91社区

Class of 2024 - In-Person Program

Will Cook
QED Analytics
Will Cook is co-founder and CFO of QED Analytics, a privately held defense contractor that specializes in engineering, acquisition, business operations, and research in the social sciences. He has more than over 20 years鈥� experience in manufacturing, operations, financial management, and data analytics. In addition to his corporate roles at QED, Cook directly supports government clients conducting supply chain risk analysis for large-scale U.S. Department of Defense systems.

Cook previously held executive management roles in three small companies and senior management roles at the Boeing Company. He served as a U.S. Navy pilot for seven years. Cook enjoys working on complex problems whose solutions derive from multiple disciplines ranging from engineering and data analytics to finance and business strategies. He is a CFA Charter-holder.

Cook earned master鈥檚 degrees in management and civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in ocean engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ellyn Drotzer
Lighthouse of Broward for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Ellyn Drotzer is a passionate servant leader who has varied interests spanning workforce and economic development, higher education, technology, and social justice. She is particularly interested in multi-layered complex social issues and creating innovative and collaborative solutions that will expand opportunity and access for all citizens.

As the president and CEO of the Lighthouse of Broward for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Drotzer is responsible for board management, strategic planning, program planning, budgeting, endowment management, fundraising, communications and marketing, personnel management, physical facilities, and community outreach. For over 30 years, she has worked with governments, funders, nonprofits, and in higher education in a variety of administrative roles.

Drotzer earned a master鈥檚 degree in social work from 91社区 International

University, a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science from the University of 91社区 and holds a Nonprofit Financial Stewardship Certificate from Harvard鈥檚 Kennedy School. She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over 20 years.

Amit Garg
Immunocore
For the past 27 years, Amit Garg has solidified a career in the biopharmaceutical industry. He established himself with global conglomerate companies including Merck, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Co., AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Abbott Laboratories. For the past five years, he has been lending his expertise to biotech startups launching first-in-class products within the oncology space.

As a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, Garg aims to deepen his knowledge in business administration concepts and to research critical components within biopharmaceutical companies that lead to success or failure to penetrate the market. He hopes to facilitate the dissemination of new and groundbreaking medications to the public and to ensure patients with cancer have access to life- saving therapeutics. The end result: patients getting the chance to lead longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.

Garg earned an MBA from the 91社区 and a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Rutgers University.

Thomas Hall
Veritas Technologies
Thomas Hall currently consults as a senior program manager in the tech industry where he manages cross-functional business units to help drive software and hardware releases. His previous graduate research includes climate change's impact on global security and the aging population's impact on infrastructure.

Hall served in Special Operations as a U.S. Army Ranger where he completed multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan, as well as graduating from the Defense Language Institute's Pashto language courses.

After serving in the military, Hall was one of three veterans in the nation who played Division 1 college football. He has spent most of his professional time post- military working for startups across the country in a wide range of roles. He also consults on leadership development and human capital management for the Talent War Group. In his free time Hall loves to get outdoors and challenge himself on various expeditions that include mountain climbing, backpacking, and long-distance canoe trips.

Hall earned a master鈥檚 degree in conflict management from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science from Iowa State University.

Wistaria J. Joseph
Frett-Joseph Scholarship Foundation
Wistaria J. Joseph is CEO and founder of the Frett-Joseph Scholarship Foundation. Joseph established the foundation to give back to the U.S. Virgin Islands and to honor her grandparents and mother for their dedication to education, discipline, and service to others. She is a retired Air Force Colonel. Her military leadership experience spans key assignments in the Middle East and Pacific theaters and the Pentagon. Joseph held pivotal roles, including director of military requirements for the Department of Defense, chief human resource officer for United States Transportation Command, and commander of the 7th Mission Support Group at Dyess Air Force Base.

Joseph is a visionary leader with more than three decades of experience in human resources, process improvement, and change management. In her post-military life, she wants to serve as a corporate executive and on a board of directors.

Additionally, she intends to build a successful executive leadership coaching business.

