Lauren Pasquarella Daley, Ph.D. is Vice President at Catalyst, a global research and consulting organization. She is also a UF graduate. Dr. Daley serves as Catalyst’s lead subject matter expert on women and the future of work, where she develops cutting-edge research, builds innovative learning products, and conducts data-driven consulting for companies and leaders. A recognized future of work thought leader, her work has been featured in outlets like the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, Thrive Global, and Fortune. Before joining Catalyst, Dr. Daley worked as a counselor in university career services and in private practice.

Lauren on LinkedIn

Kim is a UF graduate who is a founder, keynote speaker, and teacher. As a student at UF, she appeared on ABC’s hit primetime show, Shark Tank (securing offers from 4 out of 5 sharks!). From worldwide stages to her online courses, Kim’s mission of investing in yourself, supercharging your career and building your network has garnered the praise of corporate clients such as American Express, YPO, TEDx and LinkedIn. Her weekly live series, Coffee With Kim brings in experts, founders & leaders to share tips, tricks and strategies that help them excel. Additionally, Kim is a partner in a fan engagement agency, Bright Ideas Only, working with A-list properties such as Paul McCartney, Oprah, the NY Mets and Shawn Mendes to create marketing programs, new revenue streams and branding. She was named to Inc.’s 35 Under 35, Advertising Age’s 40 Under 40 and Forbes 30 Under 30.

Kim’s website

Maria lives by the phrases: “It’s your world” and “seek discomfort.” She has a background in communications, strategic storytelling, and entrepreneurship. Her company, Brand Spark Consulting, supports purpose-driven organizations through consulting, and advisory. ​Maria is an ultra-endurance athlete having completed an Ironman 70.3, a 10-mile open water swim, two marathons, and is training for a 50K. Her Substack publication, It’s Your World, became popular after her story asking her Uber driver and a stranger to go paragliding. Born in Bogota, Colombia, Maria grew up in Gainesville, FL, graduated from the University of Florida, and lives in Austin, Texas.

Vivian Washington Filer is a long time resident of Gainesville, Florida. She is a retired Professor of Nursing from Santa Fe College. She was educated at the University of Florida, Nova University and the University of South Florida. She has served as a community advocate, active member of Mt. Olive AME Church and a frequent visitor in schools and churches as a Storyteller. Presently she serves on a number of Boards and Committees in the city, spending the majority of her time in her roles as Founder and CEO of the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center.

Wanda has been a Nurse for 34 years. Her experience includes Unit Manager, Nurse Educator, CPR instructor, Research Nurse, Parish Nurse, Community Health Educator, and Advocate. Currently she works as a Program Coordinator in the UF College of Medicine Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Division and she is an active member of the Greater Gainesville Black Nurse Association and Gnv4All. Wanda also works as a Health, Wellness, Natural Food Advocate to engage, educate and empower individuals, churches, organizations and communities to take their health back through advocacy in the practice of lifestyle medicine. She enjoys beach life, exercise, cooking, reading, hanging out with family and friends. Wanda is most proud of being a mother to her son & daughter and a nana to Riley & CJ.

Ann Searight Christiano is the founder and Director of the Center for Public Interest Communications. Public Interest Communications uses science-driven strategic communications and storytelling to advance positive social change. She regularly trains scientists and other leaders to convey the importance of their work. Before coming to UF, Searight was a senior communications officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her writing has appeared in Barron’s, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and JAMA. She has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, the U.S. Department of State, the Gates Foundation, the International Labor Organization, and nonprofits and foundations throughout the world.

Eugenia Blaubach is a strategic storyteller with over four years of experience crafting communications strategies that advance climate justice, public health, and gender equity around the world. As an associate at Burness, she has worked with the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, the Rights and Resources Initiative, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and its grantees. Eugenia is from Valencia, Venezuela and is fluent in Spanish and French. She graduated with a B.S. in public relations and a minor in French and Francophone studies from the University of Florida, where she was deeply involved with the Center for Public Interest Communications.

Eugenia’s LinkedIn

Terri L. Bailey, MA is native of Gainesville’s oldest historically Black community, the Pleasant Street District. She is a graduate of Bethune Cookman University, Southern New Hampshire University (MA English/Creative Writing) and the University of Florida (MA in Women Studies). Bailey is a certified Master Coach (Life & Empowerment) and EFT/TFT Practitioner. Terri is a writer of poetry, speculative fiction, Afrofuturism and Black horror. She is the founder of the Bailey Learning and Arts Collective (501c3), Queens Room Women’s Empowerment Group and Terri Bailey CHATs. Terri still lives in Pleasant Street with her husband Turbado and daughter, Aaliyah.

