2018 SPEAKERS

Engaging. Innovative. Endlessly interesting.

Jamal Jones

Recording artist, Founder of The Lyricist Live, emcee, award winning Jacksonville Hip-Hop/Folk artist, educator and documentarian Mal Jones hosts The Lyricist Live at downtown vision’s monthly “Jacksonville Artwalk.” A Bronx Born, 23 year resident of Duval County, Mal is a pioneer of the Jacksonville indie Hip-Hop scene and creator of Hip-Hop education based school programs that use hip-hop culture as an educational tool. In 2013 Mal became the first Hip-Hop artist in Florida history labeled a “Folk Artist” by The Florida Folklife Program and Division of Historical Resources for the traditional skill of improvisational freestyle rapping. In addition to hosting a number of Hip-Hop workshops that focus on writing and literacy, Mal runs a state funded apprenticeship program awarded by The Florida Folklife Program that teaches the traditional skill of freestyle rapping. He's currently in his 2nd year of curating the folk apprenticeship program.

Learn more

Josh Mcmanus

JOSH MCMANUS IS THE FOUNDER AND CHIEF INVENTION OFFICER FOR LITTLE THINGS LABS, A PROBLEM-SOLVING PRACTICE WORKING IN POST-INDUSTRIAL PLACES. MCMANUS’ EXPERIENCE INCLUDES MORE THAN 20 YEARS AS A SERIAL SOCIAL AND BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR. AN INNOVATOR IN ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT, TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION, PLACEMAKING AND CULTIVATING EMERGING LEADERSHIP, MCMANUS’ WORK FOCUSES ON CREATING OPPORTUNITY AND PROSPERITY IN POST-INDUSTRIAL AMERICAN CITIES. HIS WORK HAS TAKEN HIM AROUND THE WORLD FOR EXPLORATION AND STUDY AND HE’S HELPED BUILD COMPANIES AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN CHATTANOOGA, CINCINNATI, AKRON, AND DETROIT. AN INSATIABLE READER, PROUD FATHER, AND PROLIFIC BEARD GROWER, MCMANUS OFTEN SAYS THAT HE’S “LIVING THE DREAM” AND HE TRULY BELIEVES IT. NATIONALLY, HE IS A MARSHALL MEMORIAL FELLOW AND A NEXT AMERICAN VANGUARD. LOCALLY, HE HAS HELPED IN THE FORMATION OF A VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS AND HAS SERVED ON A VARIETY OF INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS. MCMANUS IS A REGULAR PUBLIC SPEAKER WITH EMPHASIS ON INFORMED URBAN ACTION, TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT. HIS THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN FEATURED BY FORBES, FAST COMPANY, THE ECONOMIST, ENTREPRENEUR, GOOD, USA TODAY, THE HUFFINGTON POST AND EVEN GARDEN AND GUN.

Cari Herrington

Cari is the Business manager for all about aging. Cari helped to establish the Winter Haven Council on Quality Aging.  The Council is a collaboration of city and county employees, private businesses, and not-for-profit organizations working together to identify areas of need for our local seniors and partnering to create solutions that help Winter Haven better serve the needs of our aging population.  The Council recently achieved getting Winter Haven accepted into the AARP/WHO Network of Age Friendly Communities.

Learn more

Josh "Bump" Galletta

I am josh "Bump" Galleta. I am a commercial artist and illustrator based in lakeland florida with my beautiful wife mary, my awesome kids emmersyn and fynn, our crazy dog ellie. I specialize in creating dynamic designs with an organic typography feel. I am looking forward to sharing about #makersmarket. what happens when a community with local makers and creatives have a space to come together and offer their unique products, the city thrives. markets similar to new york's the brooklyn flea, london's portobello market and chelsea market are great ways to support local.

Learn more

Steve Elias

Division Manager, Pennoni

Learn more

Steve BAtes

A 28 year Winter Haven resident with a brief mistake in California, Steve and his team HANG OUT downtown while telling the stories of global brands like Sierra Nevada Beer and MasterCraft Boats. His agency, Black Oak Creative, was founded on content creation and how to best deliver it to help brands attain their goals. Today, Black Oak is a full-service creative agency serving up marketing strategy for brands — from large scale campaigns to tasty bites of micro-content. Telling your story through image.

