St Pete DNA Officers & Board

Officers

• President / Karen Carmichael
• Karen first discovered St. Pete in 1972 when her family moved here from New York and became a resident in 1977. Karen received an education degree at the downtown campus of USF and taught in Pinellas County Schools. She also earned two masters’ degrees in education from the same campus. In 2000, Karen returned to New York where she graduated from Michael Bloomberg’s Leadership Academy and became an assistant principal at a Manhattan elementary school. In 2014, she retired and returned to St. Petersburg to live near her daughter and grandson. Karen served as Vice President and the events chair for 2018 and is currently working with a team to plan the 2019 Tour of Homes. She also consults with the web designer to update the association’s online presence and streamline the membership process. She served on the 2018 Election Committee. Karen is attending the Council of Neighborhood Associations Leadership Program for 2019 so that she can connect with the decision makers in the city government and other neighborhood association leaders.   Karen resides at The Sage Condominium where she serves on the Social Committee. Her interest in being a member of the board for SPDNA comes from the experiences being a part of this community has given her and provides her with the opportunity to give back to a city that is such a rich part of her life.
• Vice President / SCOTT CLARK
• Scott has been a resident of St Petersburg since 2002 and wants to expand the benefits of being a member of SPDNA by contributing new ideas and his computer technical skills to complement the great work the Board has accomplished to date. Scott has a financial business background spanning almost 30 years starting as a CPA for Price Waterhouse Coopers in Tampa and most recently 22 years working for Valpak, the nationwide blue envelope coupon mailer in various roles. Scott was instrumental in designing and running the $200 million, 500,000 square feet Valpak Manufacturing Center you see from I-275 when coming or leaving St Pete. Most recently Scott led the development of Valpak’s Business Intelligence reporting system and a team of business analysts. Scott has held a few volunteer positions in the past including Alumni Advisor to USF’s co-ed professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. Currently Scott volunteers a few hours a month co-authoring the monthly newsletter for The Sage Condos where he lives.
• Treasurer / Al May
• Al has lived in St. Pete since he was 5 years old. He is a graduate of Boca Ciega High School, St. Pete Junior College, and the University of Florida. He is a retired Banking Executive. Al’s goal is to work with other St. Pete Downtown Association members to maintain and enhance the quality of our neighborhood. Al served as SPDNA Treasurer for 2016 & 2017, and is currently serving on the SPDNA Board Election committee.
• Secretary / Steve Phillips
• Steve has been a full time resident of St. Petersburg since 2012, part time since 2006. In 1997, he joined the faculty of the School of Education, Brooklyn College, in New York, and still tele-commutes as Coordinator of Alternative Certification Programs, a program which has prepared more than 3500 career-changers to become teachers since 2000. Prior to 1997, he was a high school teacher and principal in Syracuse, New York; Marcellus, New York; and New York City; then served for 14 years as Superintendent of Alternative High Schools and Programs, supervising 62 schools and programs, which served over 80,000 students annually. He received his BA and MA degrees from Stanford University. In addition to teaching at Brooklyn College, he taught part-time at Stanford, Syracuse, and Fordham Universities. Steve served as SPDNA Secretary since 2017 and the Chair for the Planning & Development Committee and looks forward to being involved in SPDNA as it provides advocacy, networking, and information as Saint Petersburg continues to offer all of us a vibrant, culture-rich, beautiful place to live.

Board of Directors

• Ana Adler
• Ana became a full-time resident of St Petersburg in 2015. With her family firmly established here, she visited frequently getting to know the area well. After officially retiring, Ana moved downtown to The Madison and began joining and volunteering. Two years ago she started with Lawyers for Literacy, a non-profit group that provides reading tutors to at-risk elementary students. Last year, after serendipitously being cast as Lady Capulet in the spring production of Romeo and Juliet, she joined the Board of Trustees of the St Petersburg Shakespeare Festival responsible for fundraising. Both experiences are extremely rewarding and encouraged her to become even more involved in the community. Serving on the SPDNA Board would be a way of continuing to participate more fully in the growth and evolvement of downtown St Pete. Ana’s work experience has helped her hone strong management and organizational skills. In 2003, Ana joined the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer and spent the next twelve years serving abroad in countries like Brazil, Iraq and France. Prior to that, she lived in Los Angeles where she worked in the entertainment industry as Director of Management for a large talent agency. Originally from Miami, she graduated from Florida International University and the University of Southern California.
