(Below Left) AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) Chaplain Danny Sierra welcomes new president & CEO Ryan Quattlebaum and his family — (l.-r.) his wife Cristina and daughters Emily and Sophia — back to AHWC during a packed (bottom left) meet & greet event at the hospital on Jan. 29. Quattlebaum has replaced former AHWC president & CEO Erik Wangsness, who left to take the same job at AdventHealth Tampa. (All photos by Charmaine George)
When Chaplain Danny Sierra — who has been with AdventHealth Wesley Chapel since it opened on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. as “Florida Hospital” — introduced the hospital’s new president & chief executive officer (CEO) Ryan Quattlebaum at a meet & greet event on Jan. 29, he was trying to figure out how best to re-introduce more than 100 guests to the hospital’s former chief financial officer (CFO).
“I thought about the Bible story of the prodigal son, but then I thought, ‘Maybe not, because he wished his father not well and there are kids here.’”
Instead, Chaplain Danny went with Philippians Chapter 4, Verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice.”
To which he added, “And, we rejoice that Ryan is back with us. And let us pray more. Lord, thank you for this special homecoming of your son, his wife and his children. You knew them before they were conceived. You numbered the hairs on each one of their heads, and you brought them back to us. And, as a campus with all our friends, we rejoice of this man.”
Quattlebaum, who served as the CFO at AHWC from 2020-22, left to become the president and CEO of AdventHealth North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs, but returned to AHWC when Erik Wangsness left to take the same position at AdventHealth Tampa. He thanked Chaplain Danny and said he was thrilled to be “back home.”
First, Quattlebaum thanked the elected officials who attended the event, including Dist. 20 State Senator Danny Burgess and Pasco County commissioners Ron Oakley and Jack Mariano. He also thanked the AHWC Foundation and hospital Board members, as well as the doctors, nurses and staff members in attendance.
“I’m beyond blessed to be able to be here with each one of you,” Quattlebaum said. “And to be welcomed back. My youngest daughter Emily was born here at this hospital, so I am blessed to be back. My first job in a hospital was in the dish room when I was in high school. So, my roots in Advent Hospitals go way back and this is where my heart is.”
Quattlebaum also said that he, “ultimately wants to make sure that everyone’s family member gets treated like how our families are treated and I firmly believe that we do this together. So, there’s a whole team of people here as well that’s made that work happen. So I want to acknowledge and say thank you to all of them for this important work.”
And finally, Quattlebaum said, “What I really care about is people. And Christ’s Healing Ministry was really about people, and this is representative of what our community truly looks like.” He then gave everyone in attendance his cell phone number.
For more information about AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (2600 BBD Blvd.), call (813) 929-5000, visit AdventHealth.com. — GN
If you’re looking for a great new place for boba tea that also offers a variety of different-each-day, fun activities, look no further than the new University Boba Tea House, located at 2828 E. Bearss Ave., in the Palms Connection plaza, just west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.
Although the place wasn’t quite open at our press time — so I can’t show you any pictures of the food or beverages on these pages, University Boba Tea House co-owners (and emergency room physicians) Dr. Michael LoGuidice (aka “Dr. Mike”) and Dr. Steve Tersheshee told us that by the time this issue reaches your mailbox (on or before Tuesday, March 4), the new location will definitely be open.
If the name sounds familiar to you, Dr. Steve’s International Boba Tea House (which changed names to “University” when he partnered with Dr. Mike) was open for 15 years off E. Fowler Ave., in a plaza next to University Mall. The new location will make the place more accessible to New Tampa residents, but will have many of the same features as the previous location — especially a huge variety of different and unique boba tea flavors, with both bursting (or popping) and jelly-style bobas.
When I say unique, I mean it! While you can get boba tea flavors like mango, peach, strawberry, etc., almost anywhere, University Boba Tea House also boasts flavors like “Tiramisu” (taro, mocha & cappuccino), “Pikachu” (mango, peach, pineapple & banana), “Purple Rain” (lavender, blueberry, almond and taro) and more than three dozen more.
Also available are 16 varieties of Latte Tea (iced, fresh-brewed black tea with non-dairy creamer and sweetener), from favorites like Chai Tea Latte to Lavender and Lychee Latte. There’s also fresh-brewed loose leaf black, Thai and jasmine green tea.
