Natalie F. Baird, Esq.
Natalie Baird is a Florida native; born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. She attended Nova Southeastern Law School and has practiced family law related cases since graduating law school in 2001. She and her husband, Cory, own and manage their law firm, The Baird Law Group. Natalie’s primary focus is family law cases involving domestic violence.
Natalie is a survivor of domestic violence herself. She has a passion for assisting victims through the legal process and being an advocate against domestic violence in our community. Natalie served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Spring of Tampa Bay and also served on its Board of Directors.
Natalie, along with her Husband, Cory, and two (2) other local attorneys, Miriam Velez and Jason Valkenburg, founded ARE YOU SAFE to help domestic violence victims obtain domestic violence injunctions in court. The mission of Are You Safe is to allow every victim and their children to escape an abusive relationship, to have representation at a domestic violence injunction hearing and to assist the victim in transitioning out of an abusive relationship. |
Miriam Velez, Esq.
Miriam Velez Valkenburg is with the Law Office of Valkenburg & Velez, PA located in downtown Tampa, Florida. Miriam focuses on criminal defense, personal injury, contracts litigation and family law. Miriam graduated from the University of South Florida in 2004 and from Stetson Law School in 2001.
Following graduation, Miriam began working as an Assistant State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Miriam received her Florida Bar Admissions in 2002 and Courts Admissions for Florida State Court, U.S. District Court and Middle District. Her professional affiliations are; Florida Bar, Hillsborough County Bar Association, Hillsborough County Hispanic Bar Association, Volunteer for the Juvenile Attorney Ad-litem Program, Hillsborough County Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – Board of Directors, Member of the Florida Justice Association, Member of Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association and R-U-Safe –Founding member and on the Board of Directors. |
Jason Valkenburg, Esq.
Jason Valkenburg is partner at Valkenburg & Velez. Born and raised in Winter Park, Florida, Jason moved to the Tampa area in 1998 to attend Stetson Law School, where he received his Juris Doctorate in 2001. Once he passed the bar in 2002 Jason began to work at the State Attorney’s Office for the Honorable Mark Ober. After three years of service with the State Attorney’s Office, Jason joined his wife in private practice at Valkenburg & Velez. Miriam and Jason’s primary focus is Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, Landlord Tenant and General Civil Litigation.
Jason was inspired to be a co-founder of ARE YOU SAFE, by the passion that Natalie Baird so strongly advocates for the victims of domestic violence. Jason’s goal is to create awareness in domestic violence and to promote the mission statement of ARE YOU SAFE. Jason knows that ARE YOU SAFE may not be able to eradicate the threat of domestic violence, but hopes that with the organizations involvement in the community, as well as other organizations, domestic violence will be more recognizable and victims will be able to get the help they need to leave that threat and live a happy life free from the threat of violence. |
Cory A. Baird, Esq.
Cory is the founder of the Baird Law Group. His areas of practice include Personal Injury, Consumer Rights, Mortgage Foreclosure Defense and Bankruptcy. He earned his Bachelor’s of Accounting at Iowa State University, law degree at Stetson University College of Law and MBA at Stetson College of Business. Having previously worked for a large firm, he wanted full control over his clients' cases and the ability to work with them, one-to-one. He's experienced some of his client's concerns first hand, having been involved in a personal injury case when his ribs were broken in a car accident, going through the aggravation of improper credit reporting, and the victim of debt collector harassment. He has experienced personal injury cases from the other side of the courtroom as well, representing insurance companies. This gives Cory's clients the benefit of understanding the other side.
He was compelled to co-found Are You Safe in an effort to curb domestic violence. His wife, Natalie, is a survivor of domestic violence and they have worked with others at Are You Safe to halt this needless abuse. |
John Corso
John C. Corso is a financial advisor with Arntzen Corso Advisors, Inc. in Tampa Bay. He specializes in the areas of professional money management, asset protection, and retirement planning.
