Karen Sparkman – Women's Conference of Florida

Vice President, Customer Experience, Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas

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Thriving in Multifaceted Careers & Changing Workscapes

Karen Sparkman is vice president of Customer Experience for both Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas.

She joined the company in June 2017 as director of Customer Experience Operations at Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas and has played a key role in the transformation of the broader Customer Experience organization across Contact Centers, Customer Billing, Credit & Collections and Payment Operations partnering with IT, Electric Delivery and Regulatory senior leadership teams to optimize business process integration on priorities such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions and Customer Relationship & Billing (CRB) system utilization and improvements.

Before joining TECO, Sparkman was a Customer Experience leader at Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) in Everett, Wash., and prior to worked at Colorado Springs Utilities. She has a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Phoenix and a master's degree in business administration from Colorado Technical University.

Bio

Allison Walsh, JD, is an expert business consultant, founder, bestselling author, international speaker, and influential leader. By age 30, Allison became the Vice President of Advanced Recovery Systems, a company destined for unicorn status which she helped build from the ground up. She was also instrumental in the creation of Nobu, a mental wellness app, increasing access to mental health resources and support nationwide. Allison continues to contribute her expertise to meaningful, mission-driven companies within the behavioral healthcare industry including Charlie Health, a rapidly growing virtual mental health company focused on ending youth suicide.

Allison writes for and is featured in many media outlets including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Nasdaq, Business Insider, Bustle, and more, often collaborating with global mental health experts, influencers, and content creators. Allison also shares her insights as the host of the She Believed She Could podcast. She commands the stage as a sought-after speaker who, beginning at the age of 18, inspires international audience members numbering over 200,000. Named in the Orlando Business Journal's 2021 Top 40 Under 40 and Women Who Mean Business, Allison is a proud member of Forbes Business Development Council, Entrepreneur's Leadership Network, and Orlando Business Journal's Leadership Trust.

Allison has won multiple awards for her philanthropy raising over $2 Million for eating disorders prevention and awareness and serves on numerous nonprofit boards. Having previously been crowned Miss Florida 2006, she’s passionate about the advancement of women in leadership which fueled her desire to create the She Believed She Could podcast and found Allison Walsh Consulting. Through the creation of her coaching programs, workbooks, and curriculum she’s been able to improve the mindset, personal branding, leadership skills, and confidence of a roster of over 300 clients, and thousands more in her online community. Allison draws from her expertise in positive psychology, the science of happiness, well-being, and success, to provide women with tools for advancement both personally and professionally. As a business development, marketing, and personal branding expert, Allison is on a mission to help influential, high-stakes leaders build their confidence, grow their businesses, elevate their brands, and accomplish their goals. Her first book, She Believed She Could, published by Wiley, is due to be released in September 2023.