Dan Adams

Off the clock:
Adams enjoys back bay fishing on his new boat in Pine Island Sound.

Joseph Armenia
Age: 33
Position: Chief operating officer
The Armenia Group

Why him:
While other developers were looking to the Fort Myers riverfront, Armenia and The Armenia Group looked farther south. The result: Riva Del Lago, an award-winning luxury high-rise overlooking Lakes Park. Construction on the two, 21-story towers in south Fort Myers—the city’s first inland high-rise—was completed a year ago. “We’re always looking for a unique niche aspect where we can provide a great lifestyle for our residents,” Armenia says.

It was one of the larger projects in the history of the firm, which was founded by his father and has focused primarily on Sanibel and Captiva islands, including the landmark Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. The family moved from the New York City area to Southwest Florida in 1979 and began developing condominiums.

After majoring in finance and real estate at the University of Florida, Joseph earned his M.B.A. from Penn State University. Then the Brooklyn native worked in New York City for Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services practice. “I pretty much dove headfirst into the real estate industry, and I was doing my own thing up in New York. The market down here was just on fire,” he says.

He returned to Southwest Florida in 2002, using his education and work experience to oversee the financing, marketing and sales of Riva Del Lago. Armenia is responsible for the development and operation of the towers as well as other company interests—Andrea’s Gourmet Market & Delicatessen and Dolce Vita and Riviera restaurants.

He and his father co-founded the Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation, which is partnering with Lee County to implement a $30 million master plan for the park. Future plans include a possible country concert series and a botanical garden.

Off the clock:
He loves traveling, spending time with his two young boys and is planning a fifth-anniversary trip to Paris in October.

Glen Beitmen
Age: 33
Position: Founder/co-owner
Super Science and Amazing Art

Why him:
Beitmen puts his business to work with schools and teachers to construct a curriculum that covers topics to prepare students for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). What makes it stand out is that his lessons always involve a fun science theme and an art activity.
The classes, camps and special events, which he juggles with the Wild Wizards program at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, keep Beitmen busy. “It’s [finding time for] sleep that’s the hard part,” he says.

He discovered a niche for this business while looking for a teaching job three years ago, when he moved here from Pennsylvania.

“I found a need for advancements in science and art education here,” he says. “[The key idea is finding] new ways to present old experiments for the students who normally don’t like science.”
He understands how they feel; as a child, he struggled with science in school. Now he’s a Super Scientist.

Off the clock:
Also a super dad, he spends two days a week at home with his infant daughter.

Jennifer Berg
Age: 33
Position: Marketing and communications manager
Lee County Office of Economic Development

Why her:
Berg works with the Economic Development Office to help recruit more businesses to Lee County. The Louisiana native also serves as spokesperson for the Lee County Horizon Council.
Berg has always known her path and how to focus on it. A graduate of the University of Central Florida with a degree in public relations and marketing, she has been working consistently in her field ever since, helping to market and promote everything from retail outlets to news stations to resort hotels.

She works closely with the Horizon Council’s Career Day Task Force, which organizes events for Lee County’s eighth-graders to expose them to career options. Representatives from various businesses and industries take part in the program. This past year, the two-year-old program expanded to reach 5,000 eighth-graders, “basically trying to get them excited about something,” she explains. “We want them to start thinking about their future.”

Berg’s community involvement has also included work with the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, the Children’s Miracle Network and the American Cancer Society.

Off the Clock:
She enjoys competitive singles tennis with the K-Swiss league in Lee County.

Matthew Bernaldo
Age: 36
Position: Managing editor
NBC-2.com and ABC-7.com, Waterman Broadcasting Corporation

Why him:
After Hurricane Charley shut down phones and cable service, some 60,000 people all over the world were looking to Bernaldo and his co-worker for information. “There was a time when we were the only signal getting through,” he says. People as far as Norway were watching the reports streaming live and e-mailing to find out about relatives and homes. “The number of minutes watched was unbelievable,” says Bernaldo.

The experience throughout Charley and the week that followed was “hands-down” his proudest professional achievement, he says. Better even than the Radio-Television News Directors Association Edward R. Murrow Award he earned for NBC-2.com.

Bernaldo studied broadcasting at Montclair State College (now University) in New Jersey and handled television graphics at MSNBC before he and his wife moved in 1997 to Fort Myers, where she had landed a job at Waterman.

“I didn’t learn Web stuff till I came down here,” he says, but after gaining a little experience, he got a job at Waterman, too. “Back in 2000 there weren’t many people who had that dual set of skills.”
Off the clock:
A father of two toddlers, he plays in an amateur ice hockey league and is a gourmet cook.

Mark Bernstein
Age: 30
Position: President
Bernstein & Associates Staffing

Why him:
Bernstein was working in investment banking in New York City when he decided to move to Miami after Sept. 11, 2001. He interviewed with recruiters for banking jobs, but rather than taking one, he found himself working for Fortune 500 recruiting firm Robert Half Finance & Accounting.
Within three years he became the company’s division director for permanent placement—at 27, one of the youngest execs in the company. “I wanted something that allowed me to use my people skills more than just my number skills,” Bernstein says.

He decided to open his own staffing company in Fort Myers in January of 2006. Now with five full-time employees, Bernstein sees expansion in his company’s future. “Fort Myers is a very growing, underserved market from a recruiting standpoint,” he says. “A lot of our best and brightest leave, yet companies still need young, bright employees.”

A Leadership Lee County alumnus, he requires his own employees to be involved in a nonprofit organization, and sets an example by donating 4 percent of his company’s revenue to the charity of each client’s choice, such as the Harry Chapin Food Bank and Voices for Kids.

Off the clock:
A former NCAA Division I college football player before an injury sidelined him, he prefers quieter hobbies now, including reading and video games.