Learn more

Ty maloney

Ty is a husband, father of two and a principal at Marsh Collective, a team of entrepreneurs that serves and connects ten companies focused on placemaking, consulting to help cities grow, business consulting, real estate development and property management. Before joining the collective, Ty graduated from Auburn University’s School of Building Science and earned a Masters in Integrated Design and Construction. His education led him to the greater Atlanta area and Florida to work on projects with a total construction value of $250 Million. Presently, Ty seeks to apply his experience and gifts to the flourishing of people and places by collaborating with patrons and stakeholders on the visioning and execution of sustainable multidisciplinary revitalization strategies for their communities.

Learn more

Kerry Wilson

Kerry Wilson is an old man who has been practicing yoga since he was eighteen. His interest in starting Inside/Out Yoga involveD wanting to create a public space  for the practice of yoga and other conscious exercise and meditation.

Learn more

Randy Lopez

Founder of Logentix LLC - Florida Polytechnic   
Logentix is a flexible and intuitive transportation, delivery and logistics management platform. That helps businesses improve their operations. 

Learn more

Meri Mass

Executive Director, Polk arts Alliance

Learn more

Trish Pheiffer

                          Commissioner, City of bartow                                      "Creativity is the new currency". . .something I have not been short of is creativity. . . as a "Design" thinker I love sharing my ideas and "think tanking" at any opportunity. I am available for creative consulting as I constantly strive to better my day through thoughtful choices and actions. From a professional performer in Las Vegas, a Production Assistant to a Hollywood Director, Dance Studio Owner, Writer, Director, Choreographer, Producer of theatrical productions,to the best, hardest job on the planet, a "Mom", I've enjoyed a colorful palette of careers all of which have been propelled by an imaginative and creative thought process and execution that has resulted in achievements and accomplishments in each endeavor. I am annoyingly dedicated and driven to always strive for performing tasks at an optimum level. A parallel trait, that has always come easy, is having a knack for "kicking it up a notch" in whatever it is that is being attempted. 

Nikki Smith

ASAP Prints

Learn more

Your Hosts

Katie Worthington decker

Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce

Bruce Lyon

Winter Haven Economic Development Council

hank longo

Central Florida Sports

donna Sheehan

City of Winter Haven

Anita Strang

Main Street Winter Haven, Inc.

Victor dover

Victor Dover, cofounder of Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning. A revolutionary makeover is underway to promote walking and cycling and appeal to a new generation of creative, demanding citizens. Victor Dover, urban designer and co-author of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns (Wiley, January 2014), is an expert on how to fix our streets, and, in the process, shape enduring cities that people really love. For 30 years, Dover has been designing walkable, sustainable development. His work spans five continents and ranges from revitalizing historic downtowns to retrofitting suburbia. His projects include Plan El Paso, hailed as “America’s Best Smart Growth Plan,” and the Columbia Pike revitalization plan and code. Victor is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He served as the national chair of the Congress for the New Urbanism from 2010 – 2012.

Learn more

Robert Chapman


Robert Chapman has over 20 years of development experience. He was one of only 25 developers in the country invited to sign the Charter of the New Urbanism in 1996. Bob serves on the Board of Directors of the Congress for the New Urbanism. He was founding chair of the North Carolina Smart Growth Alliance and of the National Town Builder's Association. Bob believes  Good Development can help create great communities.

Learn more

Joseph Viscuso

Mr. Viscuso is a Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Growth which includes involvement in all new initiatives and technologies. Joe is active in the Smart City Council and is a member of the Urban Mobility Task Force; He also manages the firms Mergers and Acquisition activities.  He has over 40 years of experience in a wide range of projects involving urban land engineering, roadway and highway design, utility and drainage design, environmental infrastructure, energy and sustainability, survey and mapping, traffic signalization, planning and environmental studies, municipal engineering, project specifications, cost estimating and contract and construction administration.  He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Viscuso also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Widener University teaching a course in the Land Development approval process. He has spoken at national conferences and has authored numerous articles on the approval and entitlement process for both developers and communities.  Joe earned a bachelor’s degree from Widener and a master’s degree from Villanova University. A resident of Kennett Square, he serves on many boards and commissions, including the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry, the Advisory Board for Widener University’s School of Engineering and the YMCA of the Greater Brandywine.

