L’Tanya Evans holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Northwestern University and a B.A. in English and Communications from Chatham University. She brings a wealth of experience in school leadership; English, visual and performing arts instruction; and effective pedagogy to this role. She joined APT after 16 years at The Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, where she had been associate head of school for Academic Affairs since 2016 with supervision over all 12 department heads, the directors of Middle and Upper School Academic Services, and had dotted line supervision over all three division directors and their assistant heads. In prior years, Evans served as academic dean and head of visual and performing arts, dean of students and head of the English department.
Jalem Robinson is a native of Tampa. Robinson is a proud graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, the University of South Florida and The University of Tampa, with degrees in English education and educational leadership. In 2014, Robinson founded Brothers United Building Brothers Alliance, BUBBA INC, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of young men of color by educating, engaging and empowering. The organization also hosts various events, programs and services for boys and men around the Tampa Bay Area.
Currently, Robinson serves as the director of community collaboration for Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa. In this role, he builds relationships with various businesses, partners, organizations and leaders around Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco and other surrounding counties.
Robinson is also very active and engaged in the community that raised him. He is a member of various organizations like the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs, the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group, LEADS and a few others. He is passionate about community, education, the development of men, boys and culture.
Robert R. West, Jr. is the community development manager of Central and North Florida for TD Bank and has been in banking for 21 years. Before banking, West was in retail management for five years with big box stores and athletic retailers. West has also served as an adjunct business professor and has an interest in organizational learning, personal development, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
West specializes in consulting diverse communities on lending opportunities for home ownership and small business and commercial banking solutions. He also seeks nonprofit partnerships with a strategic focus on creating a more inclusive future in the areas of Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health in underserved communities.
West's veteran status includes serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a combat engineer and in the U.S. Marine Corps as a recruiter. West separated from the Marine Corps with the rank of staff sergeant (E-6). West played collegiate lacrosse and holds a B.S. in Education from Liberty University (VA)and an M.Ed. in Instruction from the University of Virginia. West's studies include organizational leadership, human resources, project management, cultural intelligence (CQ) and sales performance. West is a senior athlete and competes in track and field.
Jessica De La Prida is an educator with over 20 years of experience leading with a lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies Secondary Education from Florida International University. During her career, she has empowered students and families of diverse demographics to aspire and succeed academically, economically and socially. She has a passion for bringing people of diverse backgrounds together to work towards improving public education for all students.
She currently serves as the Hispanic and Multicultural Outreach Coordinator for Hillsborough County Public Schools in the division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Her prior roles in education include Professional Learning Specialist, Latin America International Bilingual Coordinator, ESOL Instructional Facilitator, and 18 years of Secondary Social Studies instruction and school-based responsibilities.
In addition to educational roles, Jessica has served the community in other capacities. Her respect and belief that everyone has the right to pursue equal opportunity drove her to lead diverse volunteer efforts that aimed to ensure fair access to opportunities for underrepresented communities. Some of these efforts were: youth and single-parent mentoring, pipeline to prison prevention, mentoring and supporting community members previously incarcerated, community homeless outreach and women empowerment nationally and internationally. The goal of each initiative considered the individuals’ barriers while taking actions that embraced the unique identities and perspectives of all she supported and collaborated with.
Belinthia Berry, M.S., is a native of Tampa. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations with a minor in Human Resources from Florida A & M University and a master's in organizational leadership and management from Springfield College. She is also certified in Media Sales, Contract Training and holds several leadership certificates. Her experience is diverse and includes community, government and media relations; consultative and economic/business development; nonprofit management, events, strategic planning and social media.
Berry has over 10 years of experience in higher education workforce training. She has strategically partnered with academic leadership and other internal departments to provide workforce training programs and/or continuing education unit credits to students, faculty and staff. In addition, she has also successfully partnered with local workforce boards, United Way, governmental entities, and private for-profit and nonprofit organizations to place low-income disadvantaged residents in career programs for self-sufficiency.
Berry has built intentional partnerships with key public and private sector organizations including Hillsborough and Pinellas area schools, employers, local and national colleges and universities and peer institutions. She has developed and implemented new partnerships with businesses and industries in the community by fostering a supportive economic development environment which included contract and community education.
As the dean of workforce development and corporate partnerships at St. Petersburg College, Berry manages the workforce and economic development departments that meet the needs of local and national businesses, industry and individuals, which include:
- Providing administration to over $16 million of local, state and federal grants
- Workforce Education: career and technical non-degree and professional development training programs
- Career Connections: Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education grant, state and federal grants, articulations, job/internship placement and career advisory committees
- Corporate College: Corporate contract training, Lifelong Learning, St Pete Works, Silver Scholars, College for Kids and Tampa Bay Education to Employment Connection (TBEEC)
- Collaborative Labs
As an advocate and community servant, Berry provides service to her community through several nonprofit organizations. In addition to being a member and first vice president of the Tampa Metropolitan chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., she was recently appointed chair to the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative Board of Directors, a nonprofit organization that promotes and advances the health and wellness of those underserved through community collaborations.
Berry has been an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Inc. since 2008 and currently serves as the local president of the Tampa Bay Area Chapter. Her national experience consists of four years on the National Board as a Board of Directors (2017-2021), Co-Chairperson, 100 LEAD Academy (2019 – 2021), Fund Development Committee (2021) and the Finance Committee (2022).
In 2021, Berry was Named Top 10 under 40 by the Tampa Bay Magazine, a Florida African American History Calendar Honoree (Community Activist) by AT&T, along with receiving the Tampa Bay Rays Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers (Integrity) award and was recognized at the You Deserved to Be Loved Girls Summit -Significant Spotlight Award.
Contact Information: Belinthia.Berry@gmail.com or Berry.Belinthia@spcollege.edu
Social Media: Facebook: Belinthia Berry; Twitter: @mylifeisPR; Instagram: @mylifeispr; Linkedin: BelinthiaBerry