Thomas Burt
Age: 28
Position: Financial advisor
Morgan Stanley

Why him:
Burt spoke to an audience of nearly 2,000 young professionals in July at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa. It’s the kind of turnout you might expect at a major conference, but this crowd wasn’t there for work. Burt, president of Young Professionals of Lee County, thanked the sea of youthful faces for coming to his massive party—the fourth annual “Big Event”—complete with multiple bars and deejays.

Admission was $10 for nonmembers (free for YP members), and proceeds went toward the Children’s Learning Foundation.

To help keep rowdy revelers from getting behind the wheel, he and fellow YP leaders negotiated $139 room rates and discounted limo service to and from the party.

Even the mayor of Bonita Springs was impressed with Burt’s effort: He awarded Burt the key to the city, which was presented by Burt’s fiancée that night.

“It was pretty cool,” Burt says.

A Daytona Beach native, Burt was recruited by Morgan Stanley while at Florida State University. When he moved here, he longed for the energy of Tallahassee’s students and up-and-comers. “I tried to meet people [at] restaurants and bars, and it was just very difficult to meet people who wanted to better themselves,” he says.

He did meet one interesting person early on: Dan Sinclair, of Sinclair Construction, who had started an e-mail list of young professionals and organized happy hours. Lee County Young Professionals grew from there, and Burt took on Sinclair’s role as president two years ago.

When Burt wasn’t constructing investment policies or financial plans for clients, he was refining the Lee County Young Professionals outfit—from a couple of e-mails and a logo to a thriving organization with softball and basketball teams, charitable initiatives and corporate sponsors, including The News-Press and Yacht Clubs of America. In two years he has increased membership from around 300 to more than 1,000.

“I personally think [YP leaders] can guarantee that [they] can enrich the lives of our members and do a great thing for the community,” Burt says.

Off the clock:
A boxer in college, Burt still “doesn’t mind eating a little leather now and then.”

Ashley Carter
Age: 31
Position: Advertising and public
relations coordinator
Philharmonic Center for the Arts

Why her:
When Carter moved to Naples from West Palm Beach in the summer of 2000, she thought it would be fun to work at the Phil.

The University of Florida graduate took a part-time job in the mailroom, and by the end of the summer was promoted to marketing assistant. Her responsibilities continued to expand over the years, and she now coordinates all local PR and places all TV and radio ad buys for the organization.

“It’s a very challenging and interesting job, and I think that keeps me on my toes,” says Carter, who is a member of the Public Relations Association of Collier County and Public Relations Society of America. “Every media buy I do is different; every story I pitch has a different angle.”
Carter says she makes an effort to stay positive and keep smiling when the job gets hectic or stressful—and others have taken notice.

“Ashley is just one of the most pleasant people to work with,” says Cindi Alpert, general sales manager for WAVV-FM. “She always manages to brighten my day.”

Off the clock:
Carter enjoys boating, fishing and cheering on University of Florida sports teams.

Ted Corbin
Age: 36
Position: Director
BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Why him:
Corbin spent the first five years of his career playing shortstop for the Minnesota Twins. Drafted from Clemson University before graduating, the industrious Naples native used the off-seasons to finish school so that one day he could pursue his other interest—finance.

“I was looking for a new challenge when that [baseball] career was over with,” says Corbin.
When he came back to Naples, he started a second career in wealth management, eventually rising to Florida sales director for Comerica Bank before opening Naples’ first Mellon Financial office two years ago. Currently the director of business development for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, he continues to stand out for his work there and in the community.

Corbin is a board member of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. He identifies a link between a strong business scene and community development.

“When I was in high school, everybody was in a mad dash to get out of Naples,” says Corbin. “But now there [are] plenty of opportunities for young people and young professionals. We have a responsibility to maintain that.”

Off the clock:
A resident of Marco Island, Corbin loves backwater fishing.

Brent Crawford
Age: 38
Position: Private client advisor
The Private Bank at Bank of America

Why him:
Crawford doesn’t do things lightly. As an undergraduate at Campbell University in his home state of North Carolina, he earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration, trusts and estate administration. He then returned for his M.B.A.

There was never a question that he’d go into banking, though—it’s been the profession of choice for a couple of generations in his father’s family in the Midwest. “I just naturally flowed into it,” he says.

Since he began working at the Fort Myers bank five years ago, Crawford has filled many shoes, not just coordinating wealth management services and advising clients, but also helping colleagues as a leader and a mentor.

He volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, the March of Dimes, for which he was a team captain this year, and as a member of the scholarship selection committee for the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. A husband and father of two, including a daughter born in July, he also volunteers for the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools and as a board member of the Lee Memorial Health System.

Off the clock:
“I can’t figure out any other manly way to say it, but gardening. I like working in my yard.”

Marcia Davis
Age: 31
Position: HOPE (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) VI Coordinator
Housing Authority, City of Fort Myers

Why her:
Davis is single-handedly coordinating the largest affordable-housing project in the history of Southwest Florida. When the $80 million HOPE VI project reaches completion in 2011, more than 500 low-income families will have an affordable place to rent or own in the Dunbar neighborhood of Fort Myers, east of downtown.

Davis, who lived in public housing as a child, worked for three years to get a $20 million grant from the federal government. She will spend the next three years using that money to leverage tax credits, loans and donations to complete the project.

Development is only half of her job. The other half of the program is in supportive services for the community. “We put a million dollars aside for case management and self-sufficiency activities, such as job training, credit rebuilding and homeownership classes,” says Davis. “It’s important that you have people who are looking out for the best interest, long-term, of residents. The residents here will have a home they are proud of.”

Off the clock:
Davis and her husband are expecting their second child, and as vice president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County, she arranged a partnership so it will operate on the new property.

