The WLP Symposium Award program honors visionary leaders and philanthropists throughout the community doing extraordinary things to make Tampa Bay a better place for women to live and work.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to an individual whose career has greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of women. With the Lifetime Achievement Award, we showcase individual excellence in leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work and inspiration to others. We publicly affirm present achievements, seek to encourage further work on the part of the recipients and hope to motivate others to follow their lead in service to the Tampa Bay communities.

With the Community Leadership Award, we showcase individual excellence in leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work and inspiration to others. We publicly affirm present achievements, seek to encourage further work on the part of the recipients and hope to motivate others to follow their lead in service to the Tampa Bay community.

The recipients are recognized at WLP's Annual Symposium.

Eligibility Requirements and Selection Criteria:

• The recipient exemplifies the spirit of USF WLP as demonstrated by her commitment to community-based leadership in both professional and volunteer capacities.
• WLP members and non-members are eligible to receive the award.
• Individuals who live and work in the counties surrounding each campus of the University of South Florida are eligible for nomination. Nominations for emerging and innovative leadership, as well as long-standing accomplishments, are encouraged.
• Only individuals are eligible for nomination.
• USF Foundation employees are not eligible.
• Previous WLP Symposium Award recipients are not eligible.

Nomination and Selection Process:

• Nomination form and two statements of support must be submitted to WLP at WLP@usf.edu by Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. (Additional support materials may be included, but not required).
• Only completed nomination forms will be considered.
• Self-nominations are not accepted.
• Nominations are reviewed and vetted by the WLP Symposium Awards Committee.

Recipient must be present at the WLP Fall Symposium to accept the award.

If you have questions, please contact us at WLP@usf.edu or 813-974-9894.

Click here to submit a nomination

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2023 WLP Symposium Award Recipients

Colleen Chappell
Lifetime Achievement Award

 

Colleen Chappell has worked to break down barriers and forge new paths throughout her professional life. After building her career as a marketing and communications professional in the corporate, nonprofit and health care sectors, Colleen made the bold change of partnering with her mentor, Deanne Roberts, to build and grow ChappellRoberts.  

Colleen’s unstoppable enthusiasm for actualizing full potential won her many awards including Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce Woman of Distinction, Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Businesswoman of the Year and University of South Florida’s Outstanding Mass Communications Alumna. She has been recognized as a premiere business leader internationally winning the Gold Stevie Award for Management Team of the Year and the Bronze Award for Business Services Female Executive of the Year. Colleen was most recently named a 2020 Women of Distinction honoree by Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

With a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of South Florida, Colleen is a Dale Carnegie graduate and accredited in public relations by the Public Relations Society of America. She has made lasting impacts on the community by serving as volunteer leader for the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Council, the American Marketing Association’s National Professional Chapters Council and Tampa Bay chapter, Feeding Tampa Bay, and USF Muma College of Business Executive Advisory Council.

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Clara Reynolds
Community Leadership Award

Clara is also the co-founder and former executive director for Success 4 Kids & Families, a non-profit corporation that embraces system of care values and principles to provide children and their families with a comprehensive array of services. She served as a project manager and school social worker for Hillsborough County Public Schools and has worked as a Child Protective Investigation intern for the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.

A licensed clinical social worker, Clara earned her MBA from the University of Tampa, and her master of social work and bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. She has been honored with Hillsborough County Good Government Award,  Social Worker of the Year for Hillsborough County, and was a finalist for Business Woman of the Year. 

Clara is a gubernatorial appointee to the state Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and she is past chair of the Central Florida Behavioral Health Network.