Get Involved

For more than three decades, Carlos Barrios has dedicated his career to creating architecture that exemplifies excellence, innovation and the utmost attention to detail. As Principal and Architect for Baker Barrios, he oversees Quality Control and Assurance on major projects and is responsible for the development of innovative delivery systems, staff development and mentoring. The firm attributes much of its success to the office culture Barrios has fostered, always encouraging community engagement, team building, and personal and professional growth among employees. His ability to manage day-to-day projects while never losing sight of the future has positioned Baker Barrios for success for many generations to come. Barrios sits on the Corporate Board of Directors and serves on multiple committees. He graduated from UF with a Master of Architecture and was a member of the Gator Marching Band. 

Bill Booth earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from UF in 1968 and worked as a music professor prior to founding Relative Workshop, a sport skydiving equipment manufacturing company, in 1972. Bill, who is now owner of United Parachute Technologies and holds 12 U.S. and international patents, is a pioneer in the skydiving industry whose inventions have contributed to the safety, growth and popularity of skydiving.

Duane Bray is a partner at IDEO and is the global head of talent for the firm, based in New York. He is passionate about areas such as workplace innovation, values and purpose, and how to align business needs with individual passions. For many years, he led the firm’s digital business, working in San Francisco and London, and developing relationships across consumer software, mobile and tablet, and web services. Prior to IDEO, Duane worked at Pentagram Design, where he established an interaction design practice in their San Francisco studio. Duane holds an MF from the University of Florida and was recently awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award as a prestigious alumnus. Duane counts bubblegum pop music and his customized Mini Cooper among his other passions and pursuits.

Carl Byrd graduated from UF with a BA in Graphic Design in 1989. Over two decades later, this Gator is an award-winning creative director behind many ground breaking and iconic fashion campaigns for some of the biggest retail brands in the world. Carl’s work for brands such as Gap, Target and Macy’s have helped shape the modern view of fashion advertising. To this day, his Gap campaigns of the 1990s have influenced how fashion brands advertise.

In 2007, Carl created his boutique ad agency in NYC, CarlByrd&Co. Carl has continued to create breakthrough work for his many fashion clients, like Gap, Macy’s, Le SportSac, Brahmin, Loft, Who What Wear and Amazon, and has directed hundreds of commercials. Through the years, Carl has always celebrated the brand next door, made pop culture his vocation and optimism his currency.

Dena Rigby has worked in the business of fine art since graduating from UF in 1995, founding Dena Rigby Fine Arts LLC in 1998.  She co-owned an art gallery in Los Angeles and currently works with private, corporate, institutional, and civic art collections. Clients include private individuals, large corporations, architectural firms, health care groups, developers, galleries, museums, and property management companies. Rigby is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America, which represents the highest level of membership and expertise in a specific area. She specializes in Post-war, Contemporary, and Emerging art with a certification in Modern and Contemporary Glass. With offices in Seattle and Richmond, Rigby advises clients nationwide.

Ron is chief creative officer and co-founder of Myjive, a group of digital service-based businesses that specialize in digital marketing, technology and production solutions. His award-winning career includes work for Fiji Water, Discovery Channel, No nonsense, Ecko Clothing, Jeep, HGTV, Volvo Trucks, Fox Sports, Metlife, NFL Network, Velux, Regal Boats, Duke Energy and Dr Pepper. Ron holds a BFA and MFA from the College of the Arts at the University of Florida and served as Adjunct Professor in the VCU design department. He is a frequent speaker at design symposiums, juror for the Adobe Design Achievement Awards and CSS Awards, a member of the Gator100, an organizing member of TEDxCharlotte and an executive member of SoDA, the Digital Agency Society.

With more than twenty years of experience in design for motion media, Doug has received over 200 national and international awards in advertising, design and broadcast. Doug completed his AA at the University of Florida and went on to found Primal Screen. There, he has served as Creative Director on all Primal Screen projects. His deep experience emphasizes children’s entertainment brands including Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. Recently he served as president of AIGA Atlanta and is a frequent lecturer and author on the future of children’s media and design in general.