Daniel Dentino
Age: 32
Position: Vice president of student affairs, dean of community involvement
Ave Maria University

Why him:
Dentino was in his mid-20s when he began working at the Catholic university’s Michigan campus as director of student affairs.

In spite of his youth at the time—or perhaps because of it—Dentino poured himself into creating what has become a thriving student life program.

Now on the Southwest Florida campus, Dentino oversees the residence programs, career counseling, athletics, study abroad and international student affairs for Ave Maria’s 400 students.
“My goal in student life is to round out and complete the education the student gets in the classroom,” he says. Part of that rounding out includes organizing students to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club of Collier County and other local community groups.
When he isn’t developing extracurricular activities or helping freshmen adjust to college life, Dentino teaches a course in scripture and the theology of Pope John Paul II, whom Dentino admires greatly.

“He had such an unbelievable love for the youth,” he says. “And I believe that the youth—young men and women—are the best part of any culture.”

Off the clock:
Dentino is working on his Ph.D. dissertation on Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body, addressing the question of cohabitation.

Mike D’Onofrio
Age: 38
Position: Commercial litigator
Quarles & Brady LLP

Why him:
Two years ago, D’Onofrio says, “I had never done a Hague case.” Now he regularly files cases in the international court on behalf of parents whose children have been abducted by family members and taken out of their home countries.

D’Onofrio, who spent six years in the Marines before going to college and law school, spends an average of 250 otherwise billable hours per year on these cases, all pro bono. The “left-behind” parents, who are often socially marginalized or impoverished, may petition the Hague for aid in returning their children. The files are then routed to a volunteer lawyer, such as D’Onofrio. He handles cases in which the abductor has fled with the child to Southwest Florida.

Working with government agencies, including the FBI, and nonprofits such as the National Center for Exploited & Missing Children, of which he now sits on the local board, D’Onofrio does all the legal work he can to reunite the families.

Going through the American legal system to regain a child often gives the left-behind parent an appreciation and understanding of the system, D’Onofrio says. It also shows him or her “there are Americans who care.”

Off the clock:
D’Onofrio runs, bikes or swims before work every morning.

Stacy Calvino
Age: 29
Position: Manager
Punta Gorda Marina

Why her:
Calvino is committed to encouraging other young professionals in her area. A founding member and social director of the Charlotte County Young Professionals (CCYP), Calvino has worked hard to develop a community within the local under-40 set.

“The biggest thing was just realizing that meeting people in your age group is difficult in Southwest Florida,” says Calvino of the impetus behind the organization. “It’s difficult to compete with other cities that offer a wider variety of activities and things to do.” She and a handful of other CCYP founders set out to create a stronger network of young professionals—and the plan worked.

Since its first meeting in 2005, CCYP has grown to include approximately 200 members. The monthly lunches and after-work meetings might draw on traditional networking models, but events such as group paintballing and cardboard-boat races are some livelier perks of membership. “What we found the most exciting was that it’s keeping some people [in the area],” Calvino says.

The Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce quickly took notice of the group and offered a seat on its board of directors to Calvino. “They wanted a way to be in tune and in touch with what was going on,” she says.

Calvino balances her social entrepreneurship with her day job as manager of the Punta Gorda Marina, which has been her family’s business for the past 25 years. She’s also a graduate of Leadership Charlotte, events chair for Habitat for Humanity Women Build and a board member of the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center.

“I’m just excited to live here,” says Calvino. She admits that Punta Gorda wasn’t always such an attractive place to her when she was growing up, “but we’re planting our roots now,” she says.

Off the clock:
Calvino, a former art teacher, is a painter and participant in the Punta Gorda Plein Air Art Fest.

Katherine Dougherty
Age: 39
Position: Vice president
Galloway Family of Dealerships

Why her:
The third generation of Galloways to help make the family of dealerships a household name, Dougherty’s corporate role includes expanding niche markets including the Hispanic market.
She’s a summa cum laude graduate of Northwood University in West Palm Beach with a bachelor’s in business administration in automotive marketing.

Dougherty was honorary chair of the inaugural Race for the Cure event this year, a 5K run/walk benefiting the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation, in which 4,000 participated. She says her father, Sam Galloway Jr., president of the Family of Dealerships and Sam Galloway Ford, has always wanted the race here and that Ford Motor Co. is a national sponsor.

“[The race is] a wonderful addition to Southwest Florida because most of the money raised from the event stays locally and goes to aid women with breast cancer in our own community,” says Dougherty.

She also serves on the board of directors of Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida and is a member of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates Foundation board of directors, for which she co-chairs Tom’s Caribbean Fling fundraiser, which took in about $50,000 for preservation efforts in 2006.

Off the clock:
She loves baseball and fishing, and she travels to New York every year to catch Broadway productions.

Pason Gaddis
Age: 31
Position: Publisher
Fort Myers Florida Weekly

Why him:
Since launching in April, Gaddis’ free weekly newspaper has gained a strong readership and raised eyebrows for taking on the Fort Myers News-Press, his former employer.

“It has always been a dream of mine to own my own newspaper,” he says. The tabloid-format paper presents a mix of regional news and entertainment stories. Gaddis claims it already reaches 15,000 readers, and he’s aiming for three times that.

Previously general manager of business development for The News-Press, Gaddis believes the weekly stands apart from the dailies by offering edgier stories (such as the guide to psychics in Fort Myers that ran in May), arts and entertainment coverage and a “hyper-local” focus.
A hands-on publisher, he des-cribes his duties at the paper as “everything from sales to taking out the trash.”

His community interest extends to his involvement with the American Heart Association of Lee County, the Rotary Club and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce.

