Rick Bennett manages local partnerships and strategic programs for Florida Blue’s West Region, located in Tampa, Florida. A native Floridian, Rick has served as a pastor, nonprofit leader and spiritual care director. Rick received formal training on mindfulness and the dying process and then took these practices to the business and nonprofit world, leading seminars and trainings at Florida Blue.
Rick Bennett manages local partnerships and strategic programs for Florida Blue’s West Region, located in Tampa, Florida. A native Floridian, Rick has served as a pastor, nonprofit leader and spiritual care director. His interest and leadership in mindfulness and meditation began in seminary and as he served as a pastor. While a spiritual care director for a local hospice, Rick received formal training on mindfulness and the dying process and then took these practices to the business and nonprofit world, leading seminars and trainings at Florida Blue. Presently, his practice includes yoga and meditation at a local mindfulness institute. He is very concerned with the intersections between activism, spirituality and leadership, hoping for a new approach to all that is healthier, more egalitarian and flatter in structure.Rick’s local philanthropic work includes serving as a member of the Feeding Tampa Bay board of directors, Tampa YMCA board member, chairman of the Workforce Committee for CareerSource Tampa Bay, and involvement with Tampa’s !P and Community Enrichment Lab. He is very involved in the fight against generational poverty, especially in the Uptown District (University Area). Rick previously served as a staff member at Metropolitan Ministries and was a founding board member for the Edible Peach Patch in St. Pete.Rick and his wife live in Tampa and have three children. Their dog Hazel Rey rules the roost. They are all Florida State University and Tampa Bay Lightning fans and have strong opinions on music, film and books.
