Meet Our Board
DERRICK BROOKS
Derrick Brooks was born and raised in Pensacola, FL. He grew up with many challenges, yet reached past all of his struggles and became a first- round NFL draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995. This began his 14-year, hall of fame career. In his career, he pushed himself. He recorded 2,198 tackles which is the most in franchise history. He often proved that defense can turn the tide of a game by scoring 8 defensive touchdowns, the second most in Buccaneers history. Fourteen seasons, 25 interceptions, 6 All-Pro selections and 11 Pro Bowls earned him induction into the Capitol One Academic All America Hall of Fame in August 2014.
As driven as Derrick Brooks was to build his career, he poured himself into his family and community. Legacy is at the heart of his drive. First and foremost, the glory for the greatness he has achieved he turns over to God. Following that, he recognizes that life itself is a team game, perhaps the ultimate team game. And this is why his community efforts are so imperative to him. This is why a simple conversation with a young girl has turned into the array of programs that Derrick Brooks Charities focuses on today. He has learned through a life a hard knocks and knocking hard back, that mental fortitude is critical to the game and it doesn’t happen by chance. It is the culmination of training, diligence and vision.
“Character, teamwork, hard work, perseverance, greatness, success, failures, motivation, humility. Those are the things that this game has really taught me.”
And that is exactly what he attempts to pass on to others through his legacy and his charities.
BRANDON “BJ” CROMBEEN
BJ completed a 10-year professional hockey career playing for the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Arizona Coyotes. While playing in the NHL, he was actively involved in the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), serving as a player representative 6 of his 8 years, as well as being on the audit committee, pension committee, Life After Hockey committee and the negotiating committee which was heavily involved in the resolution of the lockout in 2013. Brandon was twice nominated for the Bill Masterson Award (2009 and 2013) which is awarded to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”
Additionally, BJ is heavily involved in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and has worked closely with local chapters and their respective board members. He helped put together events such as “Crombeen for a Cure” and “Athletes and Causes,” raising significant money for JDRF. He has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was 9 years old. But BJ is the son of a professional hockey player (Mike Crombeen, who played for the St. Louis Blues and the Hartford Whalers in the 1970s and ’80s) and a child of Canada, so there was never any chance that diabetes would make him step off the ice.
“My family never let me feel sorry for myself,” Crombeen says. “If diabetes was something you were willing to take on and manage properly, you could do anything.”
LIZ DIMMITT
Liz Dimmitt is a consultant providing curation, art advisory, business development and art market analysis for individual and institutional clients. She specializes in driving economics, audiences and conversations by activating cultural programming and partnerships. Additionally, Liz is an advocate for strategic relationships between the business and art communities and cultural entrepreneurship.
Liz has a background in Finance and has worked in private equity with IndexAtlas, D.E. Shaw and Skate Capital. She focuses on analyzing and investing in the art industry and advising art industry service providers. Liz is a Director at Circa 1881, an initiative by leading private collectors dedicated to liberating artworks from storage via exhibitions and loans to educational, institutional and corporate partners. She was previously the Director of Lehmann Maupin, a leading contemporary art gallery representing an international roster of visionary and historically significant artists with spaces in New York City and Hong Kong.
Before joining Lehmann Maupin, she founded and lead Gawker Artists, Gawker Media’s corporate art program, for 6 years. In addition, she is a co-founder of Truck Yeah, a series of festivals celebrating mobile culture, founded a cultural special events company, and worked as a budget adventure travel writer. Liz is an active participant in NYC’s and Tampa Bay’s cultural communities and serves on the boards of NurtureArt, The Tampa Museum of Art and The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Liz holds a BA in Finance from Georgetown University and a MA in Visual Arts Administration from NYU.
David Doney
David Doney serves as the office managing partner of Akerman’s Tampa office. David’s practice is concentrated in the corporate and securities law areas and principally involves mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities financings, corporate governance, Securities Exchange Act reporting and compliance matters, and other complex business transactions.
David has focused his efforts on providing efficient and sophisticated legal services to established public companies, privately held companies with significant growth potential, and sources of capital. David has represented professional baseball and football players with respect to their personal business interests and related transactions.
SAM FULD
Samuel Babson “Sam” Fuld (born November 20, 1981) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Despite being diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 10, Fuld began his baseball career by twice batting .600 in high school, during which time Baseball America ranked him 19th in the country. He played college baseball at Stanford. There, he was a two-time All American, set the school record for career runs scored, and established the College World Series record for career hits.
