21 & Change Welcomes New Board Members
TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2019) —
21 & Change Welcomes Three New Board Members
TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2019) — The 21 & Change Board of Directors unanimously appointed Port Tampa Bay’s Director of Public Relations Samara Sodos, Milorian Consulting President Carlos Flores and World Wide Medical Services General Counsel Dennis Meyers on February 7 during the monthly board of directors’ meeting.
President John Bodor said, “We are grateful to welcome three professional business people to our organization; their passion for our vision of diversity and inclusion for ‘differently-abled’ children and adults is heartwarming and will help us make great strides in our mission.”
“I am excited about the work we are doing at 21 and Change – as this board aims to shape the lives of children and make an effective difference not only in their world but in every life they touch,” Sodos said.
Sodos, a former award-winning TV news reporter currently serves Port Tampa Bay as the Director of Public Relations. She has experience in both the private and public sectors of the public relations arena, managing corporate relations for AT&T and serving as the spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. As a TV News journalist, she spent more than a decade at WFLA-TV, an NBC affiliate in Tampa. During her time there, she wrote for the Tampa Tribune and its online partner covering two wars, countless hurricanes, high profile murder cases and dozens of national and statewide political campaigns. Sodos also worked for NBC News as a reporter and producer, covering the Ferguson riots and several renowned criminal cases. She previously worked as a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Roanoke and was an anchor and reporter at WTMJ-TV in her hometown of Milwaukee. Sodos won dozens of awards for her reporting, from regional Emmy awards to the National Edward R. Murrow award. She graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Having a brother who is ‘differently-abled’, advocating for him, and being there with him through all of the struggles and challenges he has faced, and continues to face, I know first-hand how important organizations such as 21 & Change are for advocacy and support of those who are ‘differently-abled’, and I am so honored to be appointed to the Board of Directors and be a part of the mission of such an amazing organization,” said Meyers.
Meyers currently serves as General Counsel for World Wide Medical Services, Inc. in Tampa, Florida, and has been practicing law in Florida since 2002. He graduated from Penn State University with a B.A. in International Politics, and from Roger Williams University School of Law with a J.D. Meyers has been extensively involved in community organizations throughout Tampa Bay, including as Vice President of Global Action Coalition, Chairman of Leadership Hillsborough, President of the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of CareerSource Tampa Bay.
“I’m thrilled to join a diverse group of professionals that donate their time to help those who need it the most. It’s an honor to be able to help Tampa Bay become a city that will also be known for their awareness, acceptance, and inclusion of children with special needs, “ said Flores.
Flores is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the advertising industry. President of Milorian Consulting, he is a former minority owner and VP of one of the largest Publishing Companies in the US, majority owned by private equity firm ABRY in Boston. He has also served as a board member of the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has been active as an Autism advocate and mentor to student-athletes in the Bay area for over 10 years.
21 & Change, Inc. is dedicated to ending the Down syndrome ‘syndrome’ through advocacy, support, and niche services in the Greater Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area and beyond. The organization is seeking additional board members, volunteers, strategic and local partners, and both corporate and individual sponsors.
For more information, please visit www.21andchange.org or e-mail info@21andchange.org today.
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