Dr. Mike also promises to have a variety of fresh muffins — including cinnamon crunch, double chocolate and more — and other pastries, plus ramen noodles. There’s also a conversation-starting “Pucker Powder Candy Art” vending machine (right photo) which dispenses tubes of powdered candy in a variety of flavors that are supposedly lower in sugar than many other candy items.
But, the place also features a USF student art gallery and a nice-sized stage for live bands, Open Mic and Karaoke nights. In fact, it is open noon-midnight seven days a week and there are different events scheduled for every night of the week except Sunday. All of these weekly events are shown in the ad at the bottom of this page.
“We’ve got something for everyone,” Dr. Mike says, “from an internet café for students to relaxed, private booths and fun events for older adults.”
For more info, call (813) 304-0021, visit UniversityBobaTeaHouse.com, find it on social media or see the ad below — and please tell them I sent you! — GN
Paris Baguette, the upscale, French-inspired, Korean-owned bakery chain, will open tomorrow – Saturday, March 8 – at 6 a.m., at 17515 Preserve Walk Ln. (off Bruce B. Downs Blvd., next to Coldstone Creamery) in the Highwoods Preserve area of New Tampa.
If you love authentic French pastries, both sweet and savory, this is the place for you!
Paris Baguette is elegant but casual & all of the items we sampled were delicately baked & delicious. And, we haven’t even sampled the gorgeous cakes yet! Also serving top-quality Lavazza Italian coffee & coffee drinks, plus a large variety of hot & iced teas, too!
For the full story about Paris Baguette, see the March 18 Wesley Chapel & April 1 New Tampa editions of Neighborhood News! Or visit ParisBaguette.com.
On January 14, 2025, a special woman passed: Kendra Kay Holden (right photo). If you ever went to the New Tampa Panera Bread, you probably saw Kendra there. Kendra worshiped at St. James United Methodist Church, worked as a teaching assistant at Hunters Green Elementary and served as a Best Buddies Ambassador representing people with intellectual disabilities.
Her obituary read in part: “Kendra loved God, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Vera Bradley Bags, Sonny’s BBQ, Olive Garden, outlet malls, Christmas movies, Cracker Barrel, unicorns, butterflies, Coke Zero and colorful bands for her Apple Watch.”
Every time I walk into that Panera Bread, I will think of dear Kendra. She was a special child of God.
The Penguin Project
Speaking of those who are differently abled, I recently got to see our friends in The Penguin Project perform their most recent show, “Seussical Jr.”
I can not tell you how proud I am of this group from the New Tampa Players. This effort allows people with intellectual disabilities to take part in a first-rate production play with the help of their artist peers.
I always get emotional seeing the plays – because I think of my brother, Juan, who is intellectually disabled, and how I would see him as a young person at church plays or in the Special Olympics. I am proud of Juan. And I know that the moms and dads in the audience are so proud of their young people participating in the Penguin Project.
I have worked to have Tampa give $150,000 to this special New Tampa project. That is money well spent.
Our Best Values in 33647
Here in New Tampa, we are a diverse community. We are one community of Americans – but with different faiths and cultures. That is New Tampa and that is America.
Go to Arlington National Cemetery and take a look at the graves of our heroes – especially in Section 60. You will find Christian crosses. You will find Stars of David for our Jewish friends. And you will find the crescent moon and star for our Muslim friends.
I will always stand for the idea of the Family of Tampa. That includes the American Jewish family that fled Europe in the 1930s to come to this new country. That includes the refugee Muslim family in New Tampa with anxiety for their loved ones in Afghanistan. That includes members of the Sikh faith, the Hindus, Buddhists, evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics.
We all do better when we all do better. And we all do better when we all belong. I will stand for that always. I have and will continue to take political “hits” for that ideal gladly — because it is the right thing to do and that is America to me.
My Next Election Plans
I have represented District 7 on the Tampa City Council since 2016, but all good things must come to an end — per the City of Tampa’s Charter. I am term limited out of this office in 2027.
It’s no secret that I love my 33647 constituents. I work hard for you because I see public service as a blessing.
As Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager reported in an online post on Feb. 16, I plan on making a decision soon on what I will do next. That will not, however, include running for Mayor of Tampa. If I choose to try to succeed my dear friend, Florida House District 67 Representative Fentrice Driskell (who has said that her reelection last year will be her final two-year term in office), I will have big shoes to fill.
But, I will do what I have done here locally: work hard, build bridges and fight for what I believe in.
You guys know me well. You know my values. You know my work ethic. And you know not only where I stand, but that I stand.