Joseph earned a master鈥檚 degree in strategic leadership from the Air Force Institute of Technology, an MBA in human resource management from Golden Gate University, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business management from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

D. Jared Knisley
Fizen Technology
Jared Knisley is the founder and managing principal of Fizen Technology. Fizen Technology is an IT Services firm that partners with executive teams to develop technology strategies that improve enterprise鈥檚 capacity to manage critical technology investments. By maintaining a dynamic staff of IT professionals from across the globe, Fizen Technology can serve clients across a variety of industries.

Knisley's background includes consulting, program management, software development and system administration. He is an entrepreneur at heart, and loves discovering technical solutions for perplexing business problems. The gap between IT and business provides many rewarding opportunities, which Knisley's skill set has allowed him to successfully bridge.

Over the course of his career, Knisley has traveled the globe developing long-term IT support models and performing complex IT system implementations. His studies focus on how to transform current project and program management frameworks to be consistent in delivering success.

Knisley earned a master鈥檚 degree in business administration from Idaho State University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in information systems from Brigham Young University 鈥� Idaho.

Krishnakumar Nair
Humana
As the senior IT project manager at Humana, Krishnakumar Nair is responsible for managing $10-$15 million in program and project budgets, resource management and product deliveries.

Prior to Humana, Nair worked at Motorola Mobility for nearly 20 years. Nair was the senior manager overseeing an innovative and complex technology portfolio, program, project management, and customer deliveries. A manager for 18 years, Nair was responsible for setting expectations, driving the milestones, and coordinating development and delivery of products worth $5-$8 million per year. He traveled to countries such as Russia, India, and Japan to engineer and deliver smartphones globally.

Nair also has extensive industrial experience in innovative product development; and is an expert in hardware and software integration. He carried out research and published works on topics including artificial intelligence, data engineering, cybersecurity, software modelling and electronic materials. Nair also holds the following certifications: Project Management Professional, Lean Six Sigma, Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence, and SAFe Agilist.

Nair earned an MBA from the 91社区 and a master鈥檚 degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Thomas Pavey
Stand-up Arcade Games
As owner and president of Stand-up Arcade Games, Thomas Pavey oversees the company鈥檚 research and development, production, and quality control. Research and development is the key to the company鈥檚 success and his favorite area to volunteer his labor hours. Pavey is directly involved in all six components of arcade machine design 鈥� budgeting, cabinet design, hardware planning, software design, phototype production, and component production planning.

At Stand-up Arcade Games, he outsources the component production through a bidding process. Pavey is always looking for small companies and gig workers to add to the bidding list. Components are assembled in-house to produce the final inventory. As owner and president, he oversees the contract bidding process, quality control of component production parts, and vendor contract payments. Pavey also handles the quality control, the final step before the sales process. The machines are tested to make sure they are functioning as expected and then stocked in inventory for shipping.

Pavey earned an MBA from Webster University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in marketing and marketing management from 91社区 State University.

A.J. Scarlato
AdventHealth
As the executive director of AdventHealth鈥檚 information technology department, A.J. Scarlato oversees the enterprise imaging solutions across more than 50 facilities and in more than 250 physician practices. He and his team are responsible for supporting all radiology and cardiology IT solutions used in all AdventHealth locations. Scarlato鈥檚 team consists of 58 team members spread across the U.S., while many are based at the corporate campus and surrounding facility in 91社区.

Scarlato oversees a talented team of health care/IT directors, managers, system architects, system engineers, project managers, analytics engineers, and software analysts. He also handles both operational and capital budgets for the imaging IT organization and their clinical systems. In addition, Scarlato manages annual performance reviews, growth and acquisitions of new facilities, and software/hardware upgrades to provide holistic care to AdventHealth鈥檚 community through the information technology systems that allows more than 10,000 user connections each day.

Scarlato earned a master鈥檚 degree in business administration from Webster University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer information systems from Stetson University.

