Presenting

Dr. Tomalin knows her strengths…and follows her heart. Unsatisfied with simply reporting on the issues and challenges that people in her community face, she sought out a way to enact real change and address those problems head on. She has turned her gi for listening to others' stories into a means of helping them achieve their dreams. Tell me a little about your early career. You didn't necessarily start out on the path of government. e path to this place has been varied and different, but there's a common thread of stor y telling that r uns through it all. My career started as a journalist. I trained in undergraduate school as a journalist and worked at the [St. Petersburg ] Times and e Palm Beach Post and actually majored in broadcast journalism. I worked a li le in Tallahassee and Louisv ille and loved it. I think the power of stories is one of the most prolific ways we can impact the world. It was always my honor to fi nd people's stories and help tell them. But I realized pre y quick ly that I was never content to walk away at the end of the stor y, and that is essentially the role of the journalist: to report and reflect what happened and move on to the nex t stor y. I was here in my hometow n work ing and telling stories, but it wasn't enough for me to just tell them. I wanted to be able to impact the outcome. I had only ever trained as a journalist and that's what I k new how to do, so I went back to school and got a business degree from the Universit y of M iami. I moved to the business side of the newspaper, but still in stor y telling. I was work ing in marketing and focused a lot on the stor y of journalism. at was right on the eve of the industr y of journalism changing , the stor y of the importance of the press and free media and particularly the role that the Times and the Poy nter Institute play in that. It was a really important narrative for journalism around the world. I did that and it was wonderf ul, but then a great opportunit y opened up at Bay front Medical Center to work w ith their health foundation and communications f unction, and I just thought there would be a lot of grow th. I was always ver y intrig ued by the health sector. at was a big leap. But it was still about stories. While sectors change and env ironments may change, the sk illset and what I was doing in these places were always the same. When I moved over I was work ing in philanthropy and worked w ith their annual giv ing events. at was great. But that quick ly moved—because of my news background—into the role as spokesperson for the hospital. From there I learned ever y aspect of the communications f unction of the health system. I learned the strateg y of health care and le there as v ice president of strategic planning and public a ffairs. In 2013 Bay front was acquired by the third- largest investor-ow ned hospital corporation in the nation, Health Management A ssociates, and I went to work for them as the director of strateg y for the Florida group w ith 23 hospitals under my direction, and v ice president of public a ffairs for the Bay front Health Group, which was si x hospitals on the west coast. During this time, you did have a personal life. [Laughs] Yes, so over those nearly 20 years, I married, had t wo children and fi nished three degrees. I had the most amazing husband in the world and he made it work . He made it possible. My doctoral program was in Boston and I would travel on weekends—ursday evening until Monday morning—to do all of my classwork and research. I did that for three and a half years to get my doctoral degree in law and polic y from Northeastern Universit y in Boston. My husband held it all dow n—he took care of the k ids and he took care of me. How old were your children during this time? I f i n ished i n 2011 so t hey were you ng—maybe si x a nd eight when I sta r ted a nd t u r n i ng n i ne a nd 11 when I f i n ished . I have a son, K a i, who is just t u r n i ng 16 a nd a daughter, Nia, who is 13. How did you manage all of that? It's all about a support system. You need a lile bit of ambition and enough drive and purpose…because it was hard. But my husband was my biggest cheerleader and I have great parents. ey've always seen greatness for me before I can see it for myself. I wanted to talk a bit about your unimaginable tragedy. Your husband passed away last year. Can you share how you've dealt with that? You two had such an amazing bond. He was my best friend. My whole life changed in an instant and I'm just living it ever y day. at's Tomalin with Rick Kriseman, mayor of St. Petersburg. Photos cour tesy of the City of St. Pete. 54 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com

• Cover