The neatest thing he’s seen in his paper thus far? “My son’s birth announcement,” Gaddis says.

Off the clock:
Boating with his wife and their two children.

Dr. Susan Cera
Age: 35
Position: Colorectal surgeon
Medical Surgical Specialists

Why her:
Dr. Cera is known nationally for her expertise, having written for newspapers and medical publications, contributed chapters to prominent books in her field and appeared on TV shows to talk about colon cancer. “I had very good training at the Cleveland Clinic,” she says. “I developed the ability to do academic studies and research, [and] I became interested in publishing.” She now has dozens of papers, abstracts, book chapters, presentations and more to her publishing credit.
Cera is working to take the embarrassment and fear out of colonoscopies. When she talks about cancer to community groups, she senses they don’t understand the time the procedure takes—typically 10 minutes—and are fearful of the screening because of the possibility they could have cancer. “They’re just scared to have it done, and they honestly don’t want to talk about it,” she says.

Even with increased media attention to the second-deadliest form of cancer, it’s a touchy subject, but Cera tackles it with folks at retirement communities, country clubs, churches and events organized by the Collier County Health Department. “I think a lot of people know that it’s a very common cancer, and I think that they know they need to get the colonoscopy, but it’s one of those things where people are embarrassed to talk about it.”

Cera graduated in 1998 from Georgetown University’s School of Medicine. She headed to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., for her residency and then to the Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston. In 2005, she arrived in Naples, where her father chose to spend his retirement. “It’s a wonderful place to live,” she says. “It’s an exciting area.”

She originally wanted to follow her father’s footsteps into pathology, but her surgery rotation showed her the impact she could have improving people’s quality of life. “It’s very gratifying to be able to help somebody and actually see them get better,” she says.

Off the clock:
Cera is an avid runner who competes in races, including the Marine Corps Marathon.

Alanna Gluhm
Age: 28
Position: Marketing director
Gates

Why her:
She’s headed a complete corporate re-branding campaign for Gates and helped make a billion-dollar merger with a commercial realty company successful.

This past spring, Gluhm was promoted to her current position and handles all of Gates’ marketing and public relations. She also volunteers with organizations including the American Heart Association, Collier County Humane Society, United Way and Lee County public schools.

The Fort Myers native left to attend Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, but was quick to return to her roots and her family, whom she credits as being the driving force in her life.

It was also a job opening at the development and construction firm then known as Gates-McVey that drew her back about two years ago.

The self-proclaimed “perpetual learner and perfectionist” is used to being busy. She started working for marketing firms as an undergraduate and completed her M.B.A. in marketing and finance—while working full-time—by taking night classes.

“For many years now I have had numerous things going on at once, and I have come to enjoy the challenge,” she says. “I’m just wired to always want to learn more and do the best I can with what I’m involved in at the time.”

Off the clock:
She is writing a biography about her grandmother, who earned a master’s degree in the early 1970s and had a career in school administration.

Stacey L. Herring
Age: 37
Position: Senior mortgage loan officer
Fifth Third Bank

Why her:
Out of some 900 residential loan officers with Fifth Third Bancorp, parent of Fifth Third Bank South Florida, Herring has claimed the No. 1 spot in dollar volume three times and has consistently ranked among the Bancorp’s top five loan officers nationwide. Her secret? “A lot of it is service. It’s very important to always make the client feel special [and] really connect with them,” she says.

She listens carefully and knows her products. Plus, she’s been around a while.

A Fort Myers native and graduate of Florida State University, Herring took a job in 1996 with Fifth Third Bank, when it was just expanding into the area, as its first loan officer in Southwest Florida. “I would make 100 cold calls a month. Most people hadn’t heard of us,” says Herring. Fifth Third now ranks among the region’s biggest banks, and she takes pride in being “that first person to step in and bring the bank along.”

Herring is heading up this year’s Sand Dollar Awards, the Collier Building Industry Association’s biggest annual event, and next year will chair the CBIA’s Sales and Marketing Council. She also plans to start volunteering with the Education Foundation of Collier County in the fall.

Off the clock:
“I love interior design work. If I could, I would redo my house all the time.”

Jadira Hoptry
Age: 39
Position: Vice president,
commercial relationship manager
First American Bank

Why her:
Hoptry, a small-business banking specialist, volunteers countless hours lecturing would-be entrepreneurs. Through the Council for Hispanic Business Professionals (part of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce), she provides Spanish-language business seminars on everything from understanding small business loans to business ethics and networking.

“Coming here to school [with] my own struggles in knowing how to get things done, there were so many wonderful people willing to take me under their wings,” says Hoptry, who grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and first came to Florida as a college student at the University of Florida. It was there that a few professors and friends went out of their way to help her navigate formal and informal cultural differences—everything from filling out paperwork to understanding how American college students interact. “If I can help people the same way that I was helped, it’s definitely something I will do,” she says.

She offers similar counseling specifically to women through the International Women’s Committee within the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“More women are starting businesses and there is a need for them to learn the steps,” says Hoptry, who has also mentored young girls for years. She was recognized as a 2007 Woman of Achievement by the Greater Naples American Association of University Women.
“Everything comes back to education,” she says.

But she isn’t always in the educator’s position. She is currently pursuing her M.B.A. at Hodges University. “I take one or two classes at a time,” she says. “My goal is by the end of 2008 to have my degree.”

Hoptry sees her work developing Hispanic businesses as a movement toward a more generally diverse business community, not a separate sector. “I envision one day not to say, ‘Hispanic,’ ‘Latino,’ or ‘American’ business,” she says. “Just ‘business.’”

Off the clock:
“If there is live music or music to dance to, I dance.”

Phil Hugh
Age: 39
Position: President, owner and CEO
DOC Corp.

