Maria Gsell didn’t start off in county administration; her first job with Hillsborough County School District was as secretary at Plant High School. That’s when she got the first vote... Read More

High Risk Hope Founder Heather Barrow was just 24 weeks into pregnancy with her second child when her water broke and she went into labor. Doctors immediately prepared Barrow and... Read More

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Mertes knows what it’s like to have your life suddenly altered. On Feb. 7, 2007, her life’s path was forever changed. Stationed at MacDill... Read More

Focus on your assets, not your deficits. Don’t freak out. A smile and “hello” can go a long way in making a bad day better or a good day great.... Read More

Dr. Jennifer Cook has been an achiever from the beginning. A valedictorian in high school in her 400-person class in Great Falls, Virginia, Cook went on to graduate summa cum... Read More

Deputy Mayor Dr. Kanika Tomalin serves the city of St. Petersburg, working in partnership with Mayor Rick Kriseman to strategically advance the city toward its vision of standing as a... Read More

When she was growing up in Ohio, an ice cream truck came by every afternoon in Diane McKee’s neighborhood, and her grandmother told her that if she filled a bucket... Read More

Sandra Murman is a former Florida legislator and current commissioner who has put in hours of work in area non-profits, but many grateful Tampa Bay families know her as the... Read More

Dr. Cockrell is a pediatric hematologist and oncologist and director of the Hemophilia Treatment Center at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. A seemingly quiet, soft spoken doctor, when it comes to... Read More

As executive director of the recently renamed Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women, Ann Madsen has led the transformation of this nearly 40-year-old nonprofit.  Under her guidance, the Centre has... Read More

As the director of medical education at All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine, Raquel Hernandez, MD, MPH, combines her three professional passions — clinical care, education and research. “As an... Read More

Born in Bangalore, India, Sharmila Seth describes her childhood as very happy. “I was very fortunate to have amazing godparents to help take care of my two younger siblings and... Read More