The “Uncharted” themed meeting celebrated the EDC’s recent wins, awarded Amgen as the ‘Community Transformer’
Leaders of Tampa Bay EDC
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Tampa Bay EDC Leadership
The Tampa Bay EDC has attracted some of the brightest business leaders in the Tampa and Hillsborough County community. Each year, new executive officers are elected to help lead the organization on yet another successful year.
Archie Collins
Chair
President AND CEO, TECO
Archie Collins is president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric.
Collins has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry. He began his career at Nova Scotia Power in 1990, and he has held increasingly senior roles since then. Prior to joining Tampa Electric, Collins served in leadership roles at Nova Scotia Power and Emera Energy, as president and chief executive officer of Grand Bahama Power Co., and as president and chief operating officer of Emera Caribbean. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer of Tampa Electric.
Collins is a professional chemical engineer, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from St. Francis Xavier University and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Dalhousie University.
He sits on the boards of the Florida Council of 100 and of Enterprise Florida. He also serves on the boards of Southeastern Electric Exchange, The Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, Florida Reliability Coordinating Council and Tampa Theatre.
Casey Ellison
Vice Chair
CEO, Ellison Companies
Casey Ellison has over 20 years of experience in the construction and development industries. He is the CEO of Ellison Companies, a family of firms in the construction and development industry. Casey has extensive experience building and developing across all sectors with an emphasis on place-making hospitality projects. Casey has been a part of many of Tampa’s most impactful projects, including Oxford Exchange, Stovall House, Armature Works, Hotel Haya, and is a preferred partner for the Hillsborough County School Board, University of Tampa, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Casey holds leadership roles in Ellison Construction, one of Tampa Bay area’s leading construction management firms, and Ellison Development, an innovative real estate development company. Casey is civic-minded, serving as incoming Chair on the University of Tampa’s Board of Fellows as well as a sitting member of the Glazer Children’s Museum’s facilities committee. Casey is passionate about the future of business in the Tampa/St. Petersburg region and is currently developing a mixed-use project in St. Petersburg’s EDGE District.
Gina Curry
Secretary/Treasurer
CEO, Nextpath CAREER PARTNERS
Gina is the Chief Executive Officer at NextPath Career Partners. She was born and raised in Tampa, FL, graduating from the University of Florida in 2006.
Gina is a veteran of the staffing industry, accruing more than 15 years of experience working in a wide variety of roles. She began her career with Veredus in Tampa and relocated in 2009 to open a new office location in Raleigh, NC. After accomplishing her goal of building a perennially profitable office in Raleigh, she returned to her hometown where she co-founded NextPath in 2018. Her passion is leading people and building great culture. Gina is an active member within the EDC serving on multiple committees. She sits on the board for the CEO Council and is involved with many non-profits including Redefining Refuge, Metropolitan Ministries, Think Big for Kids and Tampa Bay Technology Forum.
Gina is married with two kids and enjoys traveling and being outside in her spare time.
Gary Sasso
General Counsel
President and ceo, carlton fields
Gary Sasso represents business clients in securities fraud and consumer fraud class actions and other complex litigation at the trial and appellate level, in the financial services industry, energy sector, products manufacturing industry, and services sector. Gary has tried cases in the areas of securities fraud, business contracts, product liability, professional malpractice, employment discrimination and termination, eminent domain, bankruptcy, construction, administrative law, and land use in Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Gary has argued appeals on diverse issues including business fraud, federal and state constitutional claims, product liability, personal injury, insurance coverage, national bank regulation, employment discrimination, federal occupational safety and health regulation, eminent domain, county taxation, and public utilities law.
Before joining the firm in 1987, Gary worked as a law clerk for Justice Byron R. White of the U.S. Supreme Court, and as a law clerk for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Ron Christaldi
Immediate Past Chair
Managing Partner, Shumaker
Known for connecting and building relationships within the community, Ron Christaldi is a hard-working and intensely prepared lawyer with a broad practice, comprised of both transactions and complex litigation. He has also been recognized as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Florida and one of the Best Lawyers in America by a variety of associations and magazines. As a Board Certified Health Lawyer, Ron is committed to his clients and attributes his success to the fact he identifies his clients’ goals at the outset of the engagement and works collaboratively with them on the best, most efficient strategy to achieve their goals. Ron is also a State of Florida Licensed Realtor.
Ron is proud and honored to give back to the community he loves and he has served a variety of organizations in a leadership capacity, including serving as the past chair of the Tampa Bay Chamber, past chair for the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and Arts, and past chair of the 2018 Leukemia Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk. He has been front and center in the effort to keep Major League Baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa. Ron also has been involved in connecting Tampa Bay with the world with his work in international relations, including the process of normalizing the relations in Cuba and maintaining sister city relationships in Ireland and Italy. In the rare times he is not working or serving the community, Ron enjoys spending time with his three children, who are his world.
Craig J. Richard, CEcD, FM
President and CEO
Tampa Bay Economic Development Council
Craig J. Richard is a certified economic developer with over two decades of economic development leadership experience in major markets such as Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. Career highlights include more than 308 successful projects representing more than 126,246 jobs and $9.3 billion in capital investment
Craig has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and currently serves on the boards of the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, Film Tampa Bay, Visit Tampa Bay and the Downtown Tampa Partnership. He was recognized as one of Florida’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders by Florida Trend and one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers by Consultant Connect. Craig was also designated a “Fellow Member” by IEDC for his contributions to the economic development profession.
Craig earned his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree, with a concentration in economic development, from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
Craig and his wife Verna have two boys. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, fishing and hunting.
What's New in Tampa Bay?
Over the past year, the Tampa Bay EDC has deepened our commitment to inclusive growth,
This week marked another important milestone in the history of the Tampa Bay EDC. The
On July 24, the City of Tampa’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) approved a $9.7 million