[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E210-E211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING TAMPA BAY'S TRAILBLAZER DR. KANIKA TOMALIN, IN HONOR OF 
                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 5, 2024

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and 
celebrate the remarkable contributions and achievements of a life-long 
servant leader, Dr. Kanika Tomalin. Dr. Tomalin has devoted her life to 
improving access and opportunity for the underserved--who are not 
undeserved of opportunity.
  For more than a decade, Dr. Tomalin served in key leadership 
positions at Bayfront Health which fueled her passion for a healthier 
St. Petersburg. She is the first Black woman to serve as a healthcare 
executive at Bayfront Health and while there, she led the creation of 
the joint venture partnership that resulted in the formation of the 
Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg.
  In 2014, she was appointed St. Petersburg deputy mayor by Mayor Rick 
Kriseman and is the first Black woman to serve in that role. Dr. 
Tomalin helped launch numerous initiatives that have made St. 
Petersburg more vital, inclusive and healthier, including founding the 
Innovation District and Healthy St. Pete, which both helped reduce the 
Black poverty rate to

[[Page E211]]

a new low. Ten years ago, Pinellas County ranked 38th of 67 counties in 
Florida for overall health and today, it ranks 17th. Also, out of 
Healthy St. Pete came St. Pete Eats: A Cookbook, which Dr. Tomalin 
published during the pandemic. It emphasizes healthy ingredients and 
recipes are taken from her own as well as from the city's independent 
restaurants as a salute to ``the special role our small businesses play 
in this paradise of a place we call home.'' Proceeds from the book 
helped support small businesses affected by the public health crisis.
  Before returning to the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg for 
her full circle moment, Dr. Tomalin was chief operating officer and 
vice president for strategy for Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Now 
as president and chief executive officer of the Foundation, which has a 
mission to understand health disparities and support community-driven 
solutions to achieve health equity, Dr. Tomalin is passionate about 
helping to rewrite the story of St. Petersburg's underserved 
communities so they can attain their full potential.
  As a fifth-generation St. Petersburg native, Dr. Tomalin is the 
oldest of two daughters born to Yvonne and David Jelks. She grew up in 
West St. Petersburg, attending Bay Point Elementary School, Bay Point 
Middle School, Tyrone Middle School and graduated from Boca Ciega High 
School. She says she had an idyllic childhood, cradled by her extended 
family of about 250 relatives, who mostly live in St. Petersburg or 
within miles. During her formative years, Dr. Tomalin was an Ebony 
Scholar, a program that provides institutional and financial support to 
high-achieving African-American students and was the vision of Vyrle 
Davis, an education giant who became Pinellas County's first Black area 
superintendent. Her interest in journalism began early--her childhood 
best friend's mother was an editor at the then-St. Petersburg Times. 
Dr. Tomalin received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Florida 
A&M University, her master's degree in business administration from the 
University of Miami and her doctorate in law and policy from 
Northeastern University.
  Dr. Tomalin was a Poynter Institute scholar writing stories for the 
St. Petersburg Times when she met her future husband, sports and 
outdoors writer Terry Tomalin. They raised two children, Kai and Nia, 
and were married for 17 years until his passing in 2016.
  Dr. Tomalin also worked at the Palm Beach Post and television 
stations in Tallahassee, Florida and Louisville, Kentucky, as well as 
radio in St. Petersburg.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize Dr. Kanika Tomalin, who is 
honorably carrying forward the legacy of her deeply rooted St. 
Petersburg family while making an indelible mark on progress for St. 
Petersburg, the Sunshine City that is moving along the margin of 
excellence from great to iconic where opportunity shines on all.

                          ____________________