Hometown: Tampa Bay area
Alma mater: University of South Florida
Charitable involvement: Post-storm cleanup after Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Michael; Queen Bee Cleans Up Tampa Bay; Jensen’s Heart of Gold Gala; The Gentlemen’s Course gala; Lombardo’s Spring for a Change, benefiting The Spring women and children’s shelter; Meals on Wheels
On philanthropy: “I have put so much effort into helping with Hurricane Irma and Michael victims because, the way I see it, if that happened to Tampa, I would hope that people in other cities would do the same. I also put together the cleanup project because our city is beautiful, and the only way to keep it beautiful is to band together and clean it up.”
When I’m not in the office, you can find me… “With my kids, family and friends. I also love doing yoga; it helps keep me level-headed and in shape.”
Mentor: “Heleomar Zanga was my manager at Tampa General Hospital [when I was a nurse]. She always pushed us to strive for excellence and encouraged education. Greg Pinneo is an amazing real estate broker and educator with a vast knowledge of investing and negotiations in the real estate world. He makes you think and pushes you to be the best you can be. Shaunna Pinneo is this amazing woman. She teaches you how to be something in this world and to focus on the positive but not lose sight of reality. Last but not least, my mom and grandma are two hard-working, respectable and loving women who have helped guide me through my whole life. They have survived some of the biggest heartaches and remained resilient. They are the epitome of what I hope to be.”
Philosophy: “I truly believe we can change the world one piece at a time. I hope to bring positivity and light to this dark world.”
What I love about Tampa: “The diversity of things to do. I love that we have the city life, beach life and country life all within minutes of each other. I also love the diversity of the people in the city. We are a melting pot, so you can learn a lot just by striking up a conversation with someone you don’t know.”
Favorite book: “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
App I can’t live without: “Facebook. It’s helped me grow my business and helped me build and sustain very powerful and meaningful relationships.”