Why him:
When Hugh and his father started their development company, coming up with the name was simple. DOC (Development Opportunity Corp.) now serves as a memory of his father, the late Ronald Hugh, a dentist better known as “Doc.”

Previously, Hugh was a senior vice president with Cendant Corp., responsible for the development of all new hotels in North America under eight different brands including Ramada, Wingate Inns, Travelodge and Days Inn.

A hotel project in Fort Myers’ River District first brought Hugh from Atlanta. Two years later, he’s moved his corporate headquarters here.

His numerous projects in downtown Fort Myers include the $3 million renovation of the 123-room Holiday Inn and the new 67-room, boutique Hotel Indigo, expected to open in March 2008—all in the name of promoting and beautifying the historic area. He also sponsors fundraising events for Voices for Kids, Island Coast AIDS Network (ICAN) and the Alliance for the Arts’ Art Royale.

Hugh says every day on the job is different, but his objective is always the same: planning for the future strategically. “When you have a young company, you spend about seven days a week with it,” he says.

Off the clock:
“I play a lot of golf; it’s my main hobby.”

Pete Ingraham
Age: 38
Position: Wealth advisor
UBS Financial Services

IIngraham, who helped open the Bonita Springs office of UBS earlier this spring, has distinguished himself in his profession. The Florida Board of Accountancy honored him for a top-five statewide score on the Uniform CPA Exam, and he has earned a personal financial specialist credential, a designation held by fewer than 2 percent of certified public accountants.

Growing up, Ingraham expected a different career path. “Initially I thought I was going to be a college professor like my dad,” he says. Instead, he became a wealth advisor—which is in some ways an educational role.

Working at the financial firm, explains Ingraham, he gets to “teach, advise and counsel” his clients. “I sit down with people, help them identify what their goals and aspirations are and help articulate the financial plan to get them there,” he says. “I kind of decided to teach [in] a different way.”
Beyond his office, Ingraham supports the Lee County chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America and has served on its board of directors.

And it looks like he’ll be able to achieve his childhood dream of teaching college. Ingraham’s business savvy earned him an invitation to guest lecture at FGCU’s Lutgert School of Business Executive Faculty Program this fall.

Off the clock:
Ingraham loves reading philosophical and theological literature.

Melinda Isley
Age: 38
Position: Owner
m.creative

Why her:
Melinda Isley is taking the reins this year as the first woman to chair the American Cancer Society’s 2008 Cattle Barons’ Ball. The down-home event—the largest annual fundraiser in Lee County—netted $760,000 last year. Isley understands why it’s so popular with a lot of people. “This is an event where they can just wear their jeans [and] cowboy boots,” she says.

The Fort Myers native has served on the ACS board for five years. She also volunteers for the Cypress Lake Center for the Arts, the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, the Lee County YMCA and other charitable organizations.

Isley, who graduated from the University of Florida in 1991, left her job at WCI Communities seven years ago to start her own firm because she wanted to spend more time with her stepdaughter. Since then, the quality of her public-relations and graphic-design work has garnered several awards.

“It’s helped being in my hometown. Oddly enough, there still are a lot of people who I went to grade school or high school with and now have their own businesses,” she says.
Off the clock:

She plays in a local adult soccer league.

Erica Lolli
Age: 31
Position: President
Stock Financial

Why her:
In 2004, Lolli left her native Boston for Naples to start Stock Financial, the mortgage division of Stock Development, and has been president since its inception—when she was 28. She’s now also an active supporter of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Southwest Florida, “an organization that’s committed to keeping a high level of ethics [in the industry],” Lolli says.

Lolli was just a teenager when she started working in the mortgage industry, at first answering phones for a mortgage company. She worked her way up in the company through her undergraduate studies (in romance languages) and graduate school (earning a master’s in educational and developmental psychology). “By the time I graduated, they offered me a full-time job,” she says.

Her interests go beyond the mortgage industry. A five-years-and-counting survivor of leukemia, Lolli was nominated Woman of the Year in 2005 of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Southwest Florida Chapter, and she is treasurer of its board. She also participates in American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and is a member of the Women’s Council of Realtors.

Off the clock:
Lolli loves live music and plans trips for it. She saw Tom Petty in Gainesville and Dwight Yoakam in New Orleans.

Rachael Loukonen
Age: 31
Position: Attorney
Grant, Fridkin, Pearson, Athan & Crown, P.A.

Why her:
Without any attorneys in her family, Loukonen followed her own path to the legal profession. But from the time she was growing up in the Panhandle, her parents taught her to be sympathetic to others. She spent part of her allowance to buy Christmas gifts for needy children in the area and make sure other families had nice Thanksgiving meals.

“It’s something my parents always taught me to do, and it’s something I’m teaching my child,” says Loukonen, whose son,

Johnny-Mac, turns three in November. “You can never give enough, and you truly gain more than you give every time.”

Her journey into the legal field was the result of a traumatic experience. While in college at the University of Florida, she witnessed a fatal car accident caused by a female drunken driver. On the stand, she got a glimpse of the profession and was impressed by the advocacy role that attorneys can take. “I had never been involved in the legal process, and it was my first opportunity to see how attorneys could help the people they were working for,” she says. “It was an eye-opening experience for me.”

She went to the University of Florida law school and earned her J.D. with honors. She joined the Naples firm after graduation, with a focus on commercial civil litigation.

Loukonen is involved with the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and serves on the President’s Club Committee of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, which raises scholarship money for local students. She’s also been involved in judging high school mock-trial competitions.

“Educating someone—what better way to get someone equipped for their future?”

Off the clock:
She enjoys gardening, planting fruit trees and other plants that smell or taste good.

