Stephanie Bailes
President and CEO (2017 to 2023)
As President and CEO of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, Stephanie Bailes provided strategic, financial, and operational leadership for the organization as it continued to expand nationally.
Under her strong leadership, which began when construction was still underway on the museum building, the Cade experienced tremendous growth. The Cade Prize for Innovation, once a modest cash award previously open to Florida-based early-stage inventors only, is now a national competition with a cash purse of over $100,000. Over 121,000 guests have visited the Cade Museum since its opening in 2018. Ms. Bailes was named a top 50 International Museum Influencer in 2021 by Blooloop Magazine and a Florida Trend Florida 500 Influential in 2022. She was previously named a “Person to Know in the area of Technology” by Florida Trend.
Stephanie has more than 20 years of experience leading teams and initiatives in domestic and international private sector startup, corporate, and nonprofit environments. She has spent her career crafting organizational strategy, aligning organizational units around corporate strategy, and developing processes, budgets, and metrics to meet, fund, and measure those plans. Stephanie has a BA in sociology from the University of Florida and has served for over six years on the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors. Over the years, she has also served on the Alachua County Tourism Development Council and the Gainesville Chamber Economic Development and Public Policy Committee.
Ms. Bailes has dedicated much of her professional career to education, community outreach, and the support of inventors and entrepreneurs. She has spoken at the National Academy of Inventors, was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is a regular newspaper columnist for the Gainesville Sun newspaper, and is the author of “Observations on the Fourth Industrial Revolution: insights and commentary from a parent’s perspective”.
As President and CEO of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention, Stephanie Bailes provided strategic, financial, and operational leadership for the organization as it continued to expand nationally.
Under her strong leadership, which began when construction was still underway on the museum building, the Cade experienced tremendous growth. The Cade Prize for Innovation, once a modest cash award previously open to Florida-based early-stage inventors only, is now a national competition with a cash purse of over $100,000. Over 121,000 guests have visited the Cade Museum since its opening in 2018. Ms. Bailes was named a top 50 International Museum Influencer in 2021 by Blooloop Magazine and a Florida Trend Florida 500 Influential in 2022. She was previously named a “Person to Know in the area of Technology” by Florida Trend.
Stephanie has more than 20 years of experience leading teams and initiatives in domestic and international private sector startup, corporate, and nonprofit environments. She has spent her career crafting organizational strategy, aligning organizational units around corporate strategy, and developing processes, budgets, and metrics to meet, fund, and measure those plans. Stephanie has a BA in sociology from the University of Florida and has served for over six years on the University of Florida Alumni Association Board of Directors. Over the years, she has also served on the Alachua County Tourism Development Council and the Gainesville Chamber Economic Development and Public Policy Committee.
Ms. Bailes has dedicated much of her professional career to education, community outreach, and the support of inventors and entrepreneurs. She has spoken at the National Academy of Inventors, was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is a regular newspaper columnist for the Gainesville Sun newspaper, and is the author of “Observations on the Fourth Industrial Revolution: insights and commentary from a parent’s perspective”.