Alumni Spotlight: Jamie Van Cuyk

Hello! As your new LSPAA President, I wanted to take amoment to introduce myself and tell you what you can expect from me over thenext year.

As a member of the class of 2022, I am beyond excited tostep into this leadership role and support the entire LSPAA community.

When I joined Leadership St Pete, I was looking for new waysto network and grow my small business. I achieved that, but I was surprised byeverything else I gained: friendships, support, and opportunities beyondanything I’d imagined. My goal for LSPAA is to keep building a space where theconnections that start within each graduating class expand across the whole LSPAAcommunity.

Over my last two years on the LSPAA Board, I have had theprivilege of watching Renee and Mark regrow LSPAA into what it is today. COVIDnot only temporarily impacted what LSPAA could do but also how people want toshow up for networking, professional development, and volunteerism. We couldn’tsimply pick up where we left off. Instead, we had to reinvent LSPAA from theinside out and the outside in. Being part of those conversations and decisionsshowed me how deeply past leadership has cared about serving alums the rightway.

This year, my goals for LSPAA are twofold.

First, I want to continue refining what we do to ensure weare best serving you. To do this, we want to hear your feedback. We know thatnot every event we host will be the right fit or at the right time foreveryone, but we want to make sure we’re serving the LSPAA community the bestwe can. Not every event will be the right fit or the right timing for everyone,but if something isn’t working, tell us. If you’re loving an event, tell usthat too.

Second: sustainability. Everything you experience from LSPAAshould stay just as strong, or get better, but behind the scenes, we need torun more efficiently. LSPAA is entirely volunteer-run, and many of our boardand committee members are deeply involved in commitments beyond LSPAA. Now thatwe know what the organization needs to meet the community’s current moment, it’stime to improve how we operate so our volunteers can keep thriving in theseroles.

Now, a little bit about me. Originally from Western NewYork, I have called Florida home since 2003 and moved to St Pete in 2008. Onthe professional side, I am the owner of GrowingYour Team, a recruiting and hiring consulting firm for small businessowners. We help businesses that are expanding their teams end the cycle of badhires and finally have team members who are worth their paychecks. This lastyear, I became a Certified Divorce Coach and started a second business, Kayllian Collective. ThroughKayllian Collective, I work with women who are leaving emotionally draining orabusive relationships to navigate the process of divorce and rebuild their livespost-divorce. In addition, I have been actively involved with the RonaldMcDonald House for over 15 years and currently sit on the Board of Directorsfor the Ronald McDonald House of Tampa Bay.

On the personal side, I am the mom of two wonderfuldaughters, and a hobby winemaker who enjoys exploring the outdoors. When I’mnot working, volunteering, or with my girls, you will find me at the studiodoing aerial dance. And yes, I did perform semi-professionally in mymid-twenties. After taking about 10 years off of training, it’s great to beback in the studio, rebuild strength, and have fun. Let me know if you wouldlike to join me for a class!

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