• Andrew Davis
• Andy was born and raised in St. Pete and has lived here all his life. After graduating from St. Pete Catholic High School, Andy received his bachelor’s degree in history & political science from Louisiana State University and attended law school at the University of Florida. He is now an associate attorney at Englander Fischer, practicing in the areas of commercial litigation and real estate transactions. Andy serves on the organizing committee of the Mainsail Art Festival, most recently as Chairman of the 2017 Artist Breakfast & Award Ceremony, and has also served as a pro bono attorney at the Community Law Program’s Housing Clinic. Andy’s interests include supporting his LSU Tigers (along with whoever happens to be playing Alabama) and stimulating the local economy by eating-out at downtown restaurants as often as possible. Andy grew up watching downtown transform into the vibrant community it is today and views service on the SPDNA Board of Directors as an exciting opportunity to build on that momentum.
• Mark Ferrulo
• Mark is the founder and executive director of Progress Florida, a statewide progressive advocacy organization. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Mark has been working for non-profit, public interest causes across the state for over two decades. Areas of expertise include non-profit management, internet organizing, social media, media outreach and event planning. Raised in south St. Petersburg, he has been living, working and playing in downtown St. Petersburg since moving back to his hometown in 2008. He joined the St. Petersburg Downtown Neighborhood Association at the beginning of 2014 and lives at 1010 Central Condos where he is active in the condo owners’ association and chairs the Landscape Committee. When not attending a Rays or Rowdies game, Mark enjoys saltwater fishing, biking and hiking, and the downtown nightlife. Mark served as SPDNA Vice-President for 2016 & 2017.
• Roxanne Fixsen
• Roxanne has been a resident of St. Petersburg for over two decades and has lived in downtown St. Petersburg since 2010. She is an attorney and a partner at Trenam Law. Her practice focuses on business litigation, appellate work, and real estate disputes. Roxanne earned her law degree from Stetson Law, where she graduated 2nd in her class and was on the Law Review. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her master’s degree in counseling from the University of South Florida. Prior to going to law school, Roxanne worked for 15 years with children and families involved in the foster care system. She began this career as an in-home therapist, then created and managed several treatment programs for this population, and eventually was responsible for the transfer of foster care services from the state to the community in Pinellas and Pasco when the state first privatized foster care. She was responsible for the safety and well-being of over 4000 children, managing over 300 staff, hundreds of foster parents, dozens of contracted providers, and a $28 million budget. Roxanne is passionate about working to better our community. She is on the board of a nonprofit organization that provides services for families who have adopted children from foster care, in order to stabilize the children and ensure permanency. She is excited about working with the SPDNA to continue its mission to benefit the community.
• Dan Harvey
• Dan has lived in the St. Pete since 1963. He founded the popular Harvey’s 4th Street Grill. Dan has participated as a voice for the community in several major downtown initiatives such as the Downtown Waterfront Master Plan and the redevelopment of the Pier. He is active in the Central Avenue Council and the EDGE District Business Association. Dan has served five terms on the SPDNA Board of Directors.
• Marc Lowenthal
• Marc comes to Downtown St Pete from the chilly Northeast and brings over 30 years of financial analysis, computer programming, community volunteering and leadership roles on non-profit boards and committees. Besides moving to St Pete for great weather, food, entertainment and everything the city has to offer, Marc and his wife, Anne are now closer to their family members living in the area. Together, they now run two personal service businesses, Lowenthal Travel Group and Be Your Best Wellness, LLC. When not working or volunteering, Marc enjoys travel, tennis, scuba, and playing with his golden doodle, Cooper.