Learn more

Nicole Holderbaum

Originally from South Florida, Nico is a Jacksonville, FL based artist, creative director, and youth empowerment enthusiast. After attending the BaK Middle School of the Arts and the Dreyfoos High School of the Arts in South Florida, she moved to Jacksonville to study at the University of North Florida. She left UNF after a few years to focus on art, and has since painted  murals around the whole city, and developed various mural and arts initiatives including the Jax Kid’s Mural Project, through which she leads a team in designing and painting murals with underprivileged students in Title 1 schools of Duval County. Nico's main focus is providing creative support for children and residents in Jacksonville from all over the city as a means to uplift and inspire communities in need. Nico also seeks to aid other artists in the progression of their individual careers. Beyond working with children, communities in need, and other artists, her current personal focus is on creative direction in various forms, progressive mural productions, and exploration of new mediums of expression.

Learn more

Bud Strang

Six/ten LLC

Learn more

Kim Delaney, PH.D.

Kim DeLaney is currently the Director of Strategic Development and Policy for the Treasure Coast
Regional Planning Council and is a state-wide resource for land use, transportation
and economics. Dr. DeLaney’s areas of focus include complete streets, urban infill and redevelopment, and economic analysis as well as public policy, waterways planning, greenways and trails, transit, bicycle/pedestrian systems, and mobility.  She has two decades of experience working with local governments, agencies, business and citizen’s groups, investors, and the public. 
A native to Palm Beach County with degrees from the University of Florida and Florida Atlantic
University, Dr. DeLaney’s prior work includes the City of Stuart, where she was the City Planner for a decade, and Florida Atlantic University’s Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Solutions. 
Dr. DeLaney lives on the coast in Martin County, Florida where she marvels at the exploits of her
two sons and Welsh Corgi named Flash.

Learn more

Roman Petra

Opportunity Zones

Roman Petra, CRE, CCIM, is an attorney in the Orlando office of statewide law firm of Broad and Cassel.  He is a member of the firm’s Affordable Housing and Tax Credit, Real Estate, Taxation and Public Finance, and Capital Projects Practice Groups.  Roman has actively closed billions in real estate financing transactions. The majority of the transactions include numerous layers of equity and debt financing. Additionally, he is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and three states – Florida, Illinois and Missouri – as well as the United States Tax Court.

Learn more

Doug Lockwood

Doug Lockwood, president of the polk education partnership and A long time advocate for education. PEP is a volunteer driven non-profit organization supporting quality and collaborative programs for Winter Haven’s public schools, teachers and students.

Learn more

Alicia Brown

Alicia P. Brown is a registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern currently seeking licensure with the state of Florida as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In December of 2014, Mrs. Brown received her Master of Science degree in Counselor Education: Marriage, Couple & Family Therapy from Stetson University in DeLand, FL. While at Stetson University, Mrs. Brown was inducted into the international honor society of Chi Sigma Iota. Furthermore, she became a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Mrs. Brown also had the opportunity to serve as a mentor to youth at the surrounding elementary schools in Volusia County through the C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T mentoring program. Her experiences in the field of counseling includes working with youth and adolescents, individuals presenting with substance abuse, and families experiencing various adversities, particularly disparities in economic welfare. She is currently the Emotional Wellness Counselor at New Beginnings High School located in Lakeland, FL. Mrs. Brown enjoys spending time with her loving husband Dominiek and beautiful one-year-old daughter Raelynn. She hopes to one day open her own private practice, providing therapeutic services to the homeless population.

Learn more

Rick Baker

Rick Baker is an author, former mayor of St. Petersburg, advocate for community and attorney. Rick's newest book Beyond Sunshine is the history of florida. Rick believes that understanding Florida's rich and diverse history can guide us as we chart Florida's future.