Jon McLeod
Age: 39
Position: Owner and manager
Mobile Exposure

Why him:
If you’ve ever sat in rush-hour traffic in Southwest Florida, odds are you’ve seen those trucks paneled in rotating billboard signs. They’re likely the work of McLeod. He and a partner launched the business in 2005 and now have three trucks in Lee and Collier counties, a fourth in Orlando and have ordered two more. In a market saturated with ads for every imaginable planned community, jewelry store and furniture shop, he capitalized on a marketing tool that still turns heads. “Motion will always grab someone’s attention,” he says.

His fleet of roaming billboards might get notice from drivers, but those who know him say McLeod’s commitment to local civic and charitable organizations is what draws their attention. He is president of the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs, event chairman of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Bonita, board member of the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce and a graduate of Leadership Bonita.

McLeod previously worked locally as a financial planner before switching to a career in marketing and hasn’t looked back. “Our clients really enjoy it, and so do we,” he says.

Off the clock:
McLeod plays guitar with other local businessmen in the Mighty Quint, a rock cover band that plays mostly for free for charity events.

Pat Mulloy
Age: 35
Position: Chief financial officer
Neighborhood America

Why him:
From Silicon Valley to Cleveland, Mulloy has developed a track record with successful companies, and he has brought his expertise to Neighborhood America. The Naples technology company has earned a national reputation for facilitating communications and creating electronic town hall opportunities for corporate and governmental groups including CBS News and federal committees.

A CPA with an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University, Mulloy was senior manager for Ernst & Young, where he worked on technology companies’ IPOs, then moved to Ohio, where he directed financial operations and helped build Hyland Software Inc. into a leading content-management software firm. Now he has brought his knowledge and experience to handle all financial facets of Neighborhood America and help it grow in a sustainable way.

Mulloy, who served on a local school board in Ohio, volunteers with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Students in Free Enterprise, which works with colleges around the country to promote the tenets of free enterprise. He also took part this year in the Great Dock Canoe Races in Naples, which Neighborhood America sponsored.

Off the Clock:
A black belt in tae kwon do, his other passions are golf, skiing and boating.

Tara Paluck
Age: 38
Position: Judge
Lee County Court

Why her:
As one of Lee County’s newest judges, Paluck brings a background in mediation and a desire to serve her hometown. “Having grown up here, I really felt indebted to the community, and I thought, ‘What a great position I could be in, trying to help the community that in essence raised me,’” says Paluck, who attended Canterbury School.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and law degree from Creighton University. When seven judges seats became available last year, “I knew that if I ever wanted to become a judge, that was the time to do it,” she says.

Before taking the bench, she owned a general civil litigation firm, in which she focused on mediation and family law, and was a trial attorney for Allstate Insurance Co. and a prosecutor with the state attorney’s office. Now, she hears misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases involving damages of $15,000 or less.

“I’m certainly not what people expect when they enter the courtroom and see me on the bench,” admits the five-foot-three-inch Paluck, mother of two young boys.

Off the clock:
She loves fishing; her biggest catch was a 300-pound marlin.

Lesa Peterson
Age: 39
Position: Corporate project manager
Collier Health Services

Why her:
After moving to Florida from Minnesota and working for Hope Hospice, Peterson realized she missed working with children. That led her to Collier Health Services Inc., which served approximately 28,000 children last year, and the colorful Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, which helps thousands of uninsured and underserved kids in Collier County receive medical and dental screenings and treatments.

Peterson handles the marketing, fundraising and budgeting for the mobile unit, which was the first in Florida. Last year, the program helped about 2,000 Collier children.

“It’s just nice that we are serving children that would otherwise not be served, [and] to see the impact on that one child when you’re able to improve [his or her] health status,” says Peterson, who also serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida. “The Care Mobile has essentially raised awareness of what we do as an organization,” she says.

Collier Health Services, a private, nonprofit network of healthcare providers, will help even more children with the opening of a pediatric dental residency program. It is being created through a partnership with the Naples Children and Education Foundation and the University of Florida and is expected to open in the fall of 2008 at Edison College.

Off the clock:
Peterson enjoys biking with husband on Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach.

Brandon G. Phillips
Age: 29
Position: CEO
Global HR Research

Why him:
Phillips was 27 when he developed the idea for Global HR Research. Since then, he has been helping companies here and around the country hire top employees.

His Bonita Springs company provides products and services that assist companies with everything from recruiting to background screening.

“I saw a need for intelligent background screening, for a system or company that was technology driven and could provide solutions better and faster than the competition,” says Phillips, who grew up in Michigan.

With about 100 clients, including the Bonita Bay Group and Physicians Regional Medical Center, and some two dozen employees, the growing company anticipates a third move to larger offices.
A Michigan State University graduate with a dual degree in business and political science, he has worked in pharmaceutical sales and as director of sales and marketing for the Florida Flame, the NBA Development League team that was located here for a while.

An avid basketball player, Phillips recently shared his hoop skills by coaching Upward Youth Basketball, a program that promotes positive competition, character and self-
esteem in children through sports.

Off the clock:
He plays basketball, fishes and spends time with his daughter.

Stephen Prendiville
Age: 39
Position: Surgeon
Stephen Prendiville, M.D., Facial Plastic Surgery

Why him:
Prendiville is the only facial plastic surgeon in Fort Myers who’s board certified and fellowship trained, and he’s also board certified in head and neck surgery.

Perhaps even more gratifying is Prendiville’s pro bono work with organizations including Face to Face, providing free reconstructive surgery to abused women with disfiguring injuries, and Voices for Kids, for which Prendiville donates his talents to help children with dog bites or other facial injuries, and he performed free surgery for a young girl in the guardian ad litem program.