North Tampa Bay Chamber Breakfast
While introducing District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who was the guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC)’s monthly Business Breakfast on Feb. 4, NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy mentioned that she had heard Viera might be considering a run for Mayor of Tampa.
But (as it says earlier in his column on the previous page), Viera said he was more interested in a run for the District 67 State House seat currently occupied by House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, or a possible Hillsborough County Commission run in 2026.
Since that Feb. 4 meeting, Viera says he has been approached by multiple media outlets about his plans going forward. He also says he is mulling over the possibility of running not only for Driskell’s Dist. 67 State House seat, but also for one of the three County Commission seats up for election in 2026.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Viera says. “But, once I announce which of those offices I will choose to run for, I will have to give up my City Council seat before my term ends.”
Even though he is a registered Democrat (City of Tampa elections are all nonpartisan), the 47-year-old Viera also discussed (at the Chamber breakfast) his ability to work with other political office holders — including reaching across the political aisle — in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, as well as with Rep. Driskell, Dist. 20 State Senator Danny Burgess and with Dist. 15 U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee.
He also talked about New Tampa’s status as the “Alaska” of the City of Tampa, zip code 33647’s cultural diversity, as well as what he has accomplished in the nine years since winning his first election — by 65 votes in the two-candidate Special Election runoff in Nov. 2016 — over fellow New Tampa resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Among the accomplishments he listed at the breakfast were securing funding to expand the New Tampa Rec Center, add Tampa’s first All- Abilities Park, for Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23 on Cross Creek Blvd. (and his ongoing efforts to put an additional fire station in K-Bar Ranch), road repaving in Tampa Palms and for the new park (and possible cricket pitch) in K-Bar Ranch. — Chamber breakfast recap by Gary Nager
A Local Gastroenterologist & Award-Winning Filmmaker Shoots A Short Film At Her New Tampa Home
(L.-r.) “American Fabric” stars Hana Soomro (who plays Lina), Carina Conti (who plays Nila), and screenwriter, producer & director (and K-Bar Ranch resident ) Dr. Nyla Hazratjee at one of the location shoots for the short film that Hazratjee plans to submit to film festivals by May of this year. (Photo by Charmaine George)
One young American woman of Muslim descent decides that she wants to start wearing a hijab (the Muslim head scarf), while another decides she doesn’t want to wear one anymore.
A discussion at the local mosque on Morris Bridge Rd.? Perhaps, but it’s also the basis of the story for “American Fabric,” a short film being shot in part in the K-Bar Ranch community that is being directed by K-Bar resident and local gastroenterologist Dr. Nyla Hazratjee.
The promotional poster for “The Persian Version,” the award-winning 2023 feature film for which Nyla was the executive producer.
Nyla, who also wrote the script for “American Fabric,” is already an award-winning filmmaker. She was the executive producer of the full-length feature film “The Persian Version,” a heartwarming “dramedy” that made its debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and ended up winning two prestigious awards there — the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for writer/director Maryan Keshavarz.
But, Nyla says that “American Fabric” is her first foray into writing and directing a film herself and she called our office just a couple of days before we went to press with this issue to invite us to her home in K-Bar Ranch to take pictures and interview her. She told me that her short film, which she hopes to have completed in time for the domestic film festival season this spring and summer, is “really about empowering women.”
“I’m a producer by trade and also by personality,” Dr. Nyla Hazratjee told me following the first of three days of shooting for “American Fabric,” the film she wrote and which represents her directorial debut. “I think lots of women are producers in their lives as well, so I think that led me to that part of the film industry.”
As for why she decided to direct this time around, she said, “I wrote the film and I knew what I wanted it to look like, so who else?”
As for the film’s subject matter — the decision by young Muslim women as to whether or not they want to wear the hijab, Nyla said, “I do wear the head scarf, but I didn’t always. And, I think every day I have to make the choice as to whether or not I want to keep wearing it. I know so many women who either didn’t wear it but started wearing it and so many more who did wear it and decided to not wear it anymore.”
But, she adds, that choice isn’t really what the film is about, “It’s really about my body, my choice, and I believe that most women can relate to this kind of a story. It’s a personal story, but I believe it should have a wide relatability.”
This photo and the photos below are scenes from “American Fabric.” (Photos by Charmaine George & Gary Nager)
She added, “My body, my choice is about feminism but it isn’t just about taking it off, it’s also about putting it on — and that it’s really up to you what you do with your body. But, in women’s world, so many other people feel that they have agency over a woman’s agency.”
