From left: Grace Maseda-Sainz; Clara Villanueva; Rafael Gonzalez, LCAC Chair; Monica Miranda; Diana Perez, HPWA Mentorship Program Co-Chair; Catalina Perez, HPWA Mentorship Program Co-Chair
Aug. 8, 2024
By Penny Carnathan
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Growing up in West Tampa, Grace Maseda could circle her world in minutes — from loving home to elementary school to little corner bodega. If any possibilities lay beyond those familiar places, she couldn’t see them. But that didn’t dampen her yearning to achieve and succeed.
Education in its many forms opened her eyes and changed her life. Academics, mentorships, networking and community organizations revealed a plethora of enticing paths.
As the new assistant vice president for affinity programs at University of South Florida Advancement, she’s excited to help pull back the curtain on that vista for more generations of students. A longtime Tampa Bay area communications leader for venerable institutions including the Tampa Bay Times and Helios Education Foundation, she’s positioned to make dreams come true.
Including her own.
“Joining USF in this role is coming full circle for me,” says Maseda-Sainz, Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc.’s 2022 Hispanic Woman of the Year. “It brings together my personal passion for education, my career objectives, and my desire to make a difference and empower others by giving back.
“You can’t be what you don’t see. I lived that. I want more students to see that their vision can become a reality.”
Maseda-Sainz brings a remarkable record of professional, community and philanthropic leadership to USF Advancement, says Jay Stroman, senior vice president of Advancement and Alumni Affairs, and USF Foundation CEO.
“Grace has made a very successful career of advocating for students, and she’s given countless volunteer hours to ensuring they have opportunities and support. USF is just one of many grateful beneficiaries,” he says, noting her past service on the USF Foundation board of directors and the Latino Community Advisory Committee, along with her and husband Gene’s establishment of the USF Maseda-Sainz Family Latino Scholarship.
A first-generation college student, she’s also a first-generation U.S. citizen. Her parents came to Tampa from Cuba in 1966, fleeing Fidel Castro’s regime. Both taught their children that the U.S. is a land of opportunity — for those who prioritize their education.
Maseda-Sainz will oversee philanthropy for USF Advancement’s affinity programs, the largest of which is the 32-year-old Latino Scholarship Program.
“I keep going back to the fundamental principle that education changes lives,” she says.
She enjoyed a wonderful, though insular, childhood in tight-knit West Tampa, she says. She worked her way through Hillsborough Community College (HCC) and what is now Saint Leo University, then earned a master’s in management and certification in public relations at USF.
While taking journalism classes at HCC, she landed a part-time time job as an editorial assistant at the Tampa Bay Times (then the St. Petersburg Times). That eventually launched a 20-year career in advertising and marketing at the newspaper.
Her job included working with public schools on behalf of the paper’s Newspapers In Education program. That led to career moves directly aligned with education, including Hillsborough County Public Schools, Helios Education Foundation and, most recently, Take Stock in Children of Florida, where she was vice president of communications and external affairs.
Throughout, she has served the community in numerous volunteer leadership roles. She’s vice chair of Leadership Tampa Alumni Association; a board member of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida; and a member USF Women in Leadership & Philanthropy. She is a past co-chair of LEAP Tampa Bay College Access Network and past chair of the Tampa Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Council.
“There are always opportunities to lift those we engage with,” she says. “I want others to see the world beyond.”