• John Mason
• John has lived in downtown St. Pete for the past 22 years. Previously he has been active in regional organizations, serving as President of several. He also served as Midwest Regional Chair for the American Red Cross. His goal is to help the downtown neighborhood to continue to improve. John explains that his major interest is the livability of downtown as a place to live and work. As one whose lifelong interest is community involvement, he appreciates and recognizes the downtown neighborhood’s complexity and its challenges. He looks forward to the opportunity of contributing to the association’s work to make our neighborhood even better. John has served as SPDNA’s Council of Neighborhood Associations representative for the past several years and was a member of the of the Council’s executive committee.
• Martha Shibley
• Martha has been a full-time resident in St. Pete for over twelve years. Martha is a Registered Nurse in the state of Florida and Missouri. After a successful sixteen plus years’ career in clinical, financial and operational health care management, Martha expanded her career into the Healthcare Information System industry. For the past twenty years, Martha has worked for Capgemini Ernst and Young, Accenture, Deloitte Consulting and HIS vendors as a clinical software professional consultant and project manager. Martha retired in July from Allscripts, a top health IT company, after ten years with both experience US and international experience. Having been a “road warrior” for years, Martha now works as a independent consultant for Allscripts, primarily out of her home office in downtown St Pete. Since this change, she became a Guardian Ad Litem Volunteer for the 6th Judicial Court and has renewed her interest painting and riding her bike. Over the past year, Martha has served on the Social Committee for the SPDNA and was the 2018Election Committee Chairperson and has begun work for the 2019 Tour of Homes.. She is interested in continuing serving on the board of SPDNA.
• Grace Steinhauser
• St. Petersburg has been one the greatest joys of Grace’s time in Florida. Whenever she steps into the city, she discovers something new and amazing. She believes that once you find a good thing you should share it. Downtown is sprinkled with good; her only issue is that there is not a defined outlet to inform residents of happenings around them. Her goal in joining the SPDNA board would be to share the knowledge, through social media platforms, in hopes that the residents of DTSP would become more involved in the community. She wants to remind our neighbors why our city is so special, so they can get out there and take advantage of the absolutely WONDERFUL place we live in.
• John Waechter
• John was born and raised in St. Petersburg and has lived here all his life. He graduated from the University of Florida with an accounting degree and was a practicing CPA for three years before entering the securities business. He spent twenty-five years as the Executive Vice President of William R. Hough & Co. until the firm was sold in 2004. He then attended law school at Stetson University College of Law and is now a practicing attorney and partner at Englander Fischer in downtown St. Pete. John serves on the boards of the Transamerica Mutual Funds and WRH Income Properties, Inc. His charitable work includes board positions at Operation PAR, Inc., Boley-PAR, Inc. and Remember Honor Support, Inc. John is also a member of the finance committee of the Parkshore Plaza HOA. He enjoys snow skiing and spending time with his son and daughter and their families, who reside in the Old Northeast. John served on the SPDNA 2017 Tour of Homes event committee and is currently serving on the Planning & Development Committee.
• Matthew Weidner
• Matthew has been a resident of Saint Petersburg for nearly two decades. He is an attorney and downtown business and property owner with a practice that focuses on real estate and property issues. He is the president of the Eden Isle Property Owners Association, a member of the Barney Masterson Inns of Court and is on the All Children’s Parent Advisory Council. He lives on Snell Isle with his wife, Tiffany, and their two young sons, Thomas and William. Weidner has been active in efforts to improve and raise the profile of Saint Petersburg’s Mirror Lake neighborhood and enjoys working with local governments to advance community and client interests. He recognizes that neighborhood associations are a great asset to our community and looks forward to his commitment to SPDNA to support an agenda that benefits the community. Matt has served as President of the 2018 SPDNA Board since elected in 2018.