The two main characters in “American Fabric” are Lina (played by Hana Soomro), a young model who decides during a photo shoot that she wants to start wearing a hijab, and Nila (played by Carina Conti), who is a hijabi who decides she wants to stop wearing hers.
“There’s a quiet acceptance that comes into these girls’ lives, as they come to their [separate] decisions,” Nyla says, “despite all of the opposition that they’re receiving from their friends, their families, men…to say, ‘This is what I want to do and I’m going to do it regardless.’”
Nyla, who is actually from Pakistan herself, said that part of her motivation to make “American Fabric” was because, “What we call ‘Brown Hollywood,’ or Muslim Hollywood, is made up of a diaspora (a group of people who share a cultural, religious or regional origin but who live outside of their traditional homelands) — so Muslim, Middle Eastern, North African and all of those other voices combined. So, when we meet each other, we meet as if we’re old friends. Some of the actors in this film are of Persian (from Iran) descent, some are Pakistani, some are Indian and some are not of that region at all.”
(l.-r.) Producer Nadia Cox, costume director Noor Hamid, hair & makeup artist Jess Marie, cinematographer Tian Liu, 1st assistant director Rebecca Saionz, Dr. Nyla Hazratjee, 2nd assistant director Chelsea Butz and production designer Tanya Kayani of “American Fabric.” (Photo by Charmaine George)
She also is proud of the mix of ethnicities in her mostly female cast and crew. “Our cinematgrapher is Chinese American, our first assistant director (AD) is Caucasian…I think we have all of our bases covered as far as races are concerned. And, we’re also mostly a local Florida cast and crew.”
Nyla also gives a shout-out to the Tampa Bay Film Commission. “They’ve been wonderful, super-helpful and they try very hard to accommodate the things that a filmmaker needs to make a film happen here. So, we’re super lucky.”
As for the film itself, Nyla said the names of the two female leads were chosen intentionally.
“One is Nila and the other is Lina, so they’re like two sides of the same coin, even though they’re not at all the same personality-wise,” Nyla said. “But, all of their experiences throughout the day, as we end up as this party, are similar, even though they come to very opposite decisions. But, isn’t that the female condition? That’s really what we want to show.”
She added that she definitely relates to both characters, “And I think that most women will relate to pieces of each one of those characters. And that’s what I’m really hoping for.”
Nyla also said that now that production of the film has wrapped, she has a wonderful, experienced, super-talented film editor, originally from Egypt, and she expects that it will take “about a month, if we’re really good about it,” to edit the film. “We really want to catch the film festival season, which starts about April/May, so that we can take it to all women-centric festivals, all Muslim-centric festivals, all Florida festivals, hopefully some international festivals and some of the major festivals that we will do our best to get into. We’re excited about pushing the story and getting as many people as possible to experience this film.”
Nyla also has a nonprofit film production company called NY/LA Productions, which is, “a female-driven, female-centric production company which produces and promotes films with female and Muslimeen (female Muslim) voices. “We look for funding from federal and local grants, as well as local donors,” she said. “We just received an $8,000 grant from a nonprofit charity called ‘200 Muslim Women Who Care,’ which is based here in Tampa Bay.”
She also noted that NY/LA Productions also promotes, produces and develops “projects in the making, finished projects that need to be promoted, and invite audiences to view them.”
Nyla also mentioned working with a University of Florida professor named Iman Zawahry, who directed “Americanish,” a 2021 feature film that NY/LA Productions helped bring to the Tampa Theatre for a screening with about 400 people who attended, “and ‘Americanish’ has been acquired for release by several screening services, which is really great for them,” Nyla says. “Iman’s been a great mentor for me and other young and aspiring filmmakers.”
She added, “We do often get scripts sent to us and we see if they fit what we’re trying to do. And, if they’re in line with our ideas and goals, we are happy to help.”
As for how “American Fabric” will be distributed, Nyla said, “Short films are tough for distribution, but there are now some streaming services that will acquire short films, including WeShort and Hollywood Just4Shorts, to get short films to a greater audience. HBO does acquire some shorts and we will try our best to find a place to distribute it. Otherwise, I’m sure we can find somebody to acquire us for a streamer. And, there’s always YouTube and Vimeo. The film also will be available to anyone who goes to our website, NY-LA-Production.org.”
As for how this married, busy mom-of-two gastroenterologist finds the time for the film business, she says, “I don’t know, midnight-4 a,m.? When you have a passion for something, you find the time. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”
