College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Liberal Arts and Sciences Liberal Arts and Sciences

March is Women’s History Month — come celebrate with us as we hear from a panel of accomplished women leaders who pave the way for aspiring young professionals!

Join the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows to hear from a diverse panel of leaders in higher education, journalism, and the STEM fields. Learn about their career trajectories, their insights into what it means to be a leader, and leave inspired to accomplish your own goals.

Panelists:

Dr. D’Andra Mull is the Vice President for Student Life at the University of Florida. Dr. Mull leads a team of more than 600 professionals across 25 departments that cultivate rich experiences for all undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Dr. Mull earned her Ph.D. in educational policy and leadership from The Ohio State University and later served as the Associate Vice President and Dean of Students for the Office of Student Life there. She received her B.A. from Kent State University in Political Science and Criminal Justice and her master’s degree from Michigan State University. She was most recently selected to join the American College Personnel Association’s 2022 Diamond Honoree cohort. Dr. Mull is a sister of Sigma Gamma Rho and is the first African American female Vice President for Student Life at the University of Florida.

Jan Neuharth is the chair and CEO of the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation based in Washington D.C. dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. Prior to Freedom Forum, Ms. Neuharth practiced law in Los Angeles, worked on Capitol Hill as a press assistant for Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker, conducted political polling for Louis Harris International in London and established Paper Chase Farms, Inc in Middleburg, Virginia. Ms. Neuharth serves on the boards of several non-profit, corporate, and community organizations, including the National Constitution Center and the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation. She is also the author of the Hunt Country Suspense Series. Ms. Neuharth earned a B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Florida, a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and is admitted as an Attorney and Counselor of the United States Supreme Court.

Olivia Ramos is an entrepreneur, architect, and founder and CEO of Deepblocks, an artificial intelligence company that uses data to optimize real estate development across 100 US cities. A native of Cuba who grew up in Miami, Ramos holds a master’s degree in Architecture from Columbia University and a second master’s in Real Estate Development from the University of Miami. She earned her B.A. in Architecture from the University of Florida and also completed programs at Singularity University’s Global Solutions Program and DARPA’s Innovation House.

Stephanie Bailes is the President of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention. She joined the Cade Museum as its Executive Director in 2017 and was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2020. Ms. Bailes has spent nearly twenty years leading teams and initiatives in domestic and international private sector start-up, corporate, and nonprofit environments including at: MCI, Bellsouth, Special Olympics International, the American College of Cardiology, and Pennington & Bailes. Before her career in business management, she worked as a front-line provider in Children’s Home Society foster care facilities and for the state of Florida’s Child Protection Team, providing crisis intervention for sexually and physically abused children. She has served on local and national Boards of several organizations, including the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors. Ms. Bailes earned her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Florida.

Moderator:

Sophia Athan will be the moderator of this panel. She is a third-year student at the University of Florida majoring in Political Science and International Studies with a regional focus in Europe. Sophia works as a research and special projects student assistant at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service and is the Director of Special Projects for the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows.