Episode S2:22: Francine DiFilippo Kent, Ph.D.
Francine DiFilippo Kent, Ph.D., Past Chair, Downtown Sarasota Alliance
“I do what I can, where I am, with what I have.”
Francine DiFilippo Kent was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, is a college drop-out who went on to earn 2 masters degrees and a doctorate in business administration. She worked her way through college waitressing and bartending and sometimes found herself back on the floor during economic hard times in New England. She put up her white shoes and promised herself she would never waitress again before moving to Sarasota.
Francine has lived an interesting and varied life by her own accounts. Married for 35 years to the same guy, Peter Kent, they have one married daughter who was raised to be self-employed. Daughter Skye is known to some of the old timers in the club because she has attended many of our Rotary activities over the years and her husband, Sean, was a member of this club. Their business is now over 10 years old. No grandchildren yet!
Adapting to Sarasota from New England corporate technology firms she became a serial entrepreneur, business developer, opening the first business incubator in Sarasota over 38 years ago. Francine has used technology to give her business efforts a competitive advantage. She has never been put in Facebook jail or any other but has been tear gassed and probably was a hippie back in the days of Kent State. Business interests afforded many opportunities to travel overseas and she achieved a black belt with three red stripes in tai kwan do and graduated Magnum Cum Ha-Ha from Les McCurdy’s Bermuda Triangle Comedy School.