a look at...
Karen and Gary Sasso
photography by Win Wolloff
While Karen Sasso owns and manages apartment buildings
in Tampa’s historic Hyde Park for Kronsnoble & Sasso
Renovations, her husband Gary is the president and
CEO of Carlton Fields, a national law firm founded in Tampa
in 1901. Both Karen and Gary value education. She earned two
degrees at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.,
was elected into Phi Beta Kappa honor society and served as the
chief of labor and employee relations for the Solicitor’s Office
of the U.S. Department of Labor during Secretary Raymond
Donovan’s tenure. Gary graduated with honors from the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania and the university’s
law school, where he was first in his class and editor of its Law
Review. He then clerked for Judge Spottswood Robinson III on
the U.S. Court of Appeals and for Justice Byron White on the
U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
Their contributions to our community are extensive. Karen
has helped establish and oversee the operations of their family’s
nonprofit, Creative Kids, which began 15 years ago and provides
a variety of services and benefits to at-risk children. She currently
co-chairs the auction committees for the signature fundraising
events for the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and Opera
Tampa. She and Gary have previously served as co-chairs of the
Straz Center’s Broadway Ball, the American Heart Association’s
Heart Ball and United Way’s Tocqueville Society.
Gary is chair of the board of trustees of the Straz Center and is
a board member of the Florida Council of 100. He has previously
chaired the boards of the Tampa Bay Partnership and United Way
Suncoast, and he has served on the boards of the Leadership
Council on Legal Diversity, the Tampa Museum of Art, Hyde
Park Preservation Inc. and the Henry B. Plant Museum.
He serves on the executive committee of the Council of the
American Law Institute and is a fellow in the International
Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of
Appellate Lawyers.
Karen and Gary have three daughters, live in Tampa, enjoy
vacationing in Maine and contribute extensively to our community.
At what do you excel?
Karen: Being an advocate for what is important to me, helping
others, multitasking, my job, attending to every detail, and
cooking.
Gary: I am an avid learner.
What is your favorite word?
Karen: Kindness –– it does matter.
Gary: Collaboration.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Karen: Never give up on anything that matters.
Gary: Stay centered.
What don’t people know about you?
Karen: In my youth I was a speed roller skater and I ran the
50-yard dash in 6.4 seconds, which pleased my coach and my
brother, who really excelled at track.
Gary: I was expelled from kindergarten at the tender age of 3.
What are your favorite words of wisdom?
Karen: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Gary: Whether you believe you can do something or believe
you can’t, you’re right.
What is your motto?
Karen: If at first you don’t succeed, try again and again and
again. I never give up.
Gary: Compete only against yourself.
How do you think other people would describe you?
Karen: I have been told that I inspire others to try their
hardest, am community minded, a stellar chef, am fiercely
loyal and have a big heart.
Gary: Calm, focused and willing to speak out.
How would you describe yourself?
Karen: I would describe myself as kind, hardworking,
compassionate, sometimes persnickety, and yes, stubborn.
Gary: Intense, driven, fair, caring and conscientious.
What do you wish you could do?
Karen: I would love to sing, dance, act in a Broadway play and
someday write a book.
Gary: I would like to be able to play music by ear and visit the
Great Wall of China.
What is the secret to your success?
Karen: From the time I was a small child, I found hard work
and resilience have been my keys to success.
Gary: Positive thinking, an eagerness to learn, and hard work. 9
130 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018