Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 11-27-18

Feature
THAP Names Derrick Blue Its New CEO
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
As the year winds down, a new chapter is unfolding at nonprofit Tampa Hillsbor- ough’s Action Plan (THAP) as the nonprofit’s board moves Derrick Blue from interim to permanent Chief Executive Officer.
Blue was tapped earlier this month, but officially will be named Dec. 6th.
A nationwide search for a new leader attracted dozens of applicants, but Blue was best for the job, thanks to his nearly decade of experience as executive director of the organization’s Coastal Bay Properties weatherization program, said THAP board president Liverno Williams.
The program is the 31- year-old organization’s largest and most profitable component making it essen- tial that the new CEO have experience with a similar ini- tiative. Blue, vice president of the Florida Weatheriza- tion Network, Inc., had been tapped by the state to lead weatherization trainings, making his candidacy for the CEO position especially at-
tractive, he said.
“Because Derrick is so
strong in that position, we hired him,” he said. “That was our man.”
Additionally, Blue’s work over the last year to boost THAP’s profile in the community and improve op- erations also made a great impression on the selection committee, Williams said.
“It has been a great im- pression,” he said. “He has been moving things forward. When Derrick got in the saddle, he had to wear a lot of hats and he had to wear them quick.”
Blue has overseen oper- ations at THAP since the re- moval last fall of consultant-turned-CEO, Jeannette Bradley.
Bradley’s tenure came to an end after board mem- bers discovered THAP was spending more money than it was taking in. Blue has co- ordinated a series of changes since, including a staff reor- ganization, increase in events, and campus beautifi- cation.
And there’s more to come, Blue said.
The nonprofit recently launched a program that of-
DERRICK BLUE ...Named CEO, THAP
fers medication discounts to individuals who have HIV and other serious medical ill- nesses, he said.
“It creates a community for individuals who have HIV; we make sure that they stay in care, that they go to their appointments, and have moral support,” he said.
Additionally, THAP will
operate a weatherization and home retrofitting program, thanks to a $1.8 million three-year grant from Florida Department of Eco- nomic Opportunity.
People who enroll in the program will learn how to do efficiency repairs, Blue said.
A summer program teaching children computer- aided design and urban and community development will repeat next year, and so- cial enterprise initiative is in the works.
The organization’s busi- ness incubator program, 5508, also will get a boost with the implementation of a mentorship program that will teach business owners to scale their ventures, Blue said.
Other partnerships in- clude a collaboration with Jeff Vinik’s Embarc Collec- tive, to “bridge the gap be- tween downtown and east Tampa,” Blue said.
There’s also the possibil-
ity of expanding the campus to include building retail space for businesses to oc- cupy once they leave the in- cubator. This will help resolve the problem that many businesses run into when transitioning out of the start-up phase, Blue said.
“The problem is when you kick them out where do they go?,” he said. “We want to be able to develop prop- erty so they have somewhere to go.”
Most importantly, Blue said he’s been able to reign in THAP’s expenses through increasing revenue from grants and hosting events as well as cutting back on ex- penses.
Those changes have re- sulted in a balanced budget, he said.
Today, the future is much brighter, Williams said.
“We’re now more re- laxed, we see the progress,” he said. “It’s a lot more com- fortable now.”
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