Tampa Bay health care school adds two board members

Ultimate Medical Academy, a nonprofit higher education institution that trains students in health care, has added two board members, Karen Jones and Dr. Shelley Wells Collins.

Jones and Collins will bring the number of trustees to 11, the academy says in a news release.

Jones is the executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Ryder, a logistics and transportation company. Jones oversees marketing and has helped drive growth, academy officials say.

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Jones also heads Ryder's $50 million corporate venture capital fund, RyderVentures, which invests in and partners with start-up companies to help "speed to market emerging supply chain and transportation technologies."

Jones earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.

Collins is a professor of pediatrics and senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She is also associate chief medical officer of UF Health.

Collins attended medical school at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine and graduated in 1999. She worked in Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital until 2003 before becoming the pediatric clinical instructor at Children’s National Medical Center at George Washington University in 2005.

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Collins joined the faculty at the University of Florida in 2006 where she has spent her clinical career caring for children on the inpatient units at Shands Children's Hospital, the academy says.

The Tampa-based academy says it offers hands-on learning at its main campus in Clearwater, as well as "content-rich interactive programs" through its online campus.

Celebrating 30 years this year, the academy has more than 14,000 learners and more than 85,000 alumni nationwide. The academy says it is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and also by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.