Learn more

Teri Saunders

Teri Saunders joined Heartland for Children as the CEO in April of 2008.  Ms. Saunders is a native of Oklahoma.  She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a Master’s degree from the University of Central Florida. Ms. Saunders has nine years of experience as a faculty in research with the University of South Florida.  She has over 15 years of executive management experience within Florida not-for-profit organizations.  With a strong background in research and program evaluation, Ms. Saunders has infused data-driven decision making throughout the organization.   She brings an endless pursuit of better outcomes for children and families to the job.  Her philosophy is that “trying hard isn’t good enough,” but rather, we need to know that people are better off as a result of our efforts

Learn more

Brad Beatty

Brad beatty is the managing director for heart for winter haven. Heart for Winter Haven is a faith-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation committed to empower individuals, businesses, organizations, and churches to create a connected Winter Haven working together to renew people and places, one life-transforming deed at a time.

Learn more

Andrew Hughes

Culture is the blood running through your business and it affects every item in the system.  It is the differentiator in you, and the biggest opportunity for your future growth.  Culture drives revenue, productivity and happiness. Andrew Hughes has been with Wauchula State Bank for 14 years beginning as both a Lender and Branch Manager, followed by a transition to focus on Marketing and Business Development.Andrew has had the opportunity to oversee the Marketing and Business Development efforts of Wauchula State Bank, First State Bank of Arcadia and its nine branches covering Polk, Highlands, Hardee and Desoto counties.  His goal has been to coordinate a strategic approach to the goal of growing the bank by working as a liaison between the customers, employees, and branches, through Marketing by focusing on culture development, brand strategy and diverse marketing initiatives.

Learn more

Neil takemoto

Neil Takemoto is a co-founder of the CSPM Group, a consulting firm that manages partnerships between local communities and large-scale real estate development investors for multiple downtown revitalization projects including: urban
redevelopment and revitalization in Hempstead, 
Huntington Station and Riverside, Long Island,  NY, New Rochelle, NY and a comprehensive plan in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
Previously, he is the founder and CEO of Cooltown Beta Communities, a firm that pioneered the field of crowdsourced placemaking, encompassing his work over the last 19 years that has been committed to developing destinations with significant economic, environmental and social benefit.
He is the founder of Cooltown Studios, a crowdsourced placemaking blog/news site that attracts 40,000 unique visitors a month. With Andres Duany, Neil co-founded the National Town Builders Association in 1997, the only business trade group of Smart Growth/New Urbanism real estate developers. Prior to that, he founded a national nonprofit educational clearinghouse for the New Urbanism field.

Learn more

Ryan Frazier

My name is Ryan Frazier. I was born and raised in Winter Haven. I started writing and preforming my poems for three years and it has opened a whole new world for me. My career aspirations are to major in theater and minor in creative writing. The only thing I want to do in my life is to allow the poems that I create to touch and inspire the life of someone one who hears them.

Anthony lyons

Gainesville, Florida is the epicenter of a human design centered movement to radically alter the way that city government provides basic services to its community members. In the middle of it all is Anthony Lyons, Gainesville’s eclectic City Manager. Not your typical local government bureaucrat, Fast Company Magazine, a cutting edge media firm with a focus on
innovation and technology says, he “is rethinking the role of local government in community life.”  
Anthony is a man on a mission to use human design centered thinking, an approach pioneered by the well-known innovation and design firm IDEO, to make the City of Gainesville the most citizen-user centered city in the world. He is leading a charge to bypass incremental change of the city’s service delivery processes.  Creating game-changing breakthroughs that exponentially improve the citizen-user experience and government responsiveness to the needs, aspirations and desires of the people that it serves, is what inspires his zeal. 
Appointed City Manager by the Gainesville City Commission in
April 2016, Anthony is responsible for a team of more than 1500 city employees. Prior to his current position, he served as Gainesville’s Interim City Manager, Interim Planning and Service Director as well as two tenures as the City’s Community Redevelopment Director. He has received nearly 50 awards from international, national, state, and local organizations in recognition of his community building achievements. His penchant for design aesthetics is informed by a Bachelor Arts degree in Art History from Indiana University Bloomington. He is
a husband of 22 years and a father of an eleven-year old.

