AboutBoard of Directors

Phoebe Miles

Chairman of the Board

Phoebe Miles is the co-founder of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida. The museum, named after Gatorade inventor (and Miles’ father) James Robert Cade, exists to transform communities by inspiring and equipping future inventors, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. Ms. Miles designed the Museum’s proprietary education curriculum, Invent Possible, a framework for lifelong STEM learning through the lens of invention. Invent Possible teaching units are tied to Next Generation Science Standards and are available to teachers at all grades.

A native of Gainesville, Ms. Miles graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received a B.A. in German, a B.A. in History, and a teacher’s certificate from the University of Washington in 1987. She is fluent in German and working on Spanish, Mandarin, and French. From 1988 to 2006, she and her husband spent over a decade living and working overseas in Germany, Barbados, and Argentina. They have lived intermittently in Washington D.C. since 1992 and have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Jay Fant

Vice Chairman of the Board

​Jay Fant is an attorney and corporate executive with a background in Florida banking, trust services, fiduciary services, and lawmaking.

Greg Bradley

Greg Bradley is the President of the G. Bradley Insurance Agency, which operates two Allstate agencies in Gainesville, FL.

Prior to his career in insurance, Greg spent over 20 years in management consulting and finance. He held positions at Hewlett Packard, Deloitte Consulting, The Coca-Cola Company, and North Highland, becoming a vice president and global head of the transformation of the consulting practice at North Highland.

He earned his B.S. in accounting from Florida A&M University and an MBA from the University of Virginia (Darden). He is an alumnus of both Leadership Gainesville and Leadership Atlanta and currently serves as adjunct professor of risk management and as a foundation board member at Santa Fe College.

Greg is also the Founder of Mirror Image Leadership Academy, a leadership development experience for young black males.
Outside of work, Greg enjoys reading and spending time with his wife, Keysha, and their three daughters.

James Di Virgilio

James Di Virgilio, CIMA®, CFP®, is one of the country’s leading fiduciary investors and financial planners. He is the co-founder of Chacon Diaz & Di Virgilio Wealth Management, a fiduciary firm that serves as legal guardians in financial matters for their clients, a claim that fewer than 15 percent of financial firms can make. Di Virgilio is a Certified Investment Management Analyst®, a certification that only 2 percent of investors earn, having completed the education program at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), a level of training that only 20 percent of financial planners obtain. DiVirgilio is also among the 1% of industry elite to acquire both the CIMA® and the CFP®.

Since graduating cum laude in 2004, Di Virgilio was named a Gator 100 Honoree for spearheading one of the fastest-growing companies founded by a University of Florida alum. He also holds an M.S. in management from the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and was a 2016 UF Outstanding Young Alumni Award Winner. Di Virgilio also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida and frequently works with multiple colleges and graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as with athletes.

Weaver H. Gaines

Gaines is a co-founder and executive chairman of Evren Technologies, Inc., a clinical-stage bioelectronic medical device company developing a treatment for PTSD. Evren’s transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (“taVNS”), delivered in a discreet earbud, the Phoenix® , received the FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation for PTSD. He was a co-founder of OBMedical Company, a medical device company that developed and received FDA clearance for an electronic maternal fetal monitor; it was acquired by Philips Healthcare in 2018. From 2008 to 2017, Gaines was chairman of the board of Nanotherapeutics (now Ology Bioservices). He also founded Ixion Biotechnology, a Florida-based, clinical-stage biotechnology company that developed therapies focused on the treatment of metabolic disorders. Ixion’s stem cell technology was acquired by QMed AB.

Gaines has also held a number of positions outside biotechnology. From 1985 to 1992, he held various senior executive positions with The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York and its operating subsidiaries, managing law and external affairs as well as several non-insurance subsidiaries. He also held various executive positions with Indian Head, Inc. and the INA Corporation. In addition, after graduating from law school, he served two years of active duty with the U.S. Army Infantry, including service in the Berlin Brigade and Vietnam, reaching the rank of captain.

