a look at...
Cynthia and Pete Zinober photography by Win Wolloff
Tampa residents Cynthia Gandee Zinober, longtime executive
director of the Henry B. Plant Museum, and attorney Pete
Zinober, who specializes in the defense of employment
litigation with the international law firm Greenberg Traurig,
are active in the area’s cultural endeavors.
Cynthia, who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history
from the University of Florida, also attended Queens College
in Charlotte, N.C., and Vienna’s Institute of European Studies
in Austria. She is a Leadership Tampa alumna, Junior League
of Tampa sustainer and a member of the Athena Society, the
Committee on Foreign Relations, the Rotary Club of Tampa
and the Historic Hyde Park Garden Club. She has led several
community groups in Tampa, been involved with others in
Pinellas County, the State of Florida and Washington, D.C.,
and received the Suncoast Girl Scout Council’s Distinguished
Woman in the Arts Award.
Pete, a Greenberg Traurig LLP shareholder and its global
co-chair for labor and employment law, has been chairman
of the board of The Florida Orchestra, as well as its general
counsel, and president of the Tampa Bay Business Committee
for the Arts. He also served four years as the Hillsborough
County representative to the Florida Arts Council, the final
year as vice chairman. He currently is a board member of the
CEO Council of Tampa Bay, the Greater Tampa Chamber of
Commerce, the Tampa Bay Business Committee for the Arts
and the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. While
at the University of Florida, he was a member of Florida
Blue Key, Chancellor of the Honor Court and a member of
the University of Florida Hall of Fame and the University of
Florida Law Review.
Cynthia and Pete are both past chairs of the Arts Council
of Hillsborough County and both served two terms on the
City of Tampa’s Public Art Committee.
In what do you excel?
Cynthia: I am a problem solver and can work effectively
with diverse community groups and individuals.
Pete: I am very organized, highly motivated to succeed
and very empathetic.
What is your favorite word?
Cynthia: Tolerance or acceptance.
Pete: Compassion or inclusion.
How do you relax?
Cynthia: I relax by reading, working in our yard, bicycling
on Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard, going to movies and
baking muffins.
Pete: Spending time with family, friends and the
performing arts, and in the past 15 years, playing
euphonium in the Tampa Community Band.
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| SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Cynthia: Not every idea is a good idea.
Pete: Work diligently to find the best in people.
Why do you do what you do?
Cynthia: The Henry Plant Museum is a stimulating
environment and attracts guests from around the
U.S. and the world. I enjoy meeting them, making
them feel welcome and introducing them to Tampa’s
history. Additionally, as we develop exhibits and
educational programs, I am constantly able to research
new topics and ideas. As a result, each day is a unique,
exciting learning experience.
Pete: I love practicing labor and employment law.
I also love working to support the arts and culture,
and participating fully in the creative process.
What don’t people know about you?
Cynthia: I am adventurous. An Outward Bound canoe
experience in the Everglades made me more self-aware
and my participation in the FBI Citizens Academy was
stimulating and highly informative.
Pete: I have been a performing musician since sixth
grade and play a range of instruments, many of which
I taught myself. I was the heavyweight and all weight
wrestling champion at Boca Ciega High School in 1960.
What are your favorite words of wisdom?
Cynthia: Remain calm.
Pete: Try to understand the beliefs and opinions of
others, and to respect them.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
Cynthia: I have guided the Henry Plant Museum from
a small institution with two staff members to a nationally
accredited institution. I am proud of the part I have played
in bringing awareness of the importance of preserving and
conserving this National Historic Landmark Building.
Pete: Throughout my life and in many disciplines,
relationships, and activities, I have continued to grow,
learn and to contribute.
How do you think other people would describe you?
Cynthia: Not wanting to guess, I asked my staff, who
said: “elegant, witty, inspiring, eloquent, a trend-setter,
a risk-taker, charismatic, stylish and fun.”
Pete: Approachable, analytical, warm, empathetic,
compassionate and well organized.
What would you like to do that you have never done?
Cynthia: Live in an old Florida Cracker cottage on
the beach.
Pete: Work in the State Department at a high level, or
in the Foreign Service.
What would you like to be able to do that you can’t do?
Cynthia: Have a 50th wedding anniversary with Pete.
Pete: Travel the world with Cynthia. 9