Born in Miami, Prendiville attended boarding school in Ireland from age 12 to 18, and earned his degrees at Georgetown University, where he graduated with honors. He also was awarded a highly competitive fellowship for facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in St. Louis.
 
But when it came time to settle down and start his own practice, the widely traveled surgeon and his wife, Christina—marketing director for her husband’s thriving practice—chose Fort Myers because of its climate and Prendiville’s memories of childhood vacations on Sanibel.

Prendiville almost couldn’t avoid a career in medicine. Both his father and grandfather were doctors, and an uncle was the first plastic surgeon in Ireland, he says. He planned initially to enter the field of neurology, but a residency in head and neck surgery changed his mind. “The results are very tangible,” he says of his chosen specialty, “and it’s really rewarding when a patient has a result they’re happy with.”

He also is an active supporter of the Southwest Florida Symphony Society and its outreach and fundraising efforts, and he donates services to local charities for fund-raising auctions. “I think the message is that you can give fairly substantially and still do very well,” he says.

Off the Clock:
Prendiville is an artist. His subjects? Usually faces, he says. “The human form is fascinating.”

Trey Radel
Age: 31
Position: News anchor
WINK-TV

Why him:
Radel spent 2006 putting his “life on the line,” he says, with the purchase, revitalization and sale of the Naples Journal. With five years as a reporter for WINK, the offer to buy the paper came to him at a bar when Dan Sheraton, a friend and then-owner of the Journal, indicated he was ready to sell the monthly tabloid-style paper.

“It had a niche. It had a great base of advertisers and a loyal following. I felt I could enhance it journalistically. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The opportunity fit everything I wanted,” says Radel.

With no print journalism experience, he got a loan and spent 10 months writing, hiring, selling ads and turning the paper around. “I learned by looking at other publications,” he says.

“I guess I attracted attention.” The Naples Daily News’ parent E.W. Scripps Co. snapped up the tab for an undisclosed amount.

“For the first time in my life I had something I’ve never had—money and time.” He strapped on a backpack and traveled the world, and then returned to WINK in March to launch its 10 p.m. newscast on the area’s CW network affiliate. “I am so lucky that everything just fell into place,” he says.

Off the clock:
Radel is learning to salsa in preparation for October’s Dancing with the Stars fundraiser.

Christi Pritchett Sarlo
Age: 25
Position: Director of client services/project planner
VanasseDaylor

Why her:
Sarlo has been pursuing her career for only four years, but she’s risen through the ranks with promotions in fast succession, and was recently hired as director of client services by land development consulting firm VanasseDaylor.
Her quick success is right in character for Sarlo, who was 21 and working for Pulte Homes when she purchased and built her first house in a Pulte community in Ocala. “I’m the oldest of four, so expectation was kind of high,” she says with a laugh.

As land development coordinator for Pulte, Sarlo helped in the creation of master-planned communities for the company. She later served as planning and entitlements project manager for WCI Communities Inc., managing zoning approvals and development permits before transitioning to more face-to-face client work in her new position with VanasseDaylor.

The third-generation Fort Myers native brings that same level of organization and focus to her off-the-clock efforts, serving as a volunteer with the Fort Myers Women’s Community Club as well as the Edison Pageant of Light, an event she’s been involved with since childhood, along with the rest of her family.

Off the Clock:
Sarlo and her husband love to waterski.

Tracy Southers
Age: 38
Position: Public relations executive
WordPlay Inc.

Why her:
A founding member and past president of the local Public Relations Society of America chapter, Southers worked for a variety of businesses before becoming a principal of WordPlay Inc., a firm that specializes in PR and event planning.

Before moving here, she had gone from Texas to Pittsburgh. “A girl from Texas should never move that far north,” she says. Then Gulf Bay Group brought her to Naples.

She was working for the Registry Resort as it became the Naples Grande Resort & Club when
Southers became an entrepreneur.

“Teresa [Morgenstern, WordPlay’s founder] was lamenting how overwhelmed she was, and I was lamenting that I was ready for a change. We looked at each other and a lightbulb went off,” says Southers.

Her charge was to diversify WordPlay’s client base, which now ranges from business groups to a housing development in Costa Rica—for which she has gained extensive coverage, including in The New York Times, the holy grail of PR.

Southers, who is distinguished in her industry by achieving APR (Accredited in Public Relations) certification, also volunteers as a mentor with Take Stock in Children and for the Shelter for Abused Women and Children, one of the organizations for which she also does pro bono work.

Off the clock:
She goes to the beach almost every weekend.

Milissa Sprecher
Age: 35
Position: CEO
Noise Branding Communications

Why her:
As CEO of the marketing and branding firm started by her husband, John, Milissa Sprecher oversees the company’s finances and 15 employees and also serves as video editor.
She’s a mom of two with another child on the way, and she makes time to help the Sanibel-Captiva Cares charitable organization and the Children’s Education Center of the Islands.

During the evenings, she and John turn their attention to Special Kids, their video company that creates learning products for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. (One of John’s two grown sons has autism.)

The videos help the kids learn how to handle “things you and I take for granted, like going to a movie or a restaurant or even to the doctor or dentist,” says Milissa. “It gives them an opportunity to watch a video and prepare themselves mentally for what’s coming.”

It’s this work of which she is perhaps most proud. “I know we are helping families and making their lives better,” she says. “When I get a testimonial or note back from parents, that’s probably the best pat on the back you can get.”

Off the clock:
Sprecher likes to spend what little free time she has with her kids at the beach or in the pool.

Cindy Starnes
Age: 39
Position: Senior account executive
Oswald, Trippe and Company

Why her:
This altruistic all-star coupled her philanthropic spirit with her dancin’ shoes when she spearheaded plans for the inaugural Star Struck gala to benefit the American Red Cross. Starnes incorporated her passion, ballroom dancing, into the event and made it a Dancing with the Stars-type soiree, which attracted a crowd. It netted $70,000, all of which went toward the organization that helped her family in an especially tough time.