Learn more

saba ghole

Saba Ghole is an architectural/urban designer turned education and technology entrepreneur. She received her Masters in Urban Design at MIT. Her multidisciplinary explorations in painting, photography, graphic design, film, architecture and urban planning have formed her holistic understanding of design, creative education and the interface of people and their environments. Her experience in the urban design world exposed her to a myriad of innovative educational projects including the Central Los Angeles High School #9 (a school of visual and performing arts in downtown Los Angeles), the National Research Foundation’s CREATE project (a Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise in Singapore), and the Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh (the world’s largest center of higher learning for women

Learn moreLearn more

Josh mcmanus

Josh McManus leads operations at Detroit-based Rock Ventures LLC, the organization that serves and connects entrepreneur and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman and majority owner of the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Gilbert’s Family of more than 100 companies, as well as his investments, real estate purchases and community activities. McManus joined the Rock Ventures team in 2015. McManus’ experience includes more than 20 years as a serial social and business entrepreneur. An innovator in entrepreneurial development, talent attraction and retention, placemaking and cultivating emerging leadership, McManus’ work focuses on creating opportunity and prosperity in post-industrial American cities. His work has taken him around the world for exploration and study and he’s helped build companies and community projects in Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Akron, and Detroit. An insatiable reader, proud father, and prolific beard grower, McManus often says that he’s “living the dream” and he truly believes it. Nationally, he is a Marshall Memorial Fellow and a Next American Vanguard. Locally, he has helped in the formation of a variety of organizations and has served on a variety of institutional boards. McManus is a regular public speaker with emphasis on informed urban action, talent attraction and retention, innovation and entrepreneurial development. His thoughts have been featured by Forbes, Fast Company, The Economist, Entrepreneur, GOOD, USA Today, The Huffington Post and even Garden and Gun.

Learn more

Rick Baker

Rick Baker has been described as possibly one of America's greatest Mayors. Mayor of St. Petersburg from 2001, he was reelected in November 2005 with more than 70% of the votes cast. Author of The Seamless City: A Conservative Mayor's Approach to Urban Revitalization that Can Work Anywhere.
St. Petersburg is only the 68th largest city in the U.S. and the fourth-largest in Florida.  Baker did not inherit a city that was already turning around, like many mayors who entered office after the urban renaissance of the 1990s. He did not have billion-dollar budgets or national attention. He did the hard work himself, inspiring a city government and its citizens to aim higher and believe that together they could achieve excellence. Rick Baker is a proven leader, educator, visionary and author who has a passion for Florida.

Learn more

Reinaldo Borges

Mr, Borges is Principal of Borges + Associates is a leading world-class architectural design and consulting firm that has been involved in Major Real Estate Development projects within the United States and Internationally. With headquarters in
Miami, Florida serving North and South America and Offices in Hagerstown, Maryland, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and India, the firm brings its award-winning portfolio of projects to the leading developers of these serviced markets.
 The firm’s collective experience of more than 25 years in design leadership, Borges + Associates has extensive experience in the typologies of Multi-family Residential projects, Corporate Offices, Athletic Facilities, Community Centers, Fire Stations, Ports, Airports, Urban Mixed-Use Developments, Hotels and Resorts, Single Family Homes, Retail and Entertainment Centers, Master Planning, and Life Style Centers, among others.
While a design director with Arquitectonica, he was the design team leader for the American Airlines Miami Heat Arena, with the formation of his own firm, he was design architect of record for the 56 story Infinity at Brickell Tower and Grand Beach hotel to
name a few.  In 2016 AIA Miami awarded Mr. Borges with the distinction of the Architect of the Year Award. 
RESILIENCY LEADERSHIP: Mr. Borges is currently the Chairman of the Miami AIA Sea Level Rise Task Force, has been appointed to the City of Miami Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee, serves in the Florida AIA Strategic Council with emphasis on representing
South Florida and its SLR challenges. Has lectured at numerous organizations and institutions on the topic of Sea Level Rise with an emphasis on the architectural and urban design challenges. He is active member of both the Miami and Miami Beach Chamber and serves on the Executive Board and Advocacy
Council of the Miami Beach Chamber. He is being featured as a
FUTURIST/ARCHITECT on the upcoming documentary “Years of Living Dangerously” with Jack Black and has constant communications with world leaders and thinkers
on the challenges of Climate Change and a focus on Sea Level Rise. On this topic he has lectured at the University of Miami School of Architecture, Harvard University Studio on Resiliency Design among others.