In addition, Gaines has served a number of high-profile advisory positions. He was a senior advisor on the national campaign staff of the Bush/Quayle1992 reelection campaign and is currently a member of the Corporate Relations Board of the Keck Graduate Institute of the Applied Life Sciences; a trustee and chair of the audit committee of the Cade Museum of Creativity and Innovation; a founding director and chairman emeritus of the board of BioFlorida, the Florida biotechnology trade association; a trustee and treasurer of Dance Alive National Ballet, a Florida state touring company; and an adjunct professor at the School of Law at the University of Virginia. Gaines received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Marti Hancock

Marti has spent her professional life connecting people to opportunities. In her current role as director of investor relations at Bayshore Capital, Marti connects individuals to the company’s funds and offerings.. Throughout her career, she has advised businesses and ultra-high net worth individuals, foundations, and endowments on everything from asset allocation and investment portfolio construction to family governance and strategic planning. Marti spent the last ten years of her career as a vice president with JP Morgan. Prior to that she lived in Washington, D.C., working for the Senate Finance committee. Marti lives in Tampa with her daughter Clara and two dogs, Gator and Percy Harvin, and is very active in the Tampa Bay community, serving on the board for the Tampa Pig Jig, the Florida House on Capitol Hill, and the Tampa General Hospital Foundation Gala committee. Marti graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a degree in Finance  and a M.S. in Finance, and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

Gil Levy

Gil Levy served as senior vice president for regional community relations at VyStar Credit Union from August 2019 until his retirement in January 2023. He is a seasoned financial analyst and business manager with decades of experience as a financial regulator and experience as chief executive in the financial services and real estate industries. His combined 40 years in the regulatory, financial, and entrepreneurship worlds give him a unique perspective on the financial needs of businesses. Levy has been a long-time member of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chair of the Economic Development Committee in 2020 and as Chair of the Board of the Chamber in 2021. He also serves on the advisory board at UF Innovate at The Hub and served on the regional advisory board of the United States Small Business Administration, North Florida District. His other board memberships include Citizens State Bank, The Sebastian Ferrero Foundation, the North Central Florida YMCA, and Junior Achievement. He also served as a mentor for StartUp Quest. Education is his calling, and he is always seeking ways to share his knowledge and experiences. He currently is a guest speaker at Santa Fe College and has been a mentor for Take Stock in Children–The Education Foundation for the last 7 years. He is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in business management and finance.

Richard Miles

Richard Miles co-founded the Cade Museum and served as vice president of the Board of Directors until 2019.

From 2017 to2021, Miles was a senior fellow and senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. He currently serves as chairman of the Trinity Forum and as a board member of Prison Fellowship International.

A career Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State from 1993 to 2009, Miles was posted domestically and overseas. His assignments included a provincial reconstruction team in Karbala, Iraq, the staff of the National Security Council at the White House, and postings in Argentina, Germany, and Barbados. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Miles served as a Latin America policy advisor to Governor Jeb Bush.

From 1988 to 1991, Miles was an intelligence officer in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) stationed in Nuremberg, Germany. With the 2nd ACR, he participated in Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia and in combat operations in Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
Miles received a B.A. in Russian Studies from the University of Washington in 1987, and an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1993. A second-generation Mexican-American, he is fluent in Spanish and German. He is married to Phoebe Cade Miles, and they have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Gary Miller

Dr. ​Gary Miller is a founder of Exactech and was vice president of research and development from 1986 until 2000, director from March 1989 until November 2007, and has been its executive vice president of research and development since February 2000. Miller was associate professor of orthopedic surgery and director of research and biomechanics at the University of Florida College of Medicine from July 1986 until August 1996.​

Miller previously held an adjunct associate professorship in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Surgical Sciences Division and has served as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Aerospace, Mechanics, and Engineering Sciences from 1995 until 2010 at the University of Florida.

