Staff Directory

Sean Sullivan leads a team of professional planners and regional thinkers at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, who work throughout the six-county Tampa Bay Region to improve the quality of life for all. He has worked with elected and appointed leaders throughout the region to establish the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition, the 18th such initiative of its kind in the United States. Mr. Sullivan has spent over 30 years working in local, regional and federal sectors in the planning, environmental and public transportation fields. He is the two-time recipient of the Federal Transit Administration Administrator’s Award for his work advancing public transit. Mr. Sullivan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and a Master’s in Public Administration from Suffolk University in Boston.

Wren G. Krahl serves as the Deputy Executive Director for the TBRPC. Through her duties she works closely with the Executive Director, the TBRPC Chair and Council Members in the overall administration of the Council’s mission. As a SHRM certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and a HRCI Certified Professional (CP), her other duties include serving as the Human Resources Officer for the organization as well as overseeing Florida State Record Management requirements. She is also responsible for the planning, coordination and implementation of Council related conferences, events and meetings as well as Council publications. Wren has been a resident of the St. Petersburg area for 44 years, is an Honors graduate of Eckerd College in American Studies, and has been with the Council since 1998.

Randy Deshazo supervises the planning and resiliency staff at the Council and manages the Economic Development District for the Tampa Bay area. The Economic Development District provides a wide range of services for its member governments, including visioning and visualizations, strategic economic development assistance and the award winning Economic Analysis Program. Through the Economic Analysis Program, Randy has conducted dozens of studies for local government and private sector partners across a wide range of topics. Examples of recent studies cover include: the economic and fiscal impacts of transportation investment, public health care, resiliency, and environmental studies. However, the program’s core focus is in economic development: firm expansions, industry cluster analysis and target industry studies. Several of these studies have received awards for analytical excellence from national organizations. With more than 20 years of experience in planning and economic development in California, Florida, and Illinois, notable projects Randy has directed include: community visioning, land-use/transportation nexus based greenhouse gas emission reductions planning, technical and statistical modeling, long-range transportation planning, and various freight studies such as supply chain and intermodal freight projects. A New Orleans native, Randy received his BA from the University of Texas at Austin, an MA from University of New Orleans, and a Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Michigan. Randy has been with the Council since 2014.

Brian Ellis serves as the Disaster Recovery Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council since February 2018. Brian works to support economic recovery efforts in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Irma, helping to coordinate the efforts of local governments, economic development organizations, and individual businesses. Brian helps to provide direct assistance in navigating and accessing the numerous resources, available from multiple agencies, to aid in recovery and resilience activities. Additionally, Brian is directly involved in the planning of the Annual Future of the Region Awards, administration and website duties, and landlord duties for a 25,000 sq foot commercial building. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and has been with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council since 2016. He is a native Floridian growing up in Seminole, Florida. He is a member of the American Planning Association, Forward Pinellas TCC, and the TBRPC’s Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Simone Chapman serves as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) 2020-2021 Gulf Research Program Science Policy Fellow for the TBRPC. Simone supports work on the new Resilience and Energy Assessment for Community and Housing (REACH) initiative funded by JPMorgan Chase. She is also conducting research on the economic impacts of sustained heat events and aiding in the development of the TB Regional Resilience Action Plan. Simone holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Temple University and a Master of Science in Natural Resources: Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire.

John Meyer serves as the Staff Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). Being one of ten LEPCs located throughout the State, the focus of the LEPCs is to provide hazardous materials planning and information to meet the needs of their respective communities as well as augment the hazardous material training opportunities being provided to their local public-sector first responders. Employed by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council since May 1985, he has primarily focused his efforts on administering the LEPC program since 2009. In terms of other duties performed at the Council, John also reviews Local Government Comprehensive Plans, provides technical assistance regarding the Developments of Regional Impact program and periodically evaluates federal grant requests. John holds a bachelor’s degree (BS) in Social Sciences with Minors and Certificates in both Urban & Regional Planning as well as Public Administration, all from Florida State University.

Ashley Mott serves as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She coordinates geographic activities for the Council and supports planning efforts through GIS data management, analysis, modeling, and cartography. A native Floridian, but longtime Colorado resident, Ashley earned a Bachelor of Science in Land Use from the Metropolitan State University of Denver and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science from the University of Denver. She is a member of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association and volunteers for its GIS Corps program.

Jamie Neville is the Statewide Economic Analyst for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. In this role she performs economic impact analysis on behalf of, and in partnership with, regional entities. Currently, her main focus are the impacts of the COVID-19 on the state of Florida. Her experience is in modeling economic issues, and contributing to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data on topics spanning environmental policy, energy, resiliency planning, fiscal policy, economic development, and healthcare policy.

