Growing my Social Capital

Patti Grogan - Domain Expert

Background: Head of the Florida Department of Children and Families

I found this individual on accident and I am very glad I did. Her daughter is an undergraduate student at FIU in Miami and was visiting UF for the LSU game a couple weeks back.  We got into talking and I mentioned working with refugees and her eyes lit up and she mentioned that her mom is in charge of the Department of Children and Families.  I contacted this individual last weekend and asked her politely for her moms contact information and she gladly gave me her email. I sent her an email Wednesday asking for feedback on my video pitch and she has not replied with feedback yet although her daughter has texted me back confirming that my email has been received.  This individual is very high profile so she is formulating her response appropriately which I understand takes time. She is also a very busy person from my understanding. She can share with me a bit of insight about the paperwork and documentation that goes on behind the scenes with working with agencies like WHO.

As these assignments are quite demanding, I have not been able to acquire the contact information in time for the last two individuals however, I have two people in mind already. I took Dr. Michael Lauzardo from the UF Division of Infectious Diseases to lunch at Mi Apa on Wednesday. He has recently been promoted and his title has changed to the Director of Global Medicine. He is also a professor at UF and a long time family friend.  He has promised me the contact information of one individual who works with the IOM (International Organization for Migrants) and another with past experience working with refugees. In order to give me their contact info, he informed me that he needed to make sure that it is okay with them first professionally.  I will repost this assignment when I acquire their information.