Analysis for “The Economic Status and Progress of Tampa Bay’s Black Population,” and for “Where Black Residents Are Best & Worst Off Economically,” was designed and led by Gypsy C. Gallardo, with data collection and analysis support from a student team at the University of South Florida (USF) Muma College of Business, under the supervision of Gallardo and Dr. Han Reichgelt.
Survey design and analysis for “Trend or Tool, Are Black Entrepreneurs Leveraging AI for Growth,” was performed by Gallardo, Dr. Han Reichgelt and Dr. Sam Conn of the USF Muma College of Business.
Gypsy C. Gallardo, M.P.P.
Gypsy has 30 years of experience in data-driven media, policy advocacy, and equity-focused research and practice to advance inclusive economic growth. As CEO of Urban Market Analytics, she has worked with more than 50 organizations — public and private — to design, fund and evaluate income- and asset-growth initiatives for underserved groups and communities. Her experience includes:
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Performing impact, market, economic, and opportunity analyses for local, state and national governmental agencies, policy and development organizations, and philanthropies
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Collaborating in the design of 40+ equity-related plans and initiatives that leveraged $600M in investment from public and private sources
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Serving as evaluator for cross-sector, collective and collaborative initiatives that have served tens of thousands of workers, entrepreneurs, homebuyers and other opportunity seekers
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Working with teams to design equity-related policy proposals and advocacy initiatives that have so far generated a pipeline of $1B in new funding and business opportunities
Gypsy is also CEO of Power Broker Media Group and Publisher of the Power Broker Magazine, celebrating 21 years as the only publication in Tampa Bay that focuses on the issues that matter most to the economic future of Black Americans.
Her academic experience includes teaching microeconomics and macroeconomics at Eckerd College, Schiller International University, and as a graduate assistant to a World Bank economist.
She earned her bachelor’s degree with a double major in English Literature and Liberal Studies from the Whitney Young College of Leadership at Kentucky State University; and a master’s of public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with dual concentrations in International Trade & Finance and Political & Economic Development.
Gypsy is the recipient of two dozen awards for service, innovation and impact. Most recently, in 2026, her work was recognized by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.
Han Reichgelt, PhD
Han Reichgelt is a professor of information systems in the School of Information Systems in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida (USF).
He serves both as Associate Director and as graduate coordinator of the school’s master’s program in Artificial Intelligence in Business & Enterprise Integration. He joined USF since 2014. His most recent research primarily focuses on using data science for social justice.
Reichgelt’s work has been published in a number of refereed journals including the Journal of Automated Reasoning, Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, Artificial Intelligence, Journal of Information Systems Education and the Communications of the Association for Information Systems.
Reichgelt earned a PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a masters degree in Philosophy and a bachelor’s in Psychology from Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He has been a faculty member at the University of Nottingham (England), the University of the West Indies Mona (Jamaica), and in at Georgia Southern University, Southern Polytechnic State University and Kennesaw State University (United States).
Samuel Conn, PhD
Samuel S. Conn is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Systems at the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business. He brings nearly 40 years of leadership experience spanning military service, business, higher education, and technology.
Before joining USF, he served nine years as President and CEO of a national research and education network, leading digital transformation initiatives across higher education, government, and healthcare, with emphasis on broadband infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and public-private innovation.
Dr. Conn previously held senior executive positions as Executive Vice President and CIO at SUNY Empire State University and Vice President for Information Technology and CIO at Southern Polytechnic State University. His research focuses on systems design, digital learning, data analytics, knowledge management, and artificial intelligence. He has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, two books, and numerous invited chapters. His work has received ISECON Distinguished and Meritorious Paper Awards, and he was recognized as a Technology Thought Leader by ROI-NJ in 2021 and 2022.