Nita Serrano, ACP, FRP, AACP, is a Senior Litigation Paralegal in Tampa, Florida working in the area general casualty handling all aspects of cases from case inception through trial preparation and participation.  Nita has been a paralegal for most of her adult life, four of those years as a freelance paralegal.  Nita specializes in the areas of civil litigation, insurance defense, medical malpractice, personal injury, nursing home, general negligence, criminal and family law.  Nita is also a Florida Notary Public, Florida Remote Online Notary Public and a Licensed Florida Realtor.

In April 2022, Nita was appointed by the Supreme Court of Florida to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee. In 2023, Nita was appointed the American Bar Association Approval Commission. Nita has also been a Guardian Ad Litem advocating for children in the Foster Care System since 2015.

Nita earned her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies from Florida Metropolitan University in 2000. She then earned her designation as a PACE Registered Paralegal (RP^®) from NFPA in 2007 (expired 2023), achieved the designation as an American Alliance Certified Paralegal (AACP) in 2019, Certified Paralegal (CP) and Florida Registered Paralegal (FRP) in 2020. She also achieved the NALA Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) designation in Trial Practice in 2020.

Contact Nita here.

Angie Hales earned her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies from Hillsborough Community College in 2023. She is currently employed with The Law Firm of Douglas G. Jackson in St. Petersburg, Florida. The law firm’s practice areas include Business law, Estate Planning and Probate, Commercial Real Estate, Bankruptcy, Criminal Defense, and Divorce. Her next goal is to pass the NALA Certified Paralegal Exam before returning to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Paralegal Studies at St. Pete College.

Angie has been involved with Tampa Bay Paralegal Association, Inc. since 2022. She is a Florida Notary Public who serves at the quarterly Pro Bono event, Wills For Heroes, and is a regular attendee of the monthly CLE luncheons. She looks forward to connecting with students studying to become paralegals, by working to become a liaison between TBPA and the local paralegal programs, colleges, and other school.

Contact Angie here.

Erica Barrett is currently the Firm Administrator for Trentalange & Kelley, P.A.. With over two decades of experience specializing in civil litigation, Erica is a terrific asset to the Trentalange & Kelley team. Originally from Broomall, Pennsylvania, Erica moved to Florida to attend the University of Tampa, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology.

Erica started her career as a probation officer before pivoting to civil litigation as a paralegal. She honed her skills working for the renowned trial attorney Hendrik Uiterwyk, Esquire, for 17 years until his passing in December 2020. During her tenure at Abrahamson & Uiterwyk, Erica quickly rose through the ranks from a paralegal to firm administrator. Erica has extensive experience in preparing complex civil cases for trial, including catastrophic and traumatic brain injuries, personal injury, Engle progeny tobacco, and medical malpractice.

She is a Florida Registered Paralegal, member of Hillsborough County Bar Association, NALA – the Paralegal Association, Tampa Bay Paralegal Association and the Florida Justice Association as well as a Notary which is a valuable asset in her role. Erica’s unwavering commitment to clients and unique legal experience have earned her an excellent reputation within the Tampa Bay legal community.

Erica's energy and dedication do not stop at work. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys spending quality time with her three children.  As a proud mother, she cherishes every moment spent with her family. In her downtime, you can find Erica relaxing on the beach, listening to live music, or enjoying the company of her loved ones.

Emily Merlin is working in-house as the director of contracts management focusing on IT Agreements for McLaren Health Care Corporation (including as a third party administrator for the corporation via Atos Digital Health Solutions) since April 2019. She works with in-house attorneys, internal stakeholders, financial team members and outside vendors. Prior to that she was a contracts manager and corporate paralegal working in-house at HealthPlan Services, Inc., a Wipro company, for five years and with WellCare Health Plans for ten years. She has over 25 years of experience as a Certified Paralegal working in contract negotiations and management, real estate, corporate compliance, mergers and acquisitions, healthcare, telecommunications and complex litigation.

Emily is a founding Officer of TBPA and has been an active member since its inception in the fall of 2000.  She has served in various capacities on the Board of Directors and as Chair on several Committees during her tenure as a member.  In addition, Emily served as an officer, including President and Voting Officer, with the Florida Alliance of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (“FAPA”), which TBPA was an Association Member.

Emily has a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Administration from the University of West Florida (“UWF”) as well as two (2) Associate’s Degrees, one of which is in Paralegal Studies and the other in Music (Opera as the focus).  In addition, Emily achieved and continues to maintain the designation of Certified Paralegal ("CP") from the National Association of Legal Assistants (“NALA”).  During her leisure time, Emily enjoys spending time with her family and friends, scalloping during the summer, sailing/boating, singing at church, walking along Bayshore and the Riverwalk and cheering on the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team and Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

Contact Emily here.

Yvonne Lewis DeAntoneo is a paralegal working in-house for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company at their local trial counsel office, Kevin Korth & Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida.  She has been with State Farm since 2017.  Prior to that, Yvonne worked in a similar position for Nationwide Insurance for several years. Before she worked in-house, Yvonne spent approximately 20 years as a litigation paralegal in the Tampa Bay area and briefly in the Philadelphia areas working for various medical malpractice, nursing home defense and personal injury firms. 

Yvonne obtained her Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies from St. Petersburg College and a Bachelor’s in Literature from the University of South Florida.

In addition to currently serving as TBPA’s Treasurer & Past President, Yvonne is a founding member of TBPA, serving as TBPA’s first President and in various roles on the board and in different committees over TBPA’s 20+ year history. 

With a passion for the paralegal profession, Yvonne also served on the national board of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.  With NFPA, Yvonne has previously served as Vice President and Director of Membership (2015-2019) and Region III Director (2013-2015). 

When not working or volunteering her time on the TBPA Board of Directors, Yvonne enjoys spending time with her family, including her two teenage daughters, Katherine and Sarah.  Yvonne is an avid reader and pet lover.

Contact Yvonne here

Jeffrey Rizzo has over thirty years of paralegal experience, including extensive trial preparation and courtroom experience. He has prepared for and/or attended more than one-hundred hearings, trials, final hearings, and depositions. He has consistently utilized his ability to direct, manage and supervise the work of attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff, particularly on major support efforts, such as complex litigation, large legal research and document review projects or major in-courtroom support. He is currently Director of Firm Operations / Senior Litigation Paralegal for Guerra & Partners, P.A. (formerly Wiand, Guerra King P.A.) where he provides support to the attorneys in litigation and trial readiness and is also highly involved in administration of all aspects of the representation of commercial and business litigants and federal and state court appointed receivers.

Prior to Guerra & Partners, P.A, Jeffrey was employed at Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings LLP as a Senior Litigation Paralegal. Prior to that he worked for Citibank, N.A. where he was an Assistant Vice President of Retail Banking Legal / Legal Program Manager for Citibank, N.A. 's Dispute Advisory Group supporting all aspects of complaint handling and pre-litigation disputes for Citi's retail broker-dealer.

Jeffrey’s work experience includes admiralty and maritime, medical malpractice and general civil and criminal litigation in Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia. He served as an intern in the Victim Services Unit for the Office of District Attorney of the City of Philadelphia, PA during college. Jeffrey earned his degree in criminal justice from Saint Joseph’s University in 1993. He received his paralegal certificate in 1994 and earned the national certified paralegal designation through NALA, Inc. and is a Florida Registered Paralegal. Jeffrey is also a current Director and past Board Member of the TBPA. He is a Florida Notary Public.