CJ Reynolds serves as the Director of Resiliency and Engagement and began in January 2019. She coordinates the activities of the Tampa Bay Regional Resilience Coalition and directs the new Resilience and Energy Assessment for Community and Housing (REACH) initiative funded by JPMorgan Chase, in addition to other programs. CJ has a decade of experience working on Florida climate and resilience programs. CJ was a research associate at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science from 2011 to 2018, where she developed and coordinated stakeholder engagement research with local governments, and assessed information needs on climate adaptation and municipal sustainability initiatives. Prior to joining USF, CJ held senior management positions at Meriux NutriSciences, a global food safety consulting firm, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. CJ has 30 years of experience convening subject matter experts and key stakeholders to define new risks, data needs, develop education and technical training programs, and implement partnerships to proactively address emerging environmental, health and socio-economic issues. A native of Chicago, she has Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northern Illinois University.

Maria Robles serves as the Communications Planner and Hispanic Community Liaison for the TBRPC. She is trilingual (Spanish, English, and French) and specializes in graphic and website communications. Maria manages the English to Spanish translations for the annual Disaster Planning Guide publication. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree (B.S.) in Criminology, a minor in French, an associate’s degree (A.A.) in Graphic Design, and a Certificate of International Studies. She graduated from the University of Tampa with Cum Laude Honors distinction. She was born in Mexico City and now lives in Tampa with her beagle Aqua and hedgehog Redgie.

Alana Todd serves as the Environmental Planner for the TBRPC. Alana supports the Council’s work on regional environmental management and resilience-related activities, including the Agency on Bay Management (ABM). Ms. Todd also serves as staff for the TBRPC environmental journal Bay Soundings (now in its 19th Year), the Courtney Campbell Causeway Scenic Highway, and the Florida Department of Emergency Management Stormwater Grant Program. Alana holds a BS in Environmental Science and Policy and BA in Anthropology from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, as well as a Master of Science in Marine-Estuarine and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environment and Society from the University of Maryland. She represents the Council on various environmental committees and agencies within the six-county region.

Matt serves as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) 2021-2022 Gulf Research Program Science Policy Fellow for the TBRPC. He supports work on the new Resilience and Energy Assessment for Community and Housing (REACH) initiative funded by JPMorgan Chase. Matt is a doctoral student at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. As a member of the Environmental Science and Policy department, he researches the social consequences of climate change with a particular focus on acutely vulnerable, lower resourced coastal communities. He has a BS degree in Mathematics and Economics and an MPS degree in Natural Disaster Analysis from the University of Miami. He is passionate about understanding and mitigating the unique risks vulnerable communities face as a consequence of climate change. His goal is to build community climate resilience in an equitable and sustainable manner.

Sarah Vitale, AICP serves as a Senior Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Sarah assists in the management and coordination of Clear Sky Tampa Bay, Project Phoenix 2.0, and the annual Disaster Planning Guide. She specializes in design visualization, GIS mapping, and economic analysis and modeling, and provides planning and technical support across the Council’s projects and programs. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Social Science and a Master of Science in Planning, both from Florida State University. She is a member of the American Planning Association, American Institute of Certified Planners, Urban Land Institute, and Congress for the New Urbanism.

Harry Walsh is the Economic Development Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. In this role he performs economic impacts analyses on behalf of, and in partnership with, regional entities. Currently, his main focus are the impacts of the CARES Act on the Tampa Bay Area. His experience is in economic and fiscal impact studies generally, with specific experience in the REMI software used by the TBRPC.

Cara Woods Serra, AICP, CFM is a Comprehensive Resiliency Planner with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Her current role at the TBRPC involves disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation planning, and resiliency policy. She has a land use planning background and previously worked on special area plans, long range plans, development review and floodplain management at the local government level. Cara supports the work of hazard mitigation professionals throughout the Tampa Bay region in an effort to facilitate knowledge sharing and regional consistency. Cara has a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Sue Geer has served as Accountant for the TBRPC since 2014 and is responsible for budgeting, payroll, accounts receivable, and accounts payable among other administrative responsibilities. Sue is from Massachusetts where she worked in the business office of the Public School system for over 30 years before moving to Florida in 2010. Sue has been with the Council since 2014 and is a loyal Patriots fan and an avid walker. When not watching the Patriots or taking a walk you will find her enjoying one of the Disney Theme Parks.