“I remember after Hurricane [Charley], the Red Cross truck coming through [Sanibel] when my dad was working on the roof,” she says. “It was so welcomed to have hot meals when he was trying to protect our home.”

Starnes, a former pharmaceutical rep who saw firsthand the effects of heart disease, especially on unsuspecting women, started helping the American Heart Association and its annual Heart Ball in 2004. In addition, she donates time to Junior Achievement and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber’s Women in Business group.

Where does this drive come from? “I’m a [Fort Myers] native, my dad grew up here, and my grandfather is one of the founding partners of Henderson Franklin. They were all involved and on local boards,” she says. “I guess you could say it kind of runs in the family.”

Off the Clock:
Ask her to whip up her blasted chicken. “Cooking is very therapeutic,” she says.

Trey Ward
Age: 33
Position: Owner, general manager
Val Ward Cadillac

Why him:
Under Ward’s management, the business earned the distinction of being the No. 1 certified, pre-owned Cadillac dealership in the United States, and has won numerous national awards for top performance in customer service and satisfaction. Honors include Cadillac’s Master Dealer Award, recognizing top dealers in the country.

But other things are just as important to Ward—such as his employees, he says. “I have eight employees who have been here over 20 years and three over 30.” Providing a good work environment and treating them like family encourages good employees to stick with him, he says.
After attending Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, in 1996 he joined the family business, which was started by his grandfather in 1970. He now co-owns the business with his father, company president Val Ward Jr.

Ward ensures the dealership’s contributions to the community through support for the Canterbury School, the University of Florida and Florida Gulf Coast University. His company also supports the Bobby Nichols-Fiddlesticks Charity Foundation, which raises money for children’s charities, as well as Habitat for Humanity.

Off The Clock:
Ward frequents Beaver Creek, Colo., with his wife and two daughters to ski.

Amanda Wilson Watkins
Age: 33
Position: Vice president of sales and marketing
Bonita Bay Group

Why her:
With 13 years of sales and marketing experience in Colorado, Georgia and Alabama, she came to Southwest Florida last October to help Bonita Bay deal with the area’s sluggish housing market.
“What’s called upon in this market right now is not business as usual,” Watkins says. She’s working with the company to help it stand out in a crowded marketplace, to better understand its customers and to satisfy unmet needs that will create “raving fans.”

She got into the real estate business while still in college at the University of South Alabama and worked her way up, learning from her co-workers and peers in professional organizations. She especially relishes the opportunities she has now to help create new communities. “The legacy you leave behind is much greater than yourself,” Watkins says.

She has volunteered with organizations including the American Cancer Society and The Children’s Hospital, Colorado. Watkins has served in leadership positions with Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta and Denver, as well as Healthcare for the Homeless, which provides critical health services to indigent people.

“I feel so blessed, and so assisting others fulfill basic human needs such as shelter and primary healthcare is gratifying,” she says.

Off the clock:
On any Saturday, you might find Watkins and her husband riding their bikes 40 to 50 miles.

Beverley Watson-Horsted
Age: 32
Position: Owner
Dial-A-Cook PCS Inc.

Why her:
Beverley Watson-Horsted has parlayed her training as a nutritionist, her love for being in the kitchen and her desire to spend more time with her two children into a successful personal-chef business.

Cooking everything from a dinner for two to hors d’oeuvres for hundreds, Watson-Horsted’s Dial-A-Cook clients have included athletes, affluent retirees, bachelors and professional couples. Her personal touch includes an in-depth questionnaire to determine clients’ preferences, from food styles and cuts of steak down to whether they want sauces served on the side.

Since starting the business in 2001, she’s donated her time and energy to Share our Strength (SOS), a national organization fighting to end hunger, and other charities. Watson-Horsted hopes to organize an SOS Great American Bake Sale in Southwest Florida to raise money for the group and to teach children’s nutrition and wellness classes here.

In the meantime, she’s created a work schedule that allows her to take her kids to school and eat supper with them.

“I just really aim to please the client and to cook meals that are within their taste buds.”

Off the clock:
Watson-Horsted oil paints and plays the organ.

Carlos Zapata
Age: 29
Position: Senior producer and news anchor, D’Latinos al Dia
Azteca America Southwest Florida

Why him:
Zapata knows his viewers—and he’s helping them integrate into Southwest Florida’s Anglo society and telling them news that can have an impact on their lives.

He recalls covering the arrests of illegal immigrants last year and the emotions that surrounded it. “That was really hard work,” he says. “One mother told me how immigration [agents took] her son from her house, all the pain that passed through it.”

Educated in Ecuador, where he worked for a TV station and newspaper, Zapata moved here in 2004 to be closer to his parents, who live in Naples. He worked odd jobs, including housecleaning, before becoming a news anchor two years ago on the live morning show D’Latinos al Dia, which airs weekdays on Comcast Channel 8.

“I didn’t speak English when I moved here, so I tried to practice and learn. I had different jobs, and those jobs helped me out a lot and gave me confidence with my English. My ambition in those years was that I had to live as the people that I’m going to be talking with,” he says.

Zapata volunteers with Catholic Charities and Collier County Salvation Army. He also supports the United Way of Collier County, in part because it provides health and nutrition education and other programs that benefit the Hispanic community. He’s also a strong supporter of the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking and the Ricky Martin Foundation in combating human trafficking, which Zapata describes as a growing problem in the Hispanic community.

“I want to help others. I have this passion for journalism and to tell stories [that people can learn from],” he says.

Off the clock:
Earned his scuba diving license this year. “The fish look at you like you are an alien,” he says.