Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts adds five business leaders to its Board of Directors
New Directors bring strong business expertise and passion for arts and culture to the Board

TAMPA, Fla. (January 20, 2016) – Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA) is pleased to announce the election of five new Board Directors. The new Directors, Jamie Moore Marcario, Aaron Miller, Diane Bailey Morton, Jeffrey Nowak and Robert Simmons, each bring unique experience and expertise for TBBCA, a non-profit organization that for over 26 years has united Tampa Bay area businesses to champion arts and culture for a prosperous community.

“Jamie, Diane, Aaron, Jeff and Robert are outstanding business leaders who will add to TBBCA board’s breadth of talent,” said Premier Eye Care CEO Lorna Taylor, who leads the Board as President and Chair. “We are delighted to have attracted and elected to the important responsibility of non-profit board director creative individuals with such diverse backgrounds and wealth of professional experiences.”

“I welcome the addition of these five outstanding new board members,” said Susana Weymouth, TBBCA Executive Director. “They bring a passion to help increase TBBCA’s impact in support of arts education, arts and culture. I look forward to their ideas and advice and to working closely with them.”

Jamie Moore Marcario is an associate with Greenberg Traurig, where she focuses her practice on labor and employment law. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida, and her juris doctor from Stetson University. Marcario is also a visual and performing artist, and passionate arts supporter. She often performs with The Impromptu Players, a theatre group made up of business professionals in the Tampa Bay area, at Stageworks Theatre.

Aaron Miller is the general sales manager for Cox Media Group stations WHPT-FM and WXGL-FM. A North Carolina native, Miller began his career with The Daily Advance and The Progress Index newspapers, before moving to radio in 1994. He held progressively higher positions with Clear Channel radio stations in Richmond, Virginia, and Orlando and then joined Cox Media Group Tampa in 2010. As CMG General Sales Manager, Miller oversees numerous radio channels. Miller is also a visual artist whose works with acrylics on canvas, plaster moldings and metals have been featured in several Tampa Bay area art shows.

Diane Bailey Morton has enjoyed a successful 30-year career as an attorney in both the U.S. and England. She currently is the Chief Human Capital officer and General Counsel for C1 Bank. She served as Senior Labor Counsel at McAllister Olivarius in London, where she oversaw the American team of labor litigation. Previously, Bailey Morton managed her own law firm, served as the General Counsel to the Tampa Firefighters and Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association, was an Assistant State Attorney, Chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee, and taught law at Stetson College. A dedicated supporter of arts and culture in our community, Diane Bailey Morton is on the Board of Directors for the St. Petersburg Opera Company. She was a Director on the Board of American Stage for over 20 years. She has supported and helped produce numerous plays at American Stage, Stageworks, and freeFall theaters, among others. Bailey Morton has also served as Volunteer General Counsel for Great Explorations, the Children’s Museum and member of the International Relations Commission for the City of St Petersburg.

Jeffrey Nowak is the vice president of customer success and innovation and senior member of the Executive Management Committee at MedHOK, Inc., an industry leading provider of SaaS software and one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. Nowak has over 20 years’ leadership experience with process improvement, market expansion, technology adoption predictive modeling, and financial and risk management at major Healthcare companies, including Wellcare and CIGNA. Prior to joining MedHOK, Inc., Nowak was Reed Elsevier’s Sr. Director of Operations. A native of the Tampa Bay area, Nowak graduated University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, where he studied under many renowned artists, including Theo Wujcik, Jeffrey Kronsnoble, Mernet Larsen and Robert Gelinas. Nowak earned his MBA cum laude from the University of Tampa. Nowak often credits his creativity and passion for the Arts as a major driver of his success in the business world by helping him identify new and innovative ways to look at and solve complex challenges.

Robert Simmons is the Regional Counsel, Allstate Insurance Co., Florida Region and Castle Key Insurance Companies. He began his career with Allstate in 1996 as General Counsel and Assistant Counsel at Allstate Motor Club (“AMC”), then served as Allstate New Jersey’s Insurance Company Regional Counsel, prior to transferring in 2009 to his current position. Before joining Allstate, Robert served as Deputy Chief of the Consumer Protection Division in the Illinois Attorney General’s office and was Staff Counsel at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Chicago, IL. Robert is a current Board Director of AMI Kids, Saint Petersburg. He serves on the Board of Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, is a Member of Civil Justice Reform Group and American Corporate Counsel. Robert holds a B.S. Northeastern University in Boston, MA, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, University of Illinois and a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. Robert is an avid supporter of the arts and himself a visual artist.

About TBBCA
TBBCA is a non-profit organization founded in 1989, and one of 11 national “Business Committees for the Arts,” part of the Private Sector Network of Americans for the Arts. TBBCA’s mission is to unite area businesses to champion arts and culture for a prosperous community with the philosophy that “the arts are good for business and business is good for the arts.” Through innovative pARTnerships and sustainable programs including, The Charlie Hounchell Art Stars Scholarships, Chalk Walk, Call to Artists, Cultural Encounters, Arts in Lobbies, and others, TBBCA provides advocacy, valuable funding resources and support for arts education, artists, and arts and cultural organizations, and builds awareness of arts and culture as important economic drivers in our community and essential contributors to our quality of life.

TBBCA programs are generously supported by donations and sponsorships, including Chair’s Circle pARTners: Premier Eye Care; MedHOK; Stephen Gay & Associates, Realtors; Linda and Michael Connelly; The Wilson Company; The Tampa Bay Times/tbt*; Tampa Bay Magazine; Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP; B2 Communications and Alex McKnight Archival Images. Platinum pARTners: Greenberg Traurig; The DeBartolo Family Foundation; The Beaux-Arts Group; Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long and Koche; Phelps Dunbar; Katharine Weymouth; Yann and Susana Weymouth; Chappell Roberts; Cox Media Group; Gold pARTners: Hill, Ward, Henderson; The Lightning Foundation; Hyde Park Village/WS Development/Susan Martin; Helen Pruitt Wallace and Peter Rudy Wallace; Willis of Florida, and other pARTners and donors.

For more information on TBBCA contact 813-221-2787 or www.tbbca.org.

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