Imani Sanchez is a second-year student at the University of Florida. She double majors in Political Science and International Studies. Imani interned for Mrs. Terri Bailey through UF’s Active Learning Program in the Spring of 2022. Her responsibilities included updating websites, weekly communication, and community outreach. Imani has been involved in community service at UF through the Hispanic Student Association and Circle K International. During her internship, Mrs. Bailey taught Imani the importance of community engagement and how to be involved in the greater Gainesville area. As she continues to serve the community, Imani looks to Mrs. Bailey for mentorship and guidance. Inspired by Mrs. Bailey, Imani has partnered with the Alachua County school system to help close the inequality gap in Alachua public schools.

Betsy Carlson is a co-founder of Searchlight Yoga and has been teaching yoga in Gainesville for 20 years. Her teaching includes moments of still meditation mixed with breathwork and movement flows where each pose transitions slowly to the next. Betsy came to yoga through dance and approaches each class as a choreography. She seeks a balance in her classes between yinyasa (flowing) and longer held poses with alignment achieved through both anatomy-based cues and inspiration through poetic imagery. She also has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from UF and has worked for 27 years as a Senior Principal Investigator specializing in Caribbean and Southeast historic and prehistoric archaeology at SEARCH, Inc.

Anna Grace Sampson is the director of We Are Neutral, an environmental nonprofit that assists individuals and organizations with understanding, reducing, and managing their comprehensive carbon footprints. She received her Masters in Sustainable Architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2009 and completed the required 5,600 Intern Development Program hours to become a licensed architect. She has since used her creative and mathematical education to fight climate change in the nonprofit sector. Anna is a volunteer energy auditor, TEDx speaker, guest lecturer, and mentor to young professionals.

Vice President of Cornerstone Barricades, a Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) service provider specializing in road construction and safety. As Vice President, Seyi Falade leads business development, strategic planning and general management oversight at Cornerstone Barricades, Inc. Seyi spearheaded the launch and growth of Cornerstone Barricades due to her keen ability to identify strategic partnerships which helped establish credibility in the local construction community. As a firm believer in community outreach and education, Seyi presently serves as on the Development Committee with Alachua Habitat for Humanity and as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Florida’s Warrington School of Business. Seyi earned her Bachelor of Science from the UF’s College of Health and Human Performance in 2003. After graduation she served as an AmeriCorps Literacy Coach for at-risk youth in the Alachua County School Board system. In 2005, she was awarded the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for her leadership and community service. Ms. Falade then honed her business acumen working with the NBA, IMG and 3M. In 2011, she graduated from HULT International Business School – London with a Master of Business Administration.

Dr. Bertrhude Albert is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of P4H Global. She is a Ph.D. graduate from the department of Agricultural Education and Communication at the University of Florida with a specialization in Extension Education. As a Haitian American, Dr. Albert finds herself enamored by the story of the Haitian people and is committed to seeing countries rise to their full potential and destiny through sustainable development and human capacity growth. Throughout her academic journey, Dr. Albert has received several awards such as UF’s Hall of Fame, UF’s Teaching Assistant of the Year, the International Outreach Award, and has been awarded UF’s 40 Under 40, among many others.

Under the leadership of Dr. Albert and Dr. Zelaya, P4H has grown to become the largest teacher training nonprofit in Haiti, now operating in all 10 of the country’s geographical departments and already having trained nearly 8,000 educators across Haiti. P4H also partners with various organizations to support the improvement of educational quality in Haiti, including Food for the Poor, the Inter-American Development Bank, The Digicel Foundation, and the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Dr. Priscilla Zelaya is the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of P4H Global. She is a Nicaraguan-American committed to eradicating abject poverty around the world. Dr. Zelaya received her BA and M.Ed degrees from the University of Florida in Elementary Education and her Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and Communication. Between her Masters and Ph.D. degree, Dr. Zelaya taught 2nd grade at a Title 1 school in Gainesville, FL. Priscilla drew upon her rich experience as a former elementary school teacher to create P4H’s innovative educational programs and to lead the curriculum development, evaluation design and training design for P4H. Dr. Zelaya was awarded UF’s 40 Under 40 in 2020