In addition, he has served a number of advisory roles. He currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board in the Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. He also serves on the College’s external advisory boards for the J. Crayton Pruitt Department of Biomedical Engineering and for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, where he is also a courtesy professor. Miller was a consultant to the United States Food and Drug Administration from 1989 to 1992 and has served as a consultant to such companies as Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics, Dow-Corning Wright, and Orthogenesis.

Paul Sohl

Paul Sohl is CEO of the Florida High Tech Corridor, an economic development initiative of the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, and the University of Florida, to attract, retain and grow high tech industry and innovation – and the workforce to support it – in a 23-county region.

As CEO, Sohl facilitates collaboration between the three universities and their partners in economic development, including more than 25 local and regional economic development organizations, 14 state colleges, and 12 workforce development boards.

He also oversees The Corridor’s portfolio of programs supporting research, marketing, the workforce, and entrepreneurship. These include its cornerstone Matching Grants Research Program, which since its inception in 1996, has generated over $1 billion in verified downstream impacts, and stemCONNECT, a program that inspires K-12 students to pursue high-tech careers.

Sohl joined The Corridor in June 2020, following more than three decades of service in the U.S. Navy. In his last command, Sohl led over 500 civilian and military personnel at the Navy’s Operational Test & Evaluation Force in Norfolk, Virginia, where he directed the operational testing and evaluation of Navy warfighting systems and capabilities.

He has also commanded the Naval Aviation Fleet Readiness Center enterprise headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he was responsible for a workforce of over 16,000 and an operating budget of $2.9 billion; the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and Naval Test Wing Pacific in China Lake and Point Mugu, California; and the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida. Sohl has extensive experience in simulation and training as a program director and test pilot and has served two tours overseas for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sohl holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University. Additionally, he is a graduate and former Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Maryland.

Rhys L. Williams

Rhys L. Williams is the CEO, Co-Founder, and Director of MedicSmart, a VC-backed startup digitally transforming the workplace safety and emergency medical response space (presently in stealth mode). From 2016 to 2021, he served as managing director of the highly successful FAU Tech Runway technology incubator/accelerator program and TRIN investor network.

Mr. Williams has more than two decades of experience in the early-stage life sciences realm, having co-founding three biotech spin-outs from three of Florida’s institutions of higher learning. He is also an active member of the Florida angel investor community, having co-founded the New World Angels in 2003, Florida’s most established and successful structured angel investor group, which boasts several successful exits across the domains of therapeutics, medical devices, and healthcare IT. Recognized as one of 50 “Power Leaders in Technology ” by the South Florida Business Journal, Mr. Williams has also testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Technology and Global Competitiveness.

Mr. Williams received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College magna cum laude and both a J.D. and an MBA (with honors; class president) from the University of Florida. Additional work experience includes CapSoft (president, e-commerce venture), SI Ventures (institutional venture capital firm affiliated with Gartner), Ixion Biotechnology (VP-finance/associate general counsel), Smith Barney, TranZitions (operations director/corporate counsel, HR venture), and American Express.

Mr. Williams is a U.S. Army veteran, having served as commander of a Special Forces Combat Diver Detachment (“Green Beret”). From 2018 to 2021 he served as an appointed director on the Harvard Alumni Association national board (representing Eastern Florida and Puerto Rico) and continues to serve with the Harvard Club of the Palm Beaches (president) and the Harvard College Fund.

Other board service includes the Florida Venture Forum, the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium (immediate past chairman), and the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention (advisory committee). Former board activities include the Angel Resource Institute (director of research), Aplicor, Inc., and the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (gubernatorial appointee; treasure of venture capital fund). He is also a graduate of Leadership Florida (Cornerstone Class ‘22) and Florida Blue Key. Mr. Williams is admitted to the bar in both Florida and New York, and he speaks both advanced Spanish and functional Portuguese. A fifth-generation South Floridian, Mr. Williams, his wife of 30 years, Dr. Lorna Williams, and their two children reside in Palm Beach County, Florida.