Fuld was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2004. He was an All Star two years later in the Florida State League. A year after that, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Arizona Fall League. In the minors, as a result of his fearless defense, he was referred to as “a crash test dummy with a death wish”, a “human wrecking ball act”, a “wall magnet”, and a “manager’s dream and a trainer’s worst nightmare.”
Fuld made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2007. He became a fan favorite for his acrobatic defense, and his tendency to run into outfield walls while making sparkling catches. Despite his batting .299 in his longest stint with the Cubs, the team never gave him a consistent chance, and limited his play to only late-season call-ups over three years. After the 2010 season, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Fuld made the Rays’ 2011 opening day roster, and won the jobs of starting left fielder and leadoff hitter by mid-April. Due to early-season heroics, including a “Superman-esque” catch, he was dubbed “Superman”, “Super Sam”, and “The Legendary Sam Fuld”. He became an internet legend as his catch was put to Superman-theme music in a YouTube video, and tweets about him went viral. In late April, he led the American League in both batting average and steals. He played with the Rays through 2013, and in 2014 he played for the Oakland Athletics (for two stints) and Minnesota Twins.
MARK FERNANDEZ
Mr. Fernandez is the founder of the corporate advisory firm EMF Consulting, assisting organizations in marketing, community outreach and business development strategies. A 25-year veteran of the sports and entertainment industry, Mr. Fernandez was most recently Senior Vice President with the Tampa Bay Rays where he oversaw the Rays corporate sales and marketing efforts, broadcast operations, community relations efforts, the Rays Baseball Foundation and team merchandising operations. Under his leadership, Rays revenues grew in record numbers, the team’s TV and radio networks greatly expanded throughout Florida and the organization became deeply entrenched in the Tampa Bay region.
A native of Tampa, Mr. Fernandez joined the Rays from the Arizona Diamondbacks where he served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Previously, he spent two years as the Diamondbacks Vice President of Community Affairs and Executive Director of Arizona Diamondbacks Charities, followed by four years as the team’s Vice President of Corporate Sales. Mr. Fernandez also spent five years with the Phoenix Suns organization as Director of Marketing and Booking for America West Arena.
Currently, he also serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way Suncoast, University of South Florida Foundation, Tampa/Hillsborough Homeless Initiative, Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, American Heart Association, Tampa General Hospital, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, and Junior League of Tampa’s Community Advisory Board.
ANDREW HALL
Andrew Hall has served as AT&T’s Regional Director, External and Legislative Affairs – Central Florida Gulf Coast since 2009. Hall was recently recognized with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his sustained commitment to volunteer service by the Points of Light Foundation for the 8th time. He has chaired the last 8 annual Black History Month Luncheons for the United Negro College Fund, with revenue consistently increasing as the event has grown. In leadership roles across 2 events for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Rise Tampa Police Foundation, over $700,000 was raised in our community. His board service has included the Florida Aquarium, American Cancer Society, the Van Wezel Foundation, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Suncoast, and the Tampa & Saint Petersburg Chambers of Commerce. Andrew is an alumnus of Leadership Tampa. CEO Direct, Leadership Florida, and was class president for both his FBI and DHS citizens academies.
NICOLE JOHNSON
Nicole has served as an international consultant and advocate for diabetes issues since winning the title of Miss America in 1999. She has worked tirelessly promoting awareness, prevention and early detection of the condition she has shared since 1993.
Nicole is a Telly award-winning television journalist and an avid writer. Her articles on living with diabetes have appeared in Diabetic Cooking Magazine, Guideposts Magazine, Diabetes Forecast, Diabetes Health, USA Today and on various websites related to diabetes. She has written seven books including her most recent transition guide for young adults living with diabetes, Young Adult Type 1 Diabetes Realities, and her autobiography, Living with Diabetes.
In 2010, Nicole secured funding and is the Executive Director for an innovative project called Bringing Science Home at the University of South Florida. This project investigates the connection between chronic disease, family dynamics and optimistic living.
Nicole also serves on numerous health related advisory boards including the JDRF International Board of Directors, Florida Governor’s Diabetes Advisory Council and the Tampa Bay chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She is also a past national board member for the American Diabetes Association, appointee to the National Institutes of Health Council of Public Representatives, and board member for the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Diabetes Association.
Since 1999, Nicole has helped raise over $27 million for diabetes research and programs. She is passionate about promoting public participation and understanding of research.
