St. Pete X

On this episode of SPx, we say goodbye to co-host Ashley Ryneska. Ashley has been a staple since the show's inception, but she's moving on to greener (and colder) pastures in New York. For her last episode, she and Joe host her former colleague, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg, David Jezek. As head of one of the most impactful nonprofit organizations in the area, Jezek shares his experience as a YMCA brat, the evolution of the organization through his lifelong career, and exciting plans for its future. He shares thoughts on what sets the YMCA apart, life after retirement and the many defining moments of his career.

On this episode of SPx, Rick Homans, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership joins Joe and Ashley in the studio to talk regionalism. Despite Tampa Bay's standing as the 19th largest metropolitan area in the country, fractured advancement efforts have hurt the region's development and hindered collective productivity and wage growth. The Tampa Bay Partnership is looking to bridge the gap, creating a high level organization to work on the thorniest issues plaguing the region, including workforce pipeline and transportation. Homans talks the storied trajectory of his career - through journalism, politics and economic development - he shares stories of his work with Richard Branson and his thoughts on the state of journalism today.

On this episode of SPx, David Downing sits down with Joe and Ashley to talk the nuances of tourism marketing and what the $1 billion industry means for Pinellas County. Downing explains his deep ties to St. Petersburg and why he returned to the area after starting his career in New York City. He shares the lesser known aspects of VSPC, including its global reach and the economic impact of tourism on local taxpayers and businesses.

On this episode of SPx, Joe and Ashley host AgileThought CEO, David Romine. Since founding AgileThought in 2004, Romine and his partners have grown the business exponentially. Headquartered in Tampa, the company has expanded to Orlando, and most recently to Atlanta, Georgia. Romine talks endings and new beginnings in founding AgileThought out of the settled ashes of Arthur Anderson. He shares the importance of discerning one's professional strengths, shares the origins of AgileThought; talks agile methodology in all business aspects, and the role of self-awareness in work.

On this episode of SPx, Peter Schorsch, the politico behind Florida Politics, joins Joe in the studio to talk St. Pete media. Schorsch is a complex and controversial figure in local and national politics. This episode goes deep - we see a surprisingly soft side of Schorsch, as he shares the challenges of building StPetersBlog (which later became Florida Politics) in his hometown - and the risks of making political enemies in your own back yard. Schorsch also talks the downsides of growth and development in St. Pete, and the importance of remembering the city's history while it changes. True to form, Schorsch challenges Joe on his philosophy of objectivity in media and the role the Catalyst could play in public discourse.

On this episode of SPx, Joe flies solo with St. Pete's very own Peter Betzer, President of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, and Dean Emeritus of the University of South Florida College of Marine Science. When Betzer arrived in St. Petersburg in 1971, the College of Marine Science had five faculty and a dozen graduate students and the city was known as a haven for the elderly and retired - where the downtown streets rolled up after 5pm. Thanks to Betzer and the business leaders of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership (formerly St. Pete Progress), the College of Marine Science now ranks as one of the top ten institutions in the country, and St. Pete's downtown is a bustling center for tech and innovation.

On this episode of SPx, Joe and Ashley are joined in the studio by Michael Pastreich. At the time of the recording, Pastreich was in his final days as the President and CEO of the Florida Orchestra. He has since stepped down from his position after 12 years of breathing life into the organization. In this acumen-rich episode, Pastreich shares stories of growing up surrounded by symphonies, the power of music, and its transformational impact on the larger community. He talks the essentials of board composition, breaking organizations out of crisis, and why he doesn't believe in vision.

On this episode of SPx, Joe and Ashley are joined by Kristen Shepherd, Executive Director of the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg. The youngest and the first female director of the museum, Shepherd is breathing life into the halls of St Pete's only comprehensive art collection. Equipped with more than two decades of experience working with Sotheby's and the Whitney Museum of American Art, Shepherd is well-versed in art and the business that surrounds it. Alongside her team of curators, Shepherd is weaving together old and new, and shaking the dust off of this renowned institution with relevant, socially conscious exhibits like "Can I Get A Witness" by Herb Snitzer and "Magnetic Fields, American Abstractions from the 1960's."

On this episode of SPx, Ashley and Joe are joined by Dr. Hank Hine, Executive Director of the Dali Museum. Since Dr. Hine's tenure began in 2002, he has overseen the museum's move to its magnificent home at the anchor of Beach Drive and its many special exhibits highlighting Dali's connection and influence on the art community. Dr. Hine talks his role in reframing the Dali Museum's relationship with the business community via the Innovation Labs and highlights Dali's role as "nexus" for a multitude of artists, mediums and subjects throughout the years.

On this episode of SPx, Joe and Ashley are joined in the studio by Dr. Jonathan Ellen of John's Hopkins All Children's Hospital. Dr. Ellen spent much of his extensive career as a social epidemiologist studying HIV/AIDS. In 2012, he was appointed President of All Children's Hospital. Over the next five years his visionary leadership, along with the selflessness of its Board of Trustees, brought the transformational partnership of what would become John's Hopkins All Children's Hospital. But, as Dr. Ellen explains, the work is not over. He shares his insight on the importance and challenges of public health, changing social norms and St. Pete's own transformation.