Partners

Peter Kageyama

Michelle Bauer

Tom Butler

Michelle is a partner with Sextant Marketing Group, a marketing, public relations, and event management firm in St. Petersburg, Florida.    She is responsible for directing the firm's strategic communications practice and developing and managing conferences and events.

Prior to joining Sextant Marketing Group, Michelle was founding Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, a professional association dedicated to growing Tampa Bay's technology businesses and promoting the region as a major center of entrepreneurship and innovation. During her tenure, the organization grew to nearly 300 member companies serving thousands of professionals in the region's technology and business communities.

She is also the immediate past president and co-founder of Creative Tampa Bay, established in 2003 to help connect and encourage synergies between the region's arts, technology, university, and economic development communities.   Together with Peter Kageyama, CreativeTampaBay's current president, she writes, speaks, and hosts events that advance the agenda of creative industries and the revitalization of downtowns.   The quadrennial Creative Cities Summit, held in St. Petersburg, is their signature event in this area.   The Creative Cities Summit is an international gathering of policy leaders and practitioners specializing in creative industries and economic development.   The next Summit will be held in the fall of 2008.

Among the other events Michelle has co-developed and launched are The Florida Tech Transfer Conference, an annual showcase of Florida university and research institute technologies available for licensing and commercialization, and the Sarasota International Design Summit which explores design's transformational impact on people, places and products and shows how leading organizations are using design as a strategic approach for differentiation and competitive advantage.  

Michelle holds Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in English from the University of South Florida.   She lives and works in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.