Last month, Tampa Bay was the site of the first stop in a statewide tour by the Florida Girls Initiative (FGI) to reach the hundreds of local organizations that work with the population FGI calls “at promise girls” (commonly referred to as “at risk”).
The FGI team’s Tampa Bay tour – led by FGI founder Thema Campbell and campaign chairperson Nikki Gaskin Capehart –involved visits to three program sites, along with three sit-down meetings and an evening panel discussion featuring experienced practitioners in fields such as juvenile justice and human & sex trafficking.
Audrey Mcghee, Delinquency Prevention Specialist with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, along with Attorney Keongela Randle, Criminal Juvenile Crossover Attorney with the Public Defenders Office, Sixth Judicial Circuit, and Joseph Smith, Retired Police Officer & Community Outreach Coordinator with the United States Attorney’s Office – Middle District of Florida, anchored the evening dialogue.
The two-day series began with a welcome by State Representative Diane Hart and Marcia Mejia of U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor’s office for an update on state and federal legislative efforts.
The following day, the Miami-based FGI team engaged with program leaders and youth at the Pinellas County Urban League’s S.T.Y.L.E. (Summer Training in Youth Leadership & Employment) Program; the St. Petersburg College Midtown campus; and Youth Farm.
An evening listening session – held at The Factory in St. Petersburg – drew 50-plus attendees for networking and a buffet dinner followed by just over an hour of dialogue with the panelists. Local champions of the initiative who attended the dialogue included State Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby, Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers, and School Board Member Caprice Edmond.
Rayner-Goolsby’s office is spearheading a local partnership project with FGI’s Gaskin-Capehart.
Next stop for FGI: Tallahassee, for a series of meetings with local officials and leaders of girls-specific programming. The Tallahassee visit will be co-hosted by Alicia Turner, Public Information Officer with Tallahassee Police Department also former News Reporter, FOX46.
They will meet with state lawmakers while in the capitol. The FGI team met earlier this year with Florida Senators Ileana Garica, Shevrin Jones, Joe Pizzo, and Rosalind Osgood along with State Representatives Ashley Gantt, Dan Daily, Christopher Benjamin, Kevin Chambliss, and Michele Rayner-Goolsby. Also, FGI met with Secretary Shevaun Harris of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
The goals of the initiative include winning funding for local programs across the state in next year’s legislative session and completing a statewide study on the state of Florida’s “at-promise” girls.
“The sense of urgency around this was my biggest takeaway,” said Christopher King, CEO of The Gentlemen’s Course. King served as keynote speaker at FGI’s first annual conference, held in Miami this past April.
“Our engagements in the Tampa area uncovered a wealth of new insights and connections with people who are battling for girls success every day of the week,” said Campbell. “From the Salon Talk initiative spearheaded by Audrey McGhee and the sponsorships raised by Keongela Randle to the unmatched experience of Joe Smith,” we came away with a body of data that will grow as we travel the state.”
Anysia McDowall, who served as moderator for the Tampa Bay panel, described the event as “phenomenal.” McDowall says “Our audience was engaged, responsive, open, and energized to be a part of the conversation. Truly a win!”
Like the Tampa Bay visit, the Tallahassee tour will be end-capped with a listening session on Tuesday, August 15th at 5:30 pm at the Capital City Country Club.
The FGI team will continue the tour with stops in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami.
To learn more or to RSVP for the listening session, click here. To learn more about FGI champions and study advisors, https://floridagirlsinitiative.org/home.