Learn more

Sharon West Mc Cormick

Director of Business Attraction & Marketing Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency – Marketing & Cultural Arts Director As the Director of Business Attraction & Marketing for RMA –a consulting and management firm, Sharon McCormick develops and implements strategic plans for cities resulting in the reinvention of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts and the cultural renaissance of once blighted areas. Through engaging events and social and cultural experiences; business attraction and retention campaigns; and creative incentive programs and partnerships, McCormick is a strong community engagement and place-making / place-keeping advocate. She also currently serves as the Marketing & Cultural Arts Director for the City of Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency -  a city actively pursuing creativity and the arts, recognizing this critical component for economic vitality and success.  With over 25 years of branding, marketing, cultural development and public relations experience, McCormick is an expert at crafting and implementing strategic redevelopment/economic/cultural development marketing plans and an international award winner for her marketing and public relations programs.

Learn moreLearn more

Casmore Shaw

Director of Business Attraction & Marketing Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency – Marketing & Cultural Arts Director As the Director of Business Attraction & Marketing for RMA –a consulting and management firm, Sharon McCormick develops and implements strategic plans for cities resulting in the reinvention of downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts and the cultural renaissance of once blighted areas. Through engaging events and social and cultural experiences; business attraction and retention campaigns; and creative incentive programs and partnerships, McCormick is a strong community engagement and place-making / place-keeping advocate. She also currently serves as the Marketing & Cultural Arts Director for the City of Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency -  a city actively pursuing creativity and the arts, recognizing this critical component for economic vitality and success.  With over 25 years of branding, marketing, cultural development and public relations experience, McCormick is an expert at crafting and implementing strategic redevelopment/economic/cultural development marketing plans and an international award winner for her marketing and public relations programs.

Learn moreLearn more

Josh Bowers &
Denise Perris

Josh and Denise are avid outdoor sports athletes having competed at professional, Olympic, and international levels, and are expert technologists.
Josh’s career in outdoor sports began grinding fiberglass, repairing sails, rigging sailboats, and managing a West Marine. His sailing career took
him around the world allowing him to live and race in Australia and Europe. After developing a sensitivity to fiberglass, which forced him from the boat yard. He moved into technology, specializing in the launch of new products and services for database and reporting technologies. Denise was a member of the 2008 Olympic Team and a professional wakeboarder. A nerd with a Ph.d from Texas A&M, 15 years of experience as a
consultant in the sport industry, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship, and a leading researcher in data analytics, leadership, and how to build communities using sport as hook.
Their mission is to get more people outside, and
recognize this requires building partnerships within local communities. Applying their technology expertise they launched Pavilion the first purpose built
automated email marketing platform to keep people informed on everything happening outside. Pavilion enables local organizations to automatically update
their email subscribers with upcoming 5ks, hikes, bike rides, and kayak trips. Over
the last year Pavilion has tracked over 140,000 outdoor recreation opportunities happening across the United States, providing insight into recreation pursuits and economic impacts on local communities

Learn more

Robyn Wilson

Robyn Wilson is the owner and founder of The Poor Porker Inc, a DIY lifestyle brand and beignet business based on the simple fact that you really can do anything you want to do if you’re willing to work hard for it. She started her company with $300, a great beignet recipe, a cast iron frying kettle and a whole lot of heart. Her award winning designs and food have been featured in Food and Wine, Marie Claire and Glamour magazine. Robyn is an expert treasure hunter; She loves digging deep and finding the goods. She’ll never pass up a good garage sale. She has a passion for breathing life into previously discarded things. Since 2011, her simple beignet business has expanded to a 6,000 square foot destination spot in the heart of Lakeland, Florida called 801 E. Main. Within her space, she continues to offer Beignets out of her food truck, The Poor Porker, in addition to a boutique selling unique and finely procured items, Bearcat and Big 6, and a brand new bar inspired by her parent’s love story, Calexico. 801 E. Main is continuing to grow, and is used as a venue for a number of events within the community.