Rachael Jones joined the UF College of Journalism and Communications Brechner Center in June 2019 on a one-year fellowship, where she is responsible for publishing the Brechner Report, posting content to the Brechner website, and assisting Brechner Center Director Frank LoMonte with amicus briefs. Jones previously was a senior law clerk to Judge Scott D. Makar of the First District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida. She has worked as a fellow at the Center for Media Law and Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. As of fall 2020, she is the law clerk for Judge W. Louis Sands of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Jones graduated from UF with a B.A. degree in Theater and a J.D from the Levin College of Law.

Vince is the Senior Vice President of Resort Sales and Marketing for Universal Orlando Resort and has been with the organization since 2003. He is responsible for the achievement of on-site hotel revenues and folding five hotels into all appropriate Universal Orlando messaging and programming. Vince holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, and a Master’s in Hospitality & Tourism from the Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University. Vince currently holds professional affiliations with MPI and HSMAI, and served for five years on the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees, including a term as Chairman. He is a former board member of Canine Companions for Independence and former Chairman of the Universal Orlando Volunteer Board. He has also served as Chairman (2007-2016) for the Universal Orlando Foundation Charity Classic Charity Event Silent Auction.

Dr. Tammy McDowell has been an associate with Physicians Associates of Florida in Orlando, Florida, since 1991. She earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology and cell science from the University of Florida (UF) in 1984, and her M.D. from UF in 1988. McDowell played the trombone in the Gator Marching Band from 1980-1985. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatricians, supports initiatives with the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and is a board-certified pediatrician. McDowell’s daughter is currently a saxophone player for the Gator Marching Band.

John Arthur Pinckard is a two time Tony Award winning Broadway producer, recently represented on Broadway by the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award winning best musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which he shepherded to Broadway through two developmental productions at Hartford Stage and San Diego’s Old Globe Theater. John has been a guest lecturer and faculty member at Columbia University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Florida, which named him an Outstanding Young Alumnus in 2009.

Brenna’s love of design and fashion began when she started sewing around the age of ten. She pursued her passion for costume design at the University of Florida, where she received her BFA, with honors, in Theatre Production with an emphasis costume design technology. After leaving theatre work, Brenna founded the Atlanta-based business It’s Sew You, which is focuses on custom clothing and working with local designers to bring their designs to life through small run manufacturing. Her background working with theatrical renderings makes her uniquely qualified to understand what is required to make a designer's idea a reality.

Stephen is an American business executive, painter, author and University of Florida College of the Arts alumnus. He was President and Chief Information Officer at Communications Service Center, a call center company. While there, Stephen invented and patented the world’s first “Web Call Center.” Stephen is now president of Global Response, an international call center company. He is also a painter, working under the artist's name "Shoosty," whose works are exhibited at Shoosty Fine Art gallery in Margate, Florida.

Born and raised on Miami Beach, Bruce studied design at the University of Florida, then began his advertising career in New York. Bruce has helped create some of the world’s most compelling brands including Miami. Bruce has worked with Hasbro, Nike, American Express, Charles Schwab, Citicorp, Discovery Networks, Bacardi, Sol Melia Hotels, Azamara Club Cruises and many more great companies. A captivating speaker and author, Bruce has spoken at MIT, Harvard, TEDx, and hundreds of corporate and industry conferences. Bruce appears regularly on FOX Business and has been on CNN, ABC, CBS, and NPR. He has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Communication Arts, and AdWeek.

Miles Wilkin, a University of Florida graduate, is coordinating UF's emerging Theatre Management Program. For forty years Wilkin has been one of the leading innovators within North American theatre management. Having established Broadway Across America, he is recognized as one of the founders of North American Touring Theatre. Responsible for over 200 productions, he received several Best Musical Tony Awards, the Broadway League Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2016 Special Tony Award. Wilkin  was previously a Professor of Practice at the University of Miami.

Linda Wilson is the director of Birthroot, A Wise Woman’s Place. She earned a BFA in Drama from the University of Florida, attended Miami-Dade College Nursing program and completed courses toward a BFA in Visual Art at Florida International University in addition to attending many breastfeeding, childbirth, herbal, wellness and alternative medical workshops throughout the years. Wilson’s work of 42 years is a blend of theater, art and healing modalities as tools to facilitate care, healing, self-responsibility, self-discovery and self-recovery in the area of a woman’s reproductive health with emphasis on the unity of the physical, emotional and spiritual components of the body. Wilson established the Linda Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award to facilitate a master class for Musical Theatre.