John's financial planning process is based on the concept of putting the client's objectives first. As an independent financial advisor, John is able to use many different financial institutions and companies to help meet the needs of his clients. There is no one financial institution that has all of the answers, hence the independence is of the upmost importance in being able to accomplish what is most important to his clients. |
Maritza Ruiz
Ms. Ruiz brings with her over 22 years of Accounting experience. She developed strong detail and project oriented skills during her 12 years in the USAF, after which she attended and received a Bachelors Degree from St. Leo University.
Maritza has worked directly with QuickBooks Pro for 10 years and is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. In 2007 Maritza started her own business as a QuickBooks Pro Consultant and Trainer. Just prior to starting her own business, Ms. Ruiz was instrumental in launching a new “Hispanic Entrepreneurs’' website. In 2009 Maritza joined the team at the Baird Law Group, concentrating in the area of Family Law and Bankruptcy. Mr. Ruiz is also bilingual, and a Notary Public. |
Liz Wooten Reschke, MPA
Liz Wooten Reschke is a fifth generation Floridian, born and raised in Key West, Florida. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Secondary English Education, Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Masters in Public Administration from the University of South Florida. Liz currently runs her own consulting business which focuses on helping the nonprofit sector serve and connect to its community in strategic, meaningful ways.
Liz has served the Tampa Bay community as an educator, nonprofit professional and community volunteer for over 10 years. She has a passion for the social sector and the impact it has on our community. Liz joined the Are You Safe board because she believes in its mission and appreciates the uniqueness of the work we do. In addition to domestic violence and its victims, Liz has a special place in her heart for animals, the arts, child & youth development, and education. |
Michelle M. Sanchez C.P.A.
Michelle Sanchez is a partner with Pender Newkirk & Company, LLP and has been practicing in the public accounting profession in the Tampa Bay area since 1994. She is a leader of the firm’s Nonprofit Industry Services Team and is also a member of the firm’s Manufacturing and Distribution Industry Services Team. Ms. Sanchez also has experience with various annual and quarterly filings of the Securities and Exchange Commission, initial and secondary public stock offerings, reverse acquisitions, and private placement memorandums.
Originally from Michigan, Michelle obtained her BBA Degree in Accounting from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. After graduation, Michelle relocated to St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband. Michelle is a licensed C.P.A. in both Texas and Florida and is a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Outside of the office, Michelle spends considerable time volunteering for the Lutheran Church of the Cross Day School in St. Petersburg, where her two children attend. |
Angye Fox
Angye Fox is a serial entrepreneur having started and sold 30+ businesses so far in her lifetime. She is the owner of AdSizzle, Inc., a marketing and PR firm in Tampa as well as the co-host of the weekly talk show "FoXXXy Forum" on the Tan Talk Radio Network. Angye loves promoting Are You Safe to the community through the writing of press releases and the use of social media. She is an avid golfer and is an enthusiastic participant and volunteer in the annual Are You Safe Charity Golf Tournament.
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Stacey Turmel, Esq.
Stacey L. Turmel is a trial attorney with over fifteen years of complex litigation experience. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Central Florida in 1991. Stacey received her Juris Doctorate, with Honors from Stetson University College of Law in 1994.
Stacey primarily practices in the areas complex civil, commercial and family law litigation. Stacey has handled a wide variety of high-profile matters ranging from negotiating multi-million dollar settlements against MetLife Insurance Company to litigating multi-million dollar divorce and custody cases. Stacey also has significant experience in corporate matters including corporate transactional work and corporate defense litigation and has served as corporate counsel for Professional Insurance Systems of Florida, Inc., a large regional insurance agency, for over 12 years. Stacey previously practiced high-profile family law and civil litigation with David A. Maney, Esquire of Maney, Damsker & Jones, P.A., and Arnold D. Levine, Esquire of Levine, Hirsch, Segall & Friedsam, P.A.
Professionally, Stacey is a member of the Florida Bar, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, the St. Petersburg Bar Association and the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar. Stacey is admitted to practice before all state courts in Florida, and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Outside of the office, Stacey enjoys serving as a volunteer for the Pinellas County Humane Society and a Pro Bono Domestic Violence Attorney for CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse). Stacey resides in St. Petersburg with her family. |
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