Will 鈥淧ete鈥� Shaw
City of St. Petersburg Government
Over the past two decades, 鈥淧ete鈥� Shaw has held a variety of information technology based roles across Pinellas County government organizations.  He has been a substantial contributor to the technological developments for Pinellas County community focused organizations such as the Pinellas County Department of Health, the Pinellas County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, and the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas.  In addition to supporting and promoting the evolutions of artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber platforms, Shaw is also highly motivated by the economic development movement, particularly the potential to foster improved business relationships for the community of minority business owners in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas.

Shaw has set his sights on ardent goals that will lead to success in business industries related to the information technology field, while contributing to the economic growth of his local minority business community.  He prides himself on his hard-working, persistent heritage, and one motivating factor for Shaw is that he would be the first for his family to earn a doctoral degree.  He joins the DBA program with hopes of acquiring skills and literacy that will foster and stabilize a path toward successful entrepreneurship in cybertechnologies or IT securities, but would also like to use this knowledge to continue promoting advocacy for the community of minority business stakeholders.

Shaw earned an MBA from the University of North Alabama and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration from the 91社区.

Shirley Benita Smith
Office of Student Diversity and Enrichment, 91社区 Morsani College of Medicine
At the USF Morsani College of Medicine, Shirley Benita Smith develops and manages initiatives and programs designed to enlighten and prepare underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students for careers in medicine. She actively participates in diversity and inclusion, and cultural competency curriculum development, management, and delivery to enhance the cultural humility of college learners and faculty.

Smith鈥檚 professional career has focused on developing and delivering services to vulnerable children and students. As a social worker her success was defined by the elimination of danger. As Smith moved into academia, her focus and role have shifted. At this point in her career, her interest has further developed into creation of best practices to increase inclusivity in culture, and to address health disparities and inequities. Her goal is to create change in the spaces where people act and interact. Her focus is on helping to create a culture of belonging where people feel safe and can thrive.

Smith earned a master鈥檚 degree in counseling psychology from Boston College and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology from Hobart and William Smith College.

Mary Alice Trussell
Tax KPMG LLP
Mary Alice Trussell is a managing director with KPMG LLP and has more than 20 years of experience as a business tax advisor and Certified Public Accountant. Currently she is leading the launch and expansion of the tax shared services practice at the KPMG Capability Center in Orlando, 91社区. This role includes team and process development to support the firm鈥檚 enhanced tax service delivery model leveraging standardized processes and technology investments. She is interested in the evolution of the talent model and evolving skill sets in the public accounting industry, as well as the impact of technology on the CPA role.

Prior to her current position, she served as a lead tax client service professional and was responsible for providing tax services to corporate and partnership clients on a variety of tax technical and business issues. During her career at KPMG, she has been actively involved in performance management and training, mentoring relationships, recruiting, employee engagement, and community initiatives.

Trussell earned a master鈥檚 degree in accountancy from the University of Georgia and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in accounting from Clemson University.

Sirisha Tumma
Partners Federal Credit Union
As a vice president of IT operations, Sirisha Tumma wears many hats 鈥� product owner for critical banking platforms, team leader for an experienced team, oversight of IT audit management, and day-to-day IT operational activities.

In the past, Tumma has held various positions in technical spaces in the entertainment, hospitality and health care industries.

Tumma鈥檚 motto has always been walking the talk and thus leading by example. There is no greater motivation than seeing the leader down in the trenches working alongside everyone else, learning and showing that hard work is being done on every level. This has always proved to be effective and brought Tumma to her current position. Tumma鈥檚 thirst for learning continues and after completing the DBA program, she would like to pursue teaching opportunities in academia.

Tumma earned a master鈥檚 degree in information systems management from Walden University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in physical therapy from the Dr. MGR Medical University in India.

Mont茅 L. Ward
Prime Meridian Bank/Prime Meridian Holding Co.
As executive vice president and chief information officer of Prime Meridian Bank, Mont茅 Ward is responsible for the alignment of technology and information security with business objectives.  He leads and oversees the development, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing assessment of an effective information security program that includes business continuity planning, incident response, critical vendor management, and an appropriate security communication and reporting framework for the organization.