Learn more

Anita Strang

On behalf of the Main Street Winter Haven Board of Directors, Welcome to CityWorks(X)po Florida! We are so excited to host all of you in beautiful downtown Winter Haven. We want to give a great big shout out to CityWorks(X)po Founder Ed Walker for allowing us to bring (X)po to Florida. MSWH has partnered with the City of Winter Haven, the Winter Haven Chamber and the Winter Haven Economic Development Council to make this exciting idea exchange happen. Our hope is that (X)po's impact grows, connecting Florida cities with great ideas and the great people making them happen everyday! 2017 is (X)po Florida's second year, and we have taken on the challenge of creating a cool pop up space for this year's (X)po, we think you will love it. Looking forward to meeting you at CityWorks(X)po FLorida ;-).

HIEP NGUYEN

Hiep Nguyen, serves as the Chief Information Officer for the City of Winter Haven, and leads the City through its Innovation Pivot as it endeavors to become a smart, progressive, thriving municipality as part of larger vibrant community in Polk County, Florida. Entrepreneurs and start-up companies use the term “pivot” to describe a course-correction in strategy to adapt their focus to business, technological, customer and other environmental realities. As technology has become more ubiquitous, complex, and disruptive, a change in our perspective in the application of technology is necessary.  The Innovation Pivot is a recognition of innovation as a core value, and the embracing the culture of inclusion, diverse human perspectives, entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and collaboration.

Josh Mcmanus

JOSH MCMANUS IS FOUNDER AND CHIEF INVENTION OFFICER FOR LITTLE THINGS LABS A PROBLEM-SOLVING PRACTICE WORKING IN POST-INDUSTRIAL PLACES. MCMANUS’ EXPERIENCE INCLUDES MORE THAN 20 YEARS AS A SERIAL SOCIAL AND BUSINESS ENTREPRENEUR. AN INNOVATOR IN ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT, TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION, PLACEMAKING AND CULTIVATING EMERGING LEADERSHIP, MCMANUS’ WORK FOCUSES ON CREATING OPPORTUNITY AND PROSPERITY IN POST-INDUSTRIAL AMERICAN CITIES. HIS WORK HAS TAKEN HIM AROUND THE WORLD FOR EXPLORATION AND STUDY AND HE’S HELPED BUILD COMPANIES AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN CHATTANOOGA, CINCINNATI, AKRON, AND DETROIT. AN INSATIABLE READER, PROUD FATHER, AND PROLIFIC BEARD GROWER, MCMANUS OFTEN SAYS THAT HE’S “LIVING THE DREAM” AND HE TRULY BELIEVES IT. NATIONALLY, HE IS A MARSHALL MEMORIAL FELLOW AND A NEXT AMERICAN VANGUARD. LOCALLY, HE HAS HELPED IN THE FORMATION OF A VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS AND HAS SERVED ON A VARIETY OF INSTITUTIONAL BOARDS. MCMANUS IS A REGULAR PUBLIC SPEAKER WITH EMPHASIS ON INFORMED URBAN ACTION, TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION, INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT. HIS THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN FEATURED BY FORBES, FAST COMPANY, THE ECONOMIST, ENTREPRENEUR, GOOD, USA TODAY, THE HUFFINGTON POST AND EVEN GARDEN AND GUN.

Josh Bump Galletta

I am Josh “Bump” Galletta. I am a commercial artist and illustrator based in lakeland, Florida with my beautiful wife Mary, my awesome kids Emmersyn and Fynn, and our crazy dog Ellie. I specialize in creating dynamic designs with an organic typography feel. I am looking forward to sharing about #Makersmarket. what happens When a community with local makers and creatives have a space to come together and offer their unique products, it city thrives. Markets similar to New York’s The Brooklyn Flea, London’s Portobello Market and Chelsea Market are great ways to supporting the local...

