Oct. 16, 2025

Congratulations to the 2025 USF Alumni Award Recipients

June 11, 2025

The University of South Florida has announced its 2025 Alumni Award recipients. They include three Distinguished Alumni with extraordinary professional accomplishments and one graduate and two non-alumni who have made significant contributions to USF and the Tampa Bay area. 

Presented by the USF Alumni Association for 50 years, the Distinguished Alumni Awards are the highest honors bestowed upon former students for professional achievement. Two service awards confer USF’s highest honors for former students and non-alumni who’ve demonstrated outstanding dedication and service to USF and the Tampa Bay area. 

The awards will be presented Oct. 16. 

Here are the 2025 USF Alumni Award recipients — only USF degrees are listed: 

Rick Brandt, Economics ’91 — Distinguished Alumni Award

Rick Brandt serves as the CEO and president of BRANDT, an agricultural company that sells products in more than 80 countries and 49 states. Under his 30-year leadership, BRANDT’s revenue has grown nearly $550 million and has closed 24 acquisitions. 

An ambitious innovator, Brandt continues to build and evolve the business. To promote a unified culture, he moved all employees under a single corporation, Team BRANDT, Inc. He also serves as president of The BRANDT Foundation, which supports organizations that address food insecurity, agricultural education and waste reduction.

A keen automobile enthusiast, Brandt has long overseen a partnership with JR Motorsports, sponsoring Justin Allgaier, a driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Brandt is a serial entrepreneur. He is the CEO and owner of TradeMark Nitrogen; he created GB Records; he is chairman of Precision Build; and he is an owner of Rev 1 Energy.

Beatriz “Gigi” Fernández, Psychology ’03 — Distinguished Alumni Award

A two-time Olympic gold medalist in tennis doubles, Gigi Fernández made history as Puerto Rico’s first female professional athlete and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Fernández, who started rallying with a racquet at three years old, rose to fame in a trailblazing, 14-year career, securing 17 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and winning all four majors at least twice. She was named Puerto Rico’s Female Athlete of the Century in 1999 and coached USF’s women’s tennis from 2002 to 2005.

Fernández is the founder and creator of The Gigi Method, a doubles tennis instructional program. Her company Gigi Fernandez Tennis is an experiential travel company offering tennis fans unique travel experiences. 

After her house flooded in the recent hurricanes, she founded Tennis for Hope, a not-for-profit entity that unites the tennis community and provides support for those affected by natural disasters.  

Teresa “Gayle” Sheppard, Business Administration ’00 — Distinguished Alumni Award

Gayle Sheppard is a global technology executive, entrepreneur and board director with a track record of leading AI-driven transformation and scaling companies worldwide. She has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Intel, PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards and most recently served as CEO of Bright Machines, a factory automation and robotics company.

Sheppard was also a partner-founder, CEO and chair of Saffron AI, a cognitive computing company acquired by Intel. She continued to lead Saffron AI following the acquisition.

She currently serves on the boards of Nutanix Inc., a leader in hybrid multi-cloud computing; Astroscale Holdings Inc., a space sustainability company focused on satellite servicing; and AIXI, Inc., an AI company advancing predictive solutions for unplanned events in aviation. She also advises and champions founders building transformative AI companies across industries.

Sheppard is committed to USF’s global mission and serves as an advisor to President Law on the President’s Global Leadership Council.

H. Ronald Kennedy, MD ’79 — Donald A. Gifford Service Award

A Tampa native, Dr. Ronald Kennedy devoted his career to developing quality assurance programs in clinical and anatomic pathology and ensuring all populations are represented in the medical field. For 25 years, Dr. Kennedy held multiple leadership roles at Quest Diagnostics, including medical director for Florida, national medical director for anatomic pathology and senior medical director for national medical quality.

A USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and pathology residency graduate, he now teaches first-year medical students as a volunteer assistant professor in the college. In this role, he emphasizes the importance of empathy, a value he demonstrates through his commitment to donating his time, leadership skills and financial gifts to USF and the Tampa Bay community.

In addition to serving as a consultant for Quest Diagnostics, Dr. Kennedy leads multiple USF alumni societies and serves as treasurer on the Hillsborough County Medical Association Foundation Board.

David Goldstein and Joanne Nelson — Class of ’56 Award

David Goldstein and Joanne Nelson have supported USF for decades, cheering on the green and gold courtside and giving their time and talents to multiple leadership boards, including the USF Foundation, USF Athletics’ Bulls Club and the Stampede for Women, where Nelson has been serving as a founding member since its inception. 

Goldstein is founder and CEO of RPM Realty Services Inc. and RPM Realty Management LLC.

Nelson, who is president of Nelson Educational Consulting and Grant Writing Services Inc., was previously the director of education and principal for the Charter School of Tampa Bay Academy, serving emotionally and behaviorally challenged students. Prior to moving to Florida from New York, she was a principal for the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Services serving the same population for 28 years.

The couple, whose names grace the Yuengling Center’s scoreboard, have generously donated to USF Athletics — including men's and women’s basketball endowed scholarships and a gift to the USF Football Center — in addition to other university initiatives. Goldstein and Nelson credit the connections they made at USF for enriching much of their lives and friendships. They feel that USF has become an important and wonderful part of their world.