Melissa Cook is originally from Michigan and has been working in the legal field for 18 years.  She currently works for Peterson & Myers, P. A., in Lakeland, Florida where she works in the transactional practice group which focuses on Commercial Real Estate, Banking and Finance, Corporate Governance, Mergers and Acquisitions, as well as Agricultural transactions. She has been involved with Tampa Bay Paralegal Association, Inc. for 16 years and has been a director or officer in that time frame. She looks forward to continuing to serve TBPA and its members in the year ahead.

Contact Melissa here. 

With over five years of civil litigation experience, Frank joined Sessums Black Caballero Ficarrotta PA in 2012 as one of the firm’s paralegals devoting himself 100% to the area of marital and family law.

Frank’s professional certifications and accreditations include Florida Registered Paralegal status through the Florida Bar in 2012. In 2007, Frank was invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa honors society based on his superior academic performance and high moral standards while pursuing his Associate’s degree.

Frank is an active member serving on the Board of Directors of TBPA focusing on its mission to setting the standard for excellence for the paralegal profession through its work on regulations, ethics, and education.

Frank is also a member of the Knights of Columbus in New Port Richey and he speaks and writes Italian.

Contact Frank here.

Linda Woolard is a Senior Paralegal at Moffitt Cancer Center. Prior to joining Moffitt, she worked as an in-house paralegal for a national health insurance company. She also worked at GrayRobinson for close to 17 years supporting a team of shareholders.

Linda has over 30 years of paralegal experience. She is an Advanced Certified Paralegal, a Florida Registered Paralegal and a Florida Certified Paralegal. Linda maintained a 4.0 GPA while obtaining her Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies.

Linda has previously served on the TBPA Board for several years and was the Chair of the Luncheon Committee.

In her spare time, Linda enjoys going to Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, going to the beach and spending time with her five dogs.

Contact Linda here.

Emily Merlin is working in-house as the director of contracts management at Atos Digital Health Solutions focusing on IT Agreements for McLaren Health Care Corporation working with in-house attorneys, internal stakeholders, financial team and outside vendors. Prior to that she was a contracts manager 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 is currently serving as Past President and Voting Officer with the Florida Alliance of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (“FAPA”), which TBPA is 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.

Irene Hahn is a Core Registered Paralegal employed by The Day Law Office. The firm’s focus is Family Law, Bankruptcy, Probate, and Estate Planning. Irene has worked in Probate and Estate Planning since 2004. She attended Kalan University earning a book award for exemplifying superior research and writing skills and was named on the Dean’s list each semester. She is currently studying for NALA’s Certified Paralegal Exam and would like to return to complete her Associates Degree.

Irene has been a member of TBPA since December 2012 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2018 as the Certification and Education ambassador and the Secretary since 2020.

Irene is a Tampa native. She enjoys spending time with family, going to the beach, camping, kayaking and frequents Florida’s theme parks. She is always looking for new adventures to keep life interesting.

With over five years of civil litigation experience, Frank joined Sessums Black Caballero Ficarrotta PA in 2012 as one of the firm’s paralegals devoting himself 100% to the area of marital and family law.

Frank’s professional certifications and accreditations include Florida Registered Paralegal status through the Florida Bar in 2012. In 2007, Frank was invited to join the Phi Theta Kappa honors society based on his superior academic performance and high moral standards while pursuing his Associate’s degree.

Frank is an active member serving on the Board of Directors of TBPA focusing on its mission to setting the standard for excellence for the paralegal profession through its work on regulations, ethics, and education.

Frank is also a member of the Knights of Columbus in New Port Richey and he speaks and writes Italian.

Contact Frank here.

Katie is a Florida native and has been working in the legal field for over 10 years.  She earned her Certified Paralegal (CP) designation through NALA and her Florida Registered Paralegal (FRP) designation through the Florida Bar.  She is employed at the law firm of Lieser Skaff Alexander, specializing in commercial litigation.

While in graduate school, she worked at the law firm of Motley Rice, LLC, in the Anti-Terrorism and Human Rights Department on the 9/11 Team.  Katie has a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Shortly after graduating, Katie and her chef husband, Bobby, got married in Charleston’s historical district.  She and her husband are avid foodies and enjoy attending local food events, dining in local restaurants and trying new and exotic cuisines.  In her spare time, Katie enjoys offshore and inshore fishing, attending sporting events and spending time with her husband and their golden retriever, Albert.