Contact Us

Communications & Marketing Staff

Carrie O'Brion
carrieobrion@usf.edu
Assistant Regional Vice Chancellor for Marketing,
Communications and Strategic Initiatives

(727) 873-4452

Carrie's Biography

Carrie drives strategic communications and marketing for the university, including executive communications, brand and reputation management, crisis communications and media relations. She previously served as the Senior Manager of Communications for BluePearl Veterinary Partners, the country’s largest provider of specialty and emergency veterinary medicine, with more than 70 hospitals in 21 states.

Carrie began her career as a journalist and spent more than seven years as a reporter and an editor at the Tampa Bay Times. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colgate University and a master’s degree in communication from Johns Hopkins University.


Kelli Carmack
kcarmack@usf.edu
Social Media Strategist
(727) 873-4974

Kelli's Biography

Kelli oversees USF St. Petersburg's social media platforms which include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. She collaborates with various USF St. Petersburg departments and organizations to showcase via social media all the opportunities and resources the campus has to offer students.

Kelli graduated from USF St. Petersburg back in 2019, earning a bachelor's degree in journalism & media studies. Prior to joining the USF St. Petersburg team, Kelli spent three years working as a Digital Content Manager for a local newspaper in Pasco County. 

Matthew Cimitile
mcimitile@usf.edu
Assistant Director
(727) 873-4840

Matthew's Biography

Matthew reports and writes about key USF St. Petersburg campus news and events for print, online and social media platforms. He serves as a primary point of contact for general media requests as well as assists in crisis communication, helping to respond to emergencies and media inquiries.

Prior to joining the USF St. Petersburg campus team, Matthew worked for the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture, where he developed content for a regional partnership focused on bird conservation, raised awareness around key conservation programs and produced messaging for Congressional briefings. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tampa and a master’s in environmental journalism from Michigan State University.


Lily Hoddinott
lhoddinott@usf.edu
Creative Services Manager
(813) 394-0013

Lily's Biography

Lily has over 17 years of graphic design and marketing experience. She has a broad skill set including corporate and lifestyle marketing in a wide variety of industries from real estate and property development to electronics.

Lily is a Florida native and loves traveling around the world. She holds a BFA in Fashion Design and Marketing and an MBA in Marketing.

Kate Holden
kholden1@usf.edu
Campus Webmaster

Kate's Biography

Kate is a highly skilled and experienced professional with an extensive background in web technology. She previously served as webmaster at Indiana University where she supervised a team responsible for managing and maintaining the university's online presence.

Kate holds two master's degrees: an M.S. Ed. in Instructional Systems Technology and a Master of Information Science. These degrees have equipped her with a deep understanding of instructional design principles and information management practices.


Amy Harcar Holloway
harcar@usf.edu
Project Manager
(727) 873-4986

Amy's Biography

Amy is responsible for managing the project flow of the USF St. Petersburg campus and Communications & Marketing Team. With a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of South Florida, she has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit administration, volunteer management and human resources.

Alex Jonas
ajjonas@usf.edu
Graphic Design Specialist
(765) 404-1147

Alex's Biography

Alex has over 18 years of experiencing working in the Marketing industry. He has a BA in Visual Communication & Design from Purdue University with his work experience geared towards print, digital animation & web design. A large majority of his career experience comes from working in a fast paced casino environment that produced everything in-house. Alex was born and raised in Indiana, but his family recently relocated to Florida to escape the snow, gray skies and cold winter months. He enjoys spending time with his family, at the beach and on the ice playing hockey.


Cliff McBride
cmcbride3@usf.edu
Multimedia Journalist
(727) 873-4468

Cliff's Biography

Cliff is a visual story-teller, providing both photos and video of events and activities at the university for print, online and social media platforms.

Cliff has over 30 years of experience as a photographer with the Tampa Tribune and Newschannel 8.

Sarah Sell Ward
sarahw14@usf.edu
Communications Specialist
(616) 970-5524

Sarah's Biography

Sarah covers news and events for USF-St. Petersburg campus. She produces videos and writes stories for print, online and social media platforms.

Sarah spent 27 years as a television news reporter and anchor in Michigan before moving to Florida to be closer to her family in the Tampa Bay area. As a television news journalist, she won several awards for her work, including multiple Emmys for stories about social issues, business, education, and the environment.

Sarah has a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.