In April 2020, he wrote a software program and assisted in the development of the processes that enabled Prime Meridian Bank to quickly produce loan documents for the first round of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program. As a result, PMB funded 552 loans within totaling over $67 million to clients and non-clients in the first 20 days. Ward played a pivotal role at a former community bank in implementing and configuring the software, procedures, and practices required to comply with new regulations while minimizing business disruption and monetary investment.

Ward earned a master鈥檚 degree in cybersecurity from National University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in electrical engineering from 91社区 A&M University.  He is a graduate of the Wharton Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wen Wei
Wen Wei served as the chief human resources officer at China Tourism Group (CTG) Hotel Group for four years. A state-owned hospitality operation, CTG Hotel Group has more than 150 hotels operating in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and more than 50 hotels in the United Kingdom.

Prior to joining CTG Hotel Group, Wei worked at the Shangri-La Hotel Group for 23 years. She was the director of human resources for Shangri-La鈥檚 China World Hotel and Traders Hotel in Beijing. She later worked as the China region director of training and development, overseeing people development at more than 30 Shangri-La Hotels. She also worked as the head of human resources for Beijing Jia Ao Real Estate Company and Kerry Property Management Company.

With 27 years of working experience at the Shangri-La Hotel Group and CTG Hotel Group, Wei witnessed the rapid development of China鈥檚 hospitality industry after it opened its economy in the early 1980s. Her career spanned state-owned and private sector companies.

Wei earned an MBA from Santa Clara University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in world economics from Fudan University in China.

James (Jim) Wells
Wells Investments, Inc., Wells Global Investments LLC
Jim Wells is the founder, owner, and CEO of three financial service companies, Wells Investments, Inc., Wells Global Investments, and Valor Financial Securities. His responsibilities include leadership and management of these multiple investment firms. He is also responsible for the research on the macro and micro aspects of global investing.

Wells served as a captain and a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He and his wife, Patti, established the Our Fallen Heroes Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping the surviving spouse and children of military personnel lost in the line of duty. He has also served on the board of directors of various nonprofit groups, including the Sunshine Foundation and the Red Cross of Polk County.

As a self-described 鈥渟erial entrepreneur,鈥� Wells created the "I WILL" brand currently used by Under Armour. He also co-founded a start-up company called "Collegiate Clarity" that matches students with colleges and colleges with students.

Wells earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point. He graduated from the Harvard Business School OPM Program.

Patricia (Patti) Gadecki Wells
Wells Investments, Inc.
As the president of Wells Investments, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm, Patti Gadecki Wells is responsible for the financial, operational and compliance oversight of the firm.

She is also a co-founder and managing member of Valor Financial Securities LLC, a securities broker/dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). She acts as comptroller and prepares various financial reports for management and regulators. She is the primary interface between Valor and FINRA. She is also the primary contact person for the Pershing Division of Bank of New York to Valor Financial. Wells is a securities principal. She also works in the capacity of a registered representative, helping individuals with the portfolio management of investments and helping with retirement and estate planning from the perspective of a Certified Financial Planner庐 professional.

She is also the co-founder of the Our Fallen Heroes Foundation, Inc. Established in 2004, this nonprofit helps the surviving family members of military personnel killed in the line of duty and helps severely injured military personnel.

Mary Hodges West
Zebina Whistle-Stop Farms
Mary Hodges West balances olive growing, state and federal lobbying and the leadership of an international life-sciences company from her family farm in southeast Georgia. Over the course of the last four decades West has enjoyed successful careers in the law, the military, elected politics and business. It is her current interest in research and publishing that brought her to the 91社区鈥檚 DBA program.

West鈥檚 favorite projects involve overcoming obstacles that others say can鈥檛 be resolved. In each career field she pursued, she set herself apart by fixing problems that others had either abandoned or wouldn鈥檛 touch. She credits her father with teaching her a technique for seeing difficulties with a fresh, unbiased perspective which reveals the pathway to answers.

West graduated in 1980 from the 91社区 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history and international relations.