2023 DooDad Competition Judges

Christina Barker

Christina Barker is the current Chief of Staff at Vinik Family office (VFO). In her role at VFO, Christina serves as a community relations, communications, and political advisor to Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and leads projects and initiatives sponsored by the Vinik Family Foundation such as investments in early childhood learning, education, the arts, and other community impact efforts. 

Christina is a co-founder of All for Transportation, the citizen-led effort that successfully place and passed a 2018 transportation referendum in Hillsborough County/Tampa, FL. All for Transportation collected more than 77,000 petitions during the 2018 election cycle to add a transportation funding plan to the Hillsborough County ballot. She and the All for Transportation team led the subsequent political campaign that amassed nearly 60% voter approval. She has extensive experience in local and state transportation policy and ballot initiatives to generate funding for transportation projects. 

Before joining VFO, Christina served  4 years as a senior policy advisor to Mayor Bob Buckhorn at the City of Tampa working on legislative affairs and  broad range of public policy issues such as transportation, infrastructure, and water. Prior to her time at the City of Tampa, Christina was the Public Policy and Advocacy Director at the Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional economic development organization. 

She began her career on local and statewide political campaigns in Florida while completing her bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida and her master’s degree in political science at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Christina lives in Pasco County, FL with her husband, two sons, and three-legged schnauzer, Mollie.

Frank J. “Sandy” Rief, III 

Frank J. “Sandy” Rief, III is a member of the firm Longhouse, Richards, Olsen & Rief, PLLC and practices in the areas of estates and trusts, taxation and philanthropic planning. He is currently serving on the Boards of The Straz Center Foundation, the Poynter Foundation, the Frank E. Duckwall Foundation and the USF Institute for Research in Art. He has served as the Chair of the All Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation. Mr. Rief has previously served as a Trustee of the David A. Straz, Jr. Performing Arts Center, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, All Children’s Hospital Foundation, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, the Tampa Theatre Foundation, the Florida State University Foundation, the Tampa Bay History Center, the USF Foundation, the Florida Humanities Council, the Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, Florida), the Tampa Museum of Art and the Museum of Science and Industry. Mr. Rief is a graduate of Wake Forest University (B.A., 1966 Cum Laude), University of Florida Spessard L. Holland Law Center (J.D., 1969), New York University (LLM, in Taxation, 1971).

CHRIS SWINK

Senior Wealth Strategist for Northern Trust

Christopher has worked in the financial services industry for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Northern Trust, he was a Principal, Senior Client Strategist at BNY Mellon Wealth Management for 10 years, serving and advising business owners, institutions, and ultra-high net worth families. Christopher has also served in similar roles at Wachovia Wealth Management and JPMorgan. Christopher holds both FINRA Series 7 & 63 licenses and is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor® (CEPA).

Christopher has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Florida Southern College. He has also completed a postgraduate program in Financial Planning at the University of South Florida, and Mergers and Acquisitions studies at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with the Exit Planning Institute.

Board Member –Chair, American Cancer Society Tampa Bay

Board Member and Trustee –Chair, Rotary Club of Tampa Foundation

Board Director –Vice Chair, Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture and the Arts (TBBCA)

Member –Association for Corporate Growth (ACG)

Member –Alliance of Mergers & Acquisitions Advisors (AM&AA)

Member –GrowFL 

Member –Rotary Club of Tampa

Christopher is married with two daughters and lives in beautiful South Tampa. In his spare time, he loves to travel with his wife, and watch his youngest daughter play softball for the Tampa Mustangs and Plant High School.

Gregory L. Morgan

Currently serving as a Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors at the FLORIDA MUSEUM of PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS. Greg has also been involved in many other non-profit organizations throughout the Tampa Bay Region. 

Professionally, Greg serves as Community Relations Director for AMALIE OIL COMPANY and Broker Associate at Smith & Associates 

He lives in Hyde Park with his wife Ellen. They have four adult children  between them.

 Miriam Zimms-Kessler

Miriam Zimms-Kessler is a 31-year leader in the solid waste management industry and creatively worked in the field for the corporate, public and private sector implementing programs in zero waste, recycling, composting and green procurement as well as Green Building. Miriam has served on the Board of numerous organizations and is considered a veteran Latina woman who has broken the glass ceiling in this industry. She and her husband, Mitch, have a 35-year niche Tampa based business management and planning consulting firm that is known across the country for its innovation in the industry. She has presented all over the country for award-winning and solution-driven sustainable waste management programs as a USGBC LEED AP and Certified Recycling and Compost Manager. In 2013, Miriam had a second cancer that changed her life and left her with a disability. But that monumental health challenge led her to Arts in Medicine, becoming a local award-winning emerging artist, volunteer teaching artist, and advocate/presenter in the community. Her life is now divided into three pursuits: wellness of body, mind and spirit, the wellness arts, and the environment. Miriam recently came off the Recycle Florida Today Board after serving for six years and was named the State’s Recycler of the Year in 2008. She advocates for Arts in Health and will begin her role as a Board Member on the National Association for Arts in Health (NOAH) in 2024. Miriam is a proud two-type cancer survivor (breast and chondrosarcoma cancers), and an ovarian previvor. She advocates for life over cancer in the community, radio/TV, and with Moffitt Cancer Center as a courageous Thriver who continues to Roar.

Charley Greacen

Charley Greacen is an artist working and living in Tampa’s Hyde Park neighborhood since 1973. He had published weekly cartoons in the Tampa Tribune and the Tampa Bay Times for over a span of 20 years.While at Denison University in Ohio, where he earned his BFA in visual arts, he was awarded fellowships from the Art and Classics departments. Charley has held the position of Advertising and Public Relations Manager for a Tampa-based restaurant chain, freelanced as Charles Greacen Illustration and Graphics, and taught college level drawing, de- sign and history & civilization. Since 2005 he has been the sole proprietor of a collection of art- based companies,Town Tiles, Lost Art Custom Stationery and Small World Maps, all of which utilize his illustration and photography.