerd College in 2003 with a B.S. in Psychology, with a concentration in Visual Arts. While at Eckerd, Blanca was a writer for The Current (at that time, The Triton), a part of the Eckerd College Organization of Students (ECOS), an Eckerd College Honorary Ford Scholar, and a Special Talent Scholar (Visual Arts). Blanca Catalina was an advocate for environmental sustainability on campus, propelling the recycling efforts on campus, as well as actively involved in the international student community, acting as an advocate for global mindedness and multicultural inclusivity.

After Eckerd, Blanca Catalina continued to work with non-profit organizations such as Operation PAR and Briarpatch Services, focused on community building, inclusion, and social justice for marginalized youth. For over a decade, Blanca Catalina worked on innovative, community-driven initiatives to support multicultural, marginalized (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant) youth and emerging adults. Blanca worked in substance abuse programs, local jails, and court systems, and in community centers and programs. Blanca shifted into higher education in 2010 at the University of Wisconsin - Madison to continue to develop initiatives for intercultural communication and support work communities that are diverse, but divided. In 2017, Blanca moved to Atlanta and became part of the ecosystem builder community, helping to support equity in the tech innovation industry for marginalized entrepreneurs. During this time, she made a significant contribution to the movement for equity and diversity in technology startups and innovative companies in the Southeast. She worked with organizations like digitalundivided and Goodie Nation, and became a Startup Catalyst at Georgia Tech’s ATDC. Over the course of almost 20 years, Blanca Catalina has become known as a change agent, intrapreneur, and entrepreneur, especially in the services of marginalized communities. She is an innovative educator and has developed multiple educational programs focused on the inclusion and thriving of diverse and underrepresented people. She is an entrepreneur and business coach, having started several businesses and successfully coached more than 1000 entrepreneurs, primarily social impact and women/BIPOC-led businesses. She is an activist, supporting important and radical change within organizations and communities at large.

Blanca Catalina lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband and two daughters. She is a first-generation immigrant from Chile. Her husband is from Cuba and they are both actively involved in equity work. Outside of her work at Eckerd, Blanca Catalina continues to run her business, which focuses on creating educational programs for underrepresented entrepreneurs. She is actively involved in the community and believes that marginalized innovators and creators are vital to creating the solutions we need for our changing world. Blanca continues to be an artist in her spare time. She loves to read, listen to podcasts and watch independent films. She and her family love being outside and exploring. You might run into her, her husband and adorable little girls around town and in the local parks of St. Petersburg.

Meg Fitzpatrick graduated from Eckerd in 2012 with a B.A. in Human Development. While at Eckerd, Meg was heavily involved in the visual arts scene, but really floated, and tried a little bit of everything! She was not a kid who understood the value of college, and really only succeeded at EC due to the support and love of the Human Development professors. 

After Eckerd, Meg moved to Hawaii for a year to work at a horticultural therapy program, then to Boston to work at a residential treatment center while she figured out what I wanted to do within the world of mental health. She then switched to a position as an in-home therapist for high-risk adolescents for two years and decided grad school was the move. Meg pursued her doctorate in School Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver and graduated in 2020. Since then, she has also pursued her license in clinical psychology and is now a dual-licensed psychologist with both clinical and school licenses.

Outside of work, Meg is an artist, a plant mom, and a professional aerialist in a circus group! 

Ren Lovegood (they/them/theirs) graduated from Eckerd in 2010 with a major in English Language and Literature and a minor in International Relations and Global Affairs. The four years they spent at Eckerd were some of the best years of their life. Ren was one of the first competitors on the women’s Division II Golf team, a resident advisor (with the help of their cocker spaniel mix, Emmy), VP of Pet Council, VP of Omicron Delta Kappa, and a work-study student supporting the International Education department. During Ren’s time at Eckerd, they traveled twice for Winter Term: first on a service trip to Ghana and next on a business trip to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Ren also served as Eckerd’s Fellow to the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF), lobbying and engaging in political activism supporting funding for private universities in Florida. 

Leaving Eckerd, Ren has had a diverse work history across multiple sectors. They began their career as a Special Education Fellow in Chicago Public Schools and later managed residential group homes for individuals with behavioral support needs and cognitive disabilities. After their brother was injured while serving in the Navy in 2017, they transitioned into providing full-time care through his recovery. The experience of navigating his care inspired Ren to pursue a career change to the healthcare sector, where they have had the opportunity to grow skills in administrative support, project management, program management, and committee development.  In their roles across education, healthcare, and non-profit organizations, Ren has assisted in developing and supporting committees focused on organizational culture, wellness, DEI, resource development, strategic planning, and research. Their most recent role included serving as the Senior Manager of the Leadership Excellence Networks (LENS) at the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL), where they support HR, DEI, well-being, and People Analytics leaders from hospitals and healthcare systems across the US.

In May of 2022, they graduated from Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School with a Master of Healthcare Administration. Suffolk’s program had a strong focus on DEI initiatives, strategic planning, healthcare innovation, leadership development, and human resources, and encouraged them to complete independent research specific to disability inclusion and workforce development initiatives in Healthcare Organizations. Ren was selected to serve as Suffolk’s representative to the American College of Healthcare Executives, engaging as an ex-officio board member to our local chapter and serving on multiple committees, including their Education & Networking, DEI, Higher Education Network, and Early Careerist Network committees. As an alumnus, Ren participated as a guest speaker in Suffolk’s Human Resources courses, supporting their students with disabilities as they prepare to transition into the workplace and speak on topics about inclusion for persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and intersectionality. Ren currently serves as a Trustee on Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School Alumni Board. 

As a passionate scholar, Ren is thrilled to take the next step in their educational journey this fall and will join the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Organizations and Social Change program as a Ph.D. student and research fellow. Their research will focus on the intersections of organizations, ethics, leadership, and society in relationship to inclusion, accessibility, and discrimination of individuals from systematically marginalized groups with a special focus on Critical Disability Theory. 

Ren’s intersecting identities include living as a dynamic and multiply disabled non-binary person, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and a religious minority. Developing legal blindness as an adult has impacted their career trajectory and their advocacy for increasing accessibility in our communities and institutions.  They reside with their spouse, Chris (they/them), and their two King Charles Cavalier Spaniels (Luna and Arlo) south of Boston, Massachusetts. In Ren’s spare time, they enjoy practicing yoga and meditation, hiking, visiting museums, and traveling. They are trained as an adaptive yoga teacher and mindfulness meditation facilitator with a focus on trauma-inclusive practices. As a lover of learning, you can often find them in a quiet corner reading or chatting with a friend over coffee.