Management
Wren G. Krahl serves as the Executive Director for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Through her duties she works closely with the TBRPC Chair and Council Members in the overall administration of the Council’s mission. As a SHRM certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and a HRCI Certified Professional (CP), her other duties include serving as the Human Resources Officer for the organization as well as overseeing Florida State Record Management requirements. She is also responsible for the planning, coordination and implementation of Council related conferences, events and meetings as well as Council publications.
Wren has been a resident of the St. Petersburg area for 44 years, is an Honors graduate of Eckerd College in American Studies, and has been with the Council since 1998.
Sarah Vitale, AICP serves as the Planning Director for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She specializes in urban design visualization, GIS mapping, and 3D modeling, and provides planning and technical support across the Council’s projects and programs.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Social Science and a Master of Science in Planning, both from Florida State University. She is a member of the American Planning Association’s American Institute of Certified Planners and the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Cara Woods Serra, AICP, CFM serves as the Director of Resiliency for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Her current role with the Council involves disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation planning, and resiliency policy. She has a land use planning background and previously worked on special area plans, long range plans, development review and floodplain management at the local government level. Cara supports the work of hazard mitigation professionals throughout the Tampa Bay region in an effort to facilitate knowledge sharing and regional consistency.
Cara has a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Maria Robles serves as the Manager of Administration/Public Information and Board Liaison for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She is trilingual (Spanish, English, and French) and specializes in graphic and website communications. Maria manages the English to Spanish translations for the annual Disaster Planning Guide publication. She also serves as staff for the Courtney Campbell Causeway Scenic Highway.
Maria holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology, a minor in French, an Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design, and a Certificate of International Studies. She graduated from the University of Tampa with Cum Laude Honors distinction. She was born in Mexico City and now lives in Tampa with her beagle Aqua and hedgehog Redgie.
Staff & Fellows
Amy Bidwell serves as a Principal Hazard Mitigation Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Her role with the Council involves hazard mitigation planning, vulnerability assessments, and the Regional Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group. She has an emergency management, hazard mitigation planning, and floodplain management background at the local government level leading large planning efforts and projects in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. Notable projects include the most recent Coastal Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) updates, Community Rating System re-verifications, Local Mitigation Strategy Plan development, review and updates, and deployment to Tallahassee during times of disaster to serve as a Disaster Recovery Center Coordinator.
A New Jersey native and longtime Florida resident of 41 years, Amy has a Master of Geography degree from the University of South Florida.
Meghan Maraia Blancher serves as Coastal Ecologist for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. After graduating from Eckerd College with Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science, she has supported federal and state research in fields including fisheries and water quality. She has since graduated from Virginia Tech with a Masters of Natural Resources and uses her biological experience to assess environmental vulnerability and craft resilience-focused action plans. Meghan is also involved with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee and is a member of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals.
Charity Franks serves as a Hazard Mitigation Planner and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She specializes in disaster preparedness, hazard mitigation planning, and grant writing. She has extensive experience in emergency management, public safety, vulnerability assessments, and hazards analyses. Charity supports the work of emergency management professionals and first responders throughout Florida, facilitating training, regional cooperation, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Charity is a proud alumna of AmeriCorps. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of South Florida.
Julie serves as the Administrative Planning Tech for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She supports the Manager of Administration/Public Information and assists in multiple areas such as accounting, office management, and administration.
Julie holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Management with a focus on Project Management, and is working toward a certificate in Accounting. She graduated from Keller School of Business Management with Magna Cum Laude Honors distinction and from DeVry University with Manga Cum Laude Honors distinction. She was born and raised in the Metro Detroit area, and now lives in New Port Richey, caring for her 3 cats Ravin, Jewels, and Laya.
Mesly Mata is a Fellow through the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program, currently partnered with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Sustainable Development Practice from the University of Florida. Mesly has contributed to a range of projects that address environmental and social injustices, working with marginalized communities such as low-income immigrant populations in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and Indigenous groups in the Brazilian Amazon. With an interdisciplinary approach, she is passionate about fostering inclusive spaces where diverse stakeholders can collaborate to develop equitable solutions to the critical social and climate challenges facing the Gulf region.
Ashley Mott, GISP serves as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Manager for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She supports TBRPC’s planning efforts through GIS modeling, spatial analysis, data visualization, and cartography.
Ashley earned an extended Bachelor of Science in Land Use, with concentrations in GIS and Meteorology, from the Metropolitan State University of Denver. She also earned a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science from the University of Denver.
Ashley is a member of the Geospatial Professional Network and volunteers for its GISCorps program.
Alison Prater serves as Resiliency Intern for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Creighton University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Development from Harvard Extension School with a concentration in sustainable cities and communities. Alison obtained a certificate in Grant Writing from the Nonprofit Leadership Center and is working towards a Project Management certification. She specializes in climate risk analysis, environmental justice, sustainable community development and socio-ecological systems thinking. Alison is passionate about improving social equity and environmental resilience in the Tampa Bay Region.
Alana Todd serves as the Principal Environmental Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Alana supports the Council’s work on regional environmental management and resilience-related activities, including the Agency on Bay Management (ABM). She also serves as staff for the TBRPC environmental journal Bay Soundings (now in its 20th Year), the Florida Department of Transportation’s Stormwater Grant Education Funding, and the Stormwater Management Committee.
Alana holds a BS in Environmental Science and Policy and BA in Anthropology from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, as well as a Master of Science in Marine-Estuarine and Environmental Science with a concentration in Environment and Society from the University of Maryland. She represents the Council on various environmental committees and agencies within the six-county region.
Harry Walsh serves as the Senior Economic Development Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Harry performs economic and fiscal impacts analyses on behalf of, and in partnership with, regional entities, maintains the Tampa Bay Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, and facilitates grant proposals to the Economic Development Administration. Harry has six-plus years of experience using economic modeling tools such as REMI PI+, IMPLAN, Esri, and RStudio.
Harry has a degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Courtney Wright, LEED GA serves as a Senior Sustainability Planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. She is the Program Manager for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program. Courtney assists in the planning and technical support for the Resiliency Coalition through the Regional Resiliency Action Plan and also supports staff with environmental planning and energy-related initiatives.
Courtney holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Florida. She also holds a Master of Arts in Global Sustainability with a concentration in Sustainability Policy, and a graduate certificate in Climate Change and Sustainability from the University of South Florida. She holds a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Green Associate (LEED GA) accreditation and is also a member of U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Florida and USGBC Tampa Bay chapter.
