How I Got Here with Dave Fiore | Tallahassee's Podcast

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Michelle Dean, the executive director of the Popes Museum and Farm in Cairo, Georgia. Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Michelle survived a childhood of abuse, poverty and instability saved by the generosity of strangers and a strong faith in God. She worked her way through college, sometimes sleeping in her car, before becoming a teacher and school a...

This special episode of the How I Got Here podcast was recorded in front of a live audience at the inaugural Access Tallahassee YP Summit held at the FSU Conference Center in April. In the opening session, Doug Ramos (aka Junk Man Doug), founder of Picked, and Bryce Brown, founder of Tribe Vintage, shared their personal stories, their business journeys and their love of vintage apparel. Launched i...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Ryan Sprague, area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, whose life was eternally changed playing for legendary coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State University. The father of six is a former youth pastor and was previously executive director of the PHI Center, which provides services and counseling to women who are pregnant or have young chi...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Dr. Judy Mandrell – pastor, community builder and popular radio host. Raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Judy has been on a lifelong mission to use every available resource to impact those around her. Examples include organizing a student walkout to protest unfair treatment at her recently desegregated high school, giving away her sisters' clothes (without their...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Dr. Jim Murdaugh, president of Tallahassee Community College. Dr. Murdaugh grew up in Orlando and followed a girlfriend to Tallahassee where he joined the Air Force ROTC at Florida State University and earned undergraduate and master's degrees in criminology. He soon began a long career in law enforcement that included time with the Leon County Sheriff'...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Jennifer Young, founder and owner of TC Bakery. What started with a request for a single pound cake has exploded into a thriving business with her signature cakes and pies available throughout Tallahassee and shipped around the country. Jennifer says she is still getting used to the idea that this is all happening to a "Southern girl from Wakulla." She...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Eric Holman, who is currently the chief marketing officer for Barton Nutrition but is best known as the creator of Socially Loved and the Local Lovebook. The native of South Dakota and father of five is a serial entrepreneur, with an impressive record of launching concepts and growing them into highly successful companies. But Eric's story does not have...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Erica Thaler, chief marketing officer at RB Oppenheim Associates and former communications and marketing manager at the Council on Culture & Arts. Erica grew up in San Diego, where she raced catamarans and was a self-proclaimed horse girl who loved being an '80s kid because it included trips to Mexico to "practice her Spanish." Erica majored in politica...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Mindy Perkins, CEO of VR Systems, a Tallahassee-based elections technology company focused on voter registration. Mindy's experience as an elementary school teacher and customer service representative was an untraditional but effective training ground for helping the company ride the wave of sweeping changes to the system following the 2000 presidential...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Mark McNees, the social entrepreneur in residence in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University. Off campus, Mark is best known as the founder of Element3 Church and RedEye Coffee – experiences that helped shape his focus today. The native of Southern California ran his father's successful heavy equipment rental company before...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Ely Rosario, business manager at Jackson Properties. Ely's story is one of rising above circumstances and obstacles to achieve her dreams – no matter how unlikely they seemed at the time. After becoming pregnant during her senior year at Lincoln High School, she was told her life was over. She not only finished high school as a mom but went on to FSU an...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Sherman Rosier, owner of Fit and Functional, a personal fitness and wellness studio in Tallahassee. Sherman's interest in fitness was born as a runner at Cobb Middle School, where he had the chance to train with the Lincoln High cross country team. He would go on to study physical therapy at Florida A&M University and become a personal trainer – develop...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Robin Hassler Thompson, the executive director of the Survive and Thrive Advocacy Center. STAC provides direct support for victims of human trafficking and focuses on community education. Robin says she has always loved learning, but when she got bored with high school in 1976 she jumped into politics – not running for class president – but as a volunte...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Dave Westberry, the "Voice" of the Florida State University Marching Chiefs for the last 42 years. Dave won the job as the band's announcer at an open audition the year after he graduated and calls it the best volunteer job you could ever have. The Nashville, Georgia native who grew up in St. Augustine found his way to Tallahassee as a junior and never...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Alan Keesee, CEO of HCA Florida Capital Hospital. Alan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and earned a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating, he launched his career at the HCA regional office in Reston as director of business operations where he was involved in strategic planning for 12 ar...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Alix Miller, president and CEO of the Florida Trucking Association. If being a woman in this role was not unexpected enough, Alix holds a doctorate in interdisciplinary humanities, was a college professor, plays the oboe and was a world-class ballet dancer. Not exactly the typical career path to run an organization associated with the image of tough guy...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Christic Henry, co-owner and managing broker at Kingdom First Realty, who is probably best known for her passionate advocacy for the Southside of Tallahassee. A Detroit native who grew up in Central Florida, Christic found a voice in high school as a stellar student, cheerleader and anchor on the school TV channel. It was also the time she began to real...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Madison Zabala, owner of Tallahassee Picnic, a luxury pop-up picnic service she bought with her twin sister, Makenzie, just after graduating from Leon High School. The Tallahassee native with strong roots in nearby Hosford also works as a bank teller, is a college student and just celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with husband, Ish. The 20-yea...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Dr. Dennis Fiorini of Fiorini Chiropractic Center, a practice he founded with his wife, Kim, in 1992. Dennis grew up in Detroit, the youngest of five children, and learned to love sports and music, playing the trumpet in jazz bands with dreams of studying music in college. All that changed when he was injured in a car accident and received care from a c...

On this holiday mini-episode of How I Got Here, host Dave Fiore speaks with none other than the man in the big red suit, Santa Claus. Santa was kind enough to spend a few minutes discussing his plans as he prepares for the big day, which is coming up fast. Santa shares his thoughts on the rigors of being the CEO of Christmas, the logistics of delivering all those presents and even his favorite Chr...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Royle King, the founder and executive director of Omega Lamplighters, a mentoring program for minority young men that now has 20 chapters across the country. Royle is also the volunteer services manager for Leon County, a job he started in March 2020. The FAMU graduate is a native of Dallas who loves all sports, but especially basketball. He grew up in...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet, the CEO of Ruvos, a leading provider of healthcare IT services that is having impact worldwide. A Cuban-American born and raised in Miami, Eddie is passionate about being a voice for, and empowering Latinos in technology-related fields. After graduating from Loyola University in New Orleans, he took a job in the Caribbean at an i...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Sha'Ron James, government affairs consultant, of counsel, at the Gunster Law Firm. Sha'Ron is a tireless advocate for women and girls, specifically working to provide opportunities and bridging gaps of inequity. As a child, she saw first-hand the difference education can make growing up in two worlds – one stable, middle-class home and an emotionally su...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with community leader, business consultant and innovator Christopher Campbell. Raised in Trinidad, Christopher was educated at an English prep school before the family moved to the United States when he was 16. He says the transition to a new country and culture was made a little easier by having a British accent and a Beatles haircut -- very popular in 1966...

In this episode, host Dave Fiore speaks with Ashley Guy, owner and founder of Tallulah CBD and Juicebar. A native of Olympia, Wash., Ashley learned about hard work and dealing with stress at an early age as an accomplished ballerina winning leading roles and traveling the country at prestigious summer camps. After earning her master's degree, Ashley worked with children at U.S. military bases in E...