Speer Foundation leader honored by Women’s Power Forum as they work to connect women of different fields
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It started as an idea between two women who wanted to have an impact in the community, connect women from different fields and help them grow professionally and personally.
The backstory:
Not long after they met, Gina Tedesco and Julianna Rose Bertrand created the Women’s Power Forum. On Thursday, they hosted their third event since June.
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"We both wanted to bring power to women and essentially all people," Tedesco said. "We wanted to bring power through knowledge, genuine connections and collaborations that help us all get to the next level. And, that's what it's all about."
The two, who both live and work in the Tampa Bay area, met a couple of years ago when Tedesco, a financial advisor, partnered as a financial resource with the real estate company that Bertrand works for.
"I call her my ying to my yang," Bertrand said. "It empowers them," she said about the event. "It brings power. It is uplifting. So, and I just think, people's faces, you know, how excited they are, looking in their soul, in their eyes, that’s all that’s needed."
"This is all about meaningful, genuine connections that can catapult even further and elevate and collaborate in a way that you feel secure and safe," Bertrand said.
Local perspective:
On Thursday, they honored Lisa Vickers, the Speer Dream Foundation’s CEO and executive trustee, as their Power Woman at the event in St. Petersburg.
"I feel extremely blessed to be able to do this," Vickers said. "It is absolutely amazing to be able to really help out in the community and really make a difference," she said.
The faith-based foundation works with community groups, education groups and first responders to provide grants and help where they can. One of those grants went to the St. Petersburg Police Department to purchase SPOT, SPPD’s SWAT team’s robotic dog, who, thanks to his 360-degree camera and an intercom, can perform a lot more tricks than the average canine.
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SPOT made an appearance at the Women’s Power Forum on Thursday.
"One of these tools right here allows us to go inside the house and actually do it in a much more safer manner and communicate with the suspect," Sergeant John DeLuca, assistant commander of SPPD's SWAT team, said.
Vickers said not only is her work extremely rewarding, but sharing it is too.
"I love the Women's Power Forum, and sometimes people look at power in the wrong way. What I try to tell people is power is who you surround yourself with. Whether it be in the community or in your own organization, you're only as strong or as powerful as those people that you bring with you, and it's about lifting others up, not putting yourself ahead of anybody else," Vickers said.
"I think it helps people that wouldn't meet each other otherwise connect," Vickers said about the Forum. "It gives women that have small organizations a chance to meet other people that are in maybe larger ones. The network is important. The camaraderie is important. The relationships that you build, I think, are important, and I think this is what it does in a small area, in a small place, it gives everybody a chance to work together."
What's next:
Bertrand and Tedesco said men are invited to network as well. They said they’re hoping to expand the event eventually nationwide.
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