Diane McSpiritt, J. D., M. A., teaches SPC 1017 Introduction to Speech Communication.  A graduate of St Petersburg Junior College and the University of South Florida in St Petersburg, Diane is thrilled to be back at SPC teaching subjects she loves:  Communication and Public Speaking!  

After graduating USF, Diane spent more than 20 years in Fortune 50 companies, including AT&T, Philips and Motorola, where she held various mid and senior level management positions responsible for contract negotiation, supplier agreements, technical product design, product management, marketing, data analysis and system design, as well as training development and delivery.  She has been directly responsible for supervising groups of up to 300 associates, negotiating labor contracts and mitigating staff and employee issues. 

After leaving her corporate position, Diane became certified by the Florida Supreme Court in Circuit Civil, Family, Dependency, Appellate and County mediation, and is a qualified assistant trainer in Circuit, County, Family and Dependency mediation. She is also a Florida Supreme Court approved Panel Arbitrator.  She is a contract mediator for the 6th and 13^th Judicial Circuits of Florida as well as a Family Mediation specialist with Mediation Works, Inc.and was recently selected as a mediator for the Florida Department of Insurance. Since 2007, she has been a Florida Attorney General appointee to the New Car Lemon Law Arbitration Panel, a positiont she still holds. Diane has conducted more than 1000 private and court-appointed mediations in various areas, but specializes in complex, multi-party cases. Ms. McSpiritt has also specialized training in foreclosure mediation, employment law, employment mediation, and mediator ethics.  She is the owner of Tampa Bay Mediation.
    

Ms. Mcspiritt recently graduated from Stetson College of Law, Gulfport, Florida, pursuing a life-long dream of becoming an attorney.  She holds an A.A. in Liberal Arts from St Petersburg College (FL), a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida (FL), and a M.A. in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ).  Diane has also completed numerous executive education courses through George Washington University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds certificates in Product Management and mini-MBA.  Prior to joining St Petersburg College, Diane spent several years as an adjunct professor of Public Speaking at Hillsborough Community College in Brandon, Florida.   

Ms. McSpiritt was an officer of the Shore Acres Civic Association, is a member of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, and is an associate member of the Hillsborough, St Petersburg and the Clearwater Bar Associations.  She also participates in a number of civic and community focused organizations and volunteers with local and national non-profits.