Under the leadership of Dr. Albert and Dr. Zelaya, P4H has grown to become the largest teacher training nonprofit in Haiti, now operating in all 10 of the country’s geographical departments and already having trained nearly 8,000 educators across Haiti. P4H also partners with various organizations to support the improvement of educational quality in Haiti, including Food for the Poor, the Inter-American Development Bank, The Digicel Foundation, and the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Vas is a former JPM Investment Banker who moved from New York to Nairobi to raise capital for startups & SMEs across East Africa with investment advisor, I-DEV International. She subsequently built up an early stage ed-tech startup as Growth Manager, helping to refine their model to achieve product-market fit for Pan-African expansion. Africa AI Labs developed organically from her work at a Kiambu orphanage to stop high school graduated orphans from returning to the slums from which they were rescued.

Pearis Bellamy, M.S. is a counseling psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Florida. Pearis’ research and clinical interests include trauma specifically intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and racial trauma. In 2020, Pearis dreamed up Academics for Black Survival and Wellness, alongside her mentor, Dr. Della Mosley, in hopes of providing healing and support for Black people through collective action in academia. The initiative has garnered over 15,000 participants from across the world who are participating or have participated in anti-racism trainings centered on accountability and action (non-Black participants) and healing and wellness workshops and experiences (Black participants).

COO and co-founder of Plaine Products (a certified B Corporation), on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic from the bathroom. Plaine Products are toxin-free, vegan products in reusable aluminum bottles that are sent back to be refilled.

Khe Hy is the founder and CEO of RadReads, an online education platform that helps professionals lead productive, examined and joyful lives. Khe is creator of the $10K Work productivity framework and teaches the popular cohort-based course Supercharge Your Productivity. RadReads provides guides, trainings, and coaching for over 30,000 professionals to help them gain back free time, scale their impact, and make their little dent in the universe.

Before founding RadReads, Khe spent 15 years working on Wall Street and was one of the youngest Managing Directors at BlackRock. He’s been called Oprah for Millennials by CNN and the Wall Street Guru by Bloomberg and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, TEDx, Barrons, Time Magazine and Quartz.

Anna Grace Sampson is the director of We Are Neutral (a pending B Corp), an environmental nonprofit that assists individuals and organizations with understanding, reducing, and managing their comprehensive carbon footprints. She received her Masters in Sustainable Architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2009 and completed the required 5,600 Intern Development Program hours to become a licensed architect. She has since used her creative and mathematical education to fight climate change in the nonprofit sector. Anna is a volunteer energy auditor, TEDx speaker, guest lecturer, and mentor to young professionals.

Like many entrepreneurs, Payal Khurana considers herself devoted. Her deepest devotion? Supporting others to serve the moment with intention and unwavering presence. She was born in India, raised in Tampa, Fl and went to the University of Florida to get her BS in Computer Engineering. She spent 8 years working in healthcare IT and living all over the country, and then returned to Gainesville to co-found Starter Space, a co-working space. She later created a 6-week mindfulness program to support others with tools to move through disconnection, distraction and dissatisfaction. In 2018, she founded and invited thousands of people into the doors of Gainesville’s very first mindfulness studio, The Mindful Co, a company supporting others to serve the moment with intention and unwavering presence. Currently, Payal is working on her first book and continuing to focus on supporting others to practice power differently through presence.

Andrea Scher is an author, artist and life coach whose work is driven by her belief in the transformative power of creativity for joy and wellbeing. For nearly two decades, through her award-winning blog Superhero Journal, her Creative Superheroes podcast, and her bestselling e-courses, Andrea has thrilled others with their own power to find magic all around them.

Her new book, Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake up Your Creativity and Find Your Joy (HarperCollins) straddles the world of creativity and mindfulness – playfully inspiring readers to live more vibrant lives full of presence, joy and connection.

In August 2019 Brandi opened Wildflowers Yoga, in the heart of Gainesville’s Grove Street district. In addition to running the studio, Brandi teaches weekly classes and workshops, holds cacao classes and ceremonies, is the lead teacher for the Wildflowers Yoga alignment based 300hr yoga teacher training in Gainesville, is a Prema breathwork facilitator, and co-teachers other 200 & 300 hour trainings at various sacred locations around the world. Brandi teaches a range of weekly classes from Ashtanga and flow to Inversions and yin. In each of these classes, Brandi will encourage you to find a deeper awareness of the body, mind and breath connection which helps to clear the mind to move into a greater state of equanimity in life.