Learn more

Victor dover

Victor Dover, cofounder of Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning. A revolutionary makeover is underway to promote walking and cycling and appeal to a new generation of creative, demanding citizens. Victor Dover, urban designer and co-author of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns (Wiley, January 2014), is an expert on how to fix our streets, and, in the process, shape enduring cities that people really love. For 30 years, Dover has been designing walkable, sustainable development. His work spans five continents and ranges from revitalizing historic downtowns to retrofitting suburbia. His projects include Plan El Paso, hailed as “America’s Best Smart Growth Plan,” and the Columbia Pike revitalization plan and code. Victor is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He served as the national chair of the Congress for the New Urbanism from 2010 – 2012.

Learn more

Robert Chapman


Robert Chapman has over 20 years of development experience. He was one of only 25 developers in the country invited to sign the Charter of the New Urbanism in 1996. Bob serves on the Board of Directors of the Congress for the New Urbanism. He was founding chair of the North Carolina Smart Growth Alliance and of the National Town Builder's Association. Bob believes  Good Development can help create great communities.

Learn more

Joseph Viscuso

Mr. Viscuso is a Senior Vice President and Director of Strategic Growth which includes involvement in all new initiatives and technologies. Joe is active in the Smart City Council and is a member of the Urban Mobility Task Force He also manages the firms Mergers and Acquisition activities.  He has over 40 years of experience in a wide range of projects involving urban land engineering, roadway and highway design, utility and drainage design, environmental infrastructure, energy and sustainability, survey and mapping, traffic signalization, planning and environmental studies, municipal engineering, project specifications, cost estimating and contract and construction administration.  He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Mr. Viscuso also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Widener University teaching a course in the Land Development approval process. He has spoken at national conferences and has authored numerous articles on the approval and entitlement process for both developers and communities.  Joe earned a bachelor’s degree from Widener and a master’s degree from Villanova University. A resident of Kennett Square, he serves on many boards and commissions, including the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry, the Advisory Board for Widener University’s School of Engineering and the YMCA of the Greater Brandywine.

Learn more

Nicole Holderbaum

Originally from South Florida, Nico is a Jacksonville, FL based artist, creative director, and youth empowerment enthusiast. After attending the BaK Middle School of the Arts and the Dreyfoos High School of the Arts in South Florida, she moved to Jacksonville to study at the University of North Florida. She left UNF after a few years to focus on art, and has since painted  murals around the whole cit, and developed various mural and arts initiatives including the Jax Kid’s Mural Project, through which she leads a team in designing and painting murals with underprivileged students in Title 1 schools of Duval County. Nico's main focus is providing creative support for children and residents in Jacksonville from all over the city as a means to uplift and inspire communities in need. Nico also seeks to aid other artists in the progression of their individual careers. Beyond working with children, communities in need, and other artists, her current personal focus is on creative direction in various forms, progressive mural productions, and exploration of new mediums of expression.

Learn more
Thank You Black Oak Creative for this look at Day One 2017 (X)po !

CityWorks(X)po Florida Schedule

April 6, 2017

April 7, 2017

8 - 9   am     Registration & Morning Bites
9:00   am     Walter Parks
9:10   am     Welcome to CityWorks(X)po Florida
9:15   am     Josh McManus
9:50   am     Kennedy Smith
10:30 am     Johnette Isham & Catherine Ferrer
11:00 am     Lunch

1:00   pm     Reinaldo Borges
1:40   pm     Adrian Jones
2:10   pm     Walter Parks
2:30   pm     Ryan Frazier
2:40   pm     Steve Mouzon
3:20   pm     Ben Pila
3:30   pm     Andy Oguntola
3:50   PM     Neil Takemoto
4:30   PM     CASMORE SHAW
8 - 9   am     Registration & Morning Bites 
9:00   am     Dr.DeanBushey 
9:35   am     Nicole Travis
9:55   AM     Anthony Lyons
10:30 am     Rick Baker
11:00 am     Lunch

1:00   pm     Saba ghole
1:40   pm     Sharon West Mc Cormick
2:10   pm     John marsh
2:40   pm     Bob Kealing
3:10   pm     Josh Bowers & Denise Parris
3:40   PM     Music + Art + Food
4:10   PM     JEFF DONALSON
4:25   PM     HIEP NGUYEN
4:40   pm     Anita Strang