2023 Cultural Facilities



Meeting

10/6/2021 9:00:00 AM

2023 Cultural Facilities

2023

Abstein, Teri

Sandy Shaughnessy

The Studios of Key West

Comments Closed

Panelists (10)

  • County: Orange County

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County: Orange

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LaVon holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts with a concentration in Acting from Howard University and a Juris Doctor from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, College of Law. LaVon is a licensed attorney and currently works as the Director of Community Relations  for the  Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. She is happily married to Minister Adrian R. Davis.
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  • County: Leon County

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County: Leon

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Towson Fraser is president of Fraser Solutions, a Tallahassee-based lobbying and communications consulting firm, and has close to 20 years of political and governmental experience.

Most recently, Towson was a partner with Southern Strategy Group in Tallahassee. Prior to that, he served Governor Charlie Crist as his Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Affairs Director. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Towson coordinated with numerous state agencies including the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of State, Department of Revenue, Fish and Wildlife Commission, Water Management Districts, and the Agency for Workforce Innovation. As Legislative Affairs Director, Towson managed the progress of the Governor’s priorities through the legislative process including budget issues and landmark legislation in regard to energy, health care, insurance, and property taxes.

Prior to working for Governor Crist, Towson served as Communications Director for Speaker Allan Bense, as well as the Republican Party of Florida, the Department of Management Services, and the Department of Community Affairs. Towson also worked in the House Majority Office under Speakers John Thrasher and Tom Feeney.

A native of Tallahassee who grew up in Jacksonville, Towson, his wife Carrie, and their children Caroline, Jack, Helen and Sophie live in Tallahassee.

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  • County: Pinellas County

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County: Pinellas

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Deborah Kynes, a Dunedin City Commissioner (1999 – 2009), (2014 – 2018) served as Vice Mayor from December 1, 2016 – December 5, 2017, served as Vice President of the Institute for Strategic Public Policy Solutions Board (SPC); is a Founding Member of the Village Square (Pinellas); served as Chairman of the Utilities, Natural Resources & Public Works Legislative Committee for the Florida League of Cities (2017-2018) and serves on the Dunedin Fine Arts Center Advisory Council.  Deborah currently serves as the City liaison to the Dunedin Fine Art Center and the North Pinellas Cultural Alliance.  She also serves on the Mease Manor Board of Trustees and was appointed to the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, July 16, 2018. 

Deborah has served as:  Florida Humanities Council Board, President PACE Pinellas Center for Girls, a three-term Chairman of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority; Chairman of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council; Chairman of the Environmental Quality Committee of the Florida League of Cities; member, Florida Chamber Water Task Force; President of the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin; Chairman of the Pinellas County Arts Council; President of the Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation; member of the Pinellas County Charter Review Commission; Bay Care Medically Needy Task Force; the Board of Leadership Pinellas; on the Morton Plant/Mease Community Impact Committee; Honorary Co-Chairman of Art Harvest and Co-Chairman of the Hospice of the Pinellas Suncoast “Hospice Ball.”  Deborah also served on the Leepa Rattner Museum Collections Committee.

Deborah is a member of Leadership Pinellas, Leadership Florida, the Dunedin Rotary, the First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin and the Junior League of Clearwater Dunedin.  Deborah has a B.A. in English from the University of Arkansas and a J.D. from the University of Tulsa, College of Law.

Deborah is a voting member of the Cherokee Nation and a member of the Cherokees of Central Florida.  Deborah is a member of the Florida Bar.

Deborah’s awards include the “Deborah Vincent” Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award 2013 for Leadership Pinellas; “Delightful Dunedin” Award presented by the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce; “History Maker” Award presented by the Dunedin Historical Society; “Rotarian of the Year” Award presented by the Dunedin Rotary Club and “Women Honoring Women” Award (Soroptimist Club).

Deborah and her husband, Allen, live in Dunedin.  They have two children, Lessley, who currently teaches at the University of Tampa, and Jordan, who is working on his Doctoral degree in Middle Eastern Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin.  Deborah and Allen have two grandchildren, Olivia and Lucy Lowery-Kynes.

  • County: Miami-Dade County

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County: MiamiDade

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Jason Tapia AIA, is a registered architect in the states of Colorado, Florida, Texas and New York. Jason earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 1997 and a Master of Science in Architecture Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. He has been practicing architecture for twenty-one years and is currently the Principal of Building Center No.3, a design firm he founded in 2010 that offers services in the disciplines of architecture, landscape and interiors. His areas of expertise include the design of buildings using life cycle assessment tools, building performance modeling and passive design strategies.
  • County: Martin County

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County: Martin

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Pat Williams, President, and Founder of Pat Williams & Associates, is an entrepreneur and communications professional specializing in campaigns that promote her clients as “first, best and different.” A native of the Chicago area, Pat managed her family’s entertainment and event business, which received the honor of being designated as Illinois Family Business of the Year. In her Florida-based public relations and marketing firm, she searches for breakthrough opportunities for her clients in the legal, health, education, small business, and non-profit sectors. Her work has won awards from the Advertising Federation of American and the Florida Public Relations Golden Image Awards program. Among Pat’s most successful projects has been the launch of Luminaries, a weekly publication for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, which has been widely regarded as a national model for social and philanthropic news coverage. Before establishing her own firm, she was Vice President for Boston-based Regan Communications, managing the firm’s Florida public relations and marketing operations. Pat is active in many arts and culture entities in the Martin County area, where she has served as a board member for the Elliott Museum, the Arts Council of Martin County, the Women’s Club of Stuart, and The Pine School. Pat is a founding member of Women Supporting the Arts and of Impact 100 Martin.
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