Nicole has been recognized for her work in diabetes around the world. She is a recipient of the Charles H. Best Medal for Distinguished Service in the Cause of Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association, The C. Everett Koop Medal for Health Promotion from the American Diabetes Association, the Hero Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Victory over Diabetes Medal from the Polish Diabetes Association, Community Heroes Award from the Tampa Bay Lighting, as well as awards from the Japan Diabetes Association, Australian Diabetes Associations, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Regent University and the University of South Florida.
Nicole holds a Doctoral degree in Public Health from the University of South Florida and Master’s degrees in Journalism and Public Health.
TYRONE KEYS
To some, Tyrone Keys may be noteworthy because of his personal accomplishments on the football field as a defensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) in high school and college, or former Super Bowl XX Chicago Bears defensive end. Tyrone is from Jackson, Mississippi, where he was named a High School All-American and voted defensive MVP of the year in the state of Mississippi in 1977. His high school team also won the state championship in 1976.
His determination to make a significant impact for this university catapulted him into making 26 career sacks (second highest in the school’s history) and being selected All-Southeastern Conference (All SEC) three consecutive seasons, 1977-1980. Tyrone also played a key role in one of Mississippi State’s biggest wins by making the game saving tackle and forcing the Alabama University quarterback to fumble on the last play. He helped to seal a 6-3 Mississippi State win over then number one ranked Alabama. Mississippi State’s win achieved a 9-2 record for the year, the best season in the school’s history. They broke Alabama’s 25 game winning streak, and Keys helped the team earn a berth to the 1980 Sun Bowl. Tyrone was elected to the Senior Bowl that year.
After graduating from Mississippi State in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education, Tyrone began his nine-year professional football career. Tyrone was the 5th Round (113th player) draft pick, defensive end, for the 1981 New York Jets. However, he decided to start his career for two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the British Columbia (BC) Lions.
In 1983, Keys returned to the National Football League (NFL) to launch a successful seven-year career. He signed with the Chicago Bears as a defensive end where he remained through the 1985 Super Bowl XX Championship year (46-10 over the New England Patriots). The Bears were 18-1 and their only loss was to the Miami Dolphins eight weeks prior to the Super Bowl, December 2, 1985. The Bears-vs.-Dolphins game had the highest number of viewers in the history of football. Keys and his team mates produced the Super Bowl Shuffle on the next day, December 3, 1985. Tyrone was the keyboardist in the Super Bowl Shuffle video which was nominated for a GRAMMY Award and sold over a million copies. His next stop was the pre-Super Bowl Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986-1987. Keys retired from the NFL after a career ending injury with the pre-Super Bowl San Diego Chargers in 1989.
Keys founded “All Sports Community Service, Inc.” in 1993 as a non-profit mentoring and scholarship organization dedicated to helping challenged youth in Tampa, Florida, achieve their dream of attending college. Keys taught his students the idea that the skills from the playing field could be parlayed onto the field of life. Since 1993, All Sports has assisted hundreds of students obtain over $20 million in support towards their college education from all over this country and in England as well. All Sports students are mentored through a combination of academics, community service and sports. Great emphasis is placed on returning to the community to assist the next generation. All Sports is now seeing the Full Circle Participation in action with its students returning to invest time, energy and scholarship funds into the program and the community.
Tyrone Keys’ life work encourages Academics, Community Service, Sports and Significance as he shares these words from his grandmother, Ms. Ruth Anna Jordan, with the next generation: “Once a task begun, never leave it until it is done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”
JAY MIZE
Jay Mize graduated from South Florida with a degree in finance. While at USF, he was a member of the inaugural football team winning Special Teams Player of the Year as a Freshman and two- year starter at free safety. Jay is married to his wife Bianca and they have three amazing children, Ty, Jadyn and Jax while living in beautiful Hyde Park.
In 2011, Jay and Bianca founded Irish 31 with its first location in Hyde Park. Since its inception, Irish 31 has won numerous awards, ranked as the #1 tenant in sales per square foot in Hyde Park Village and opened its second location in Westchase in 2013. Irish 31 is set to open locations next to Maggiano’s at Westshore Mall, Wiregrass, as well as Clearwater Beach in 2015. Known for its chef driven menu, upscale décor, run club, live entertainment and sports viewing, Irish 31 is proud to be a significant contributor to numerous local charities in the Tampa Bay area.
Jay is very passionate about the city of Tampa and is actively involved in the community. Among them, he is the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the St. Petersburg Bowl, a college football Bowl game played in Tropicana Field every December. Jay also serves on the board of directors for Jackson In Action 83, Vincent Jackson’s military based foundation that helps raise awareness and support for the effects deployment has on military families, specifically the children.