Beth Gitlin is president and owner of Global Passages LLC in Melbourne, an international trade consulting company. She has 18 years of experience in retailing, manufacturing and the importing and exporting of consumer packaged goods. Prior to owning Global Passages, she was vice president of imports and product development for General Foam Plastics Corp., a manufacturer and importer-exporter of Christmas trees, wreaths, outdoor lighting, swimming pools and pumps, and gardening products. Additionally, she served nine years with Wal-Mart in various merchandising and international positions with responsibilities involving trade with over 26 different countries. She also served four years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

In the spirit of social entrepreneurship, her company’s additional mission is to assist and train small to medium-sized, women-owned businesses in the areas of import-export and small business startup procedures. As a volunteer, she has been actively involved with the Women’s Business Center at Florida Tech, Women for Women International and Rotary International Youth Exchange. She was recently named president-elect of the Rotary Club of Indialantic.

Beth is an adjunct professor for Florida Tech’s Nathan M. Bisk College of Business where she teaches courses in cross cultural management and the essentials of business development to undergraduate and graduate students.

 She earned an MBA degree at Chaminade University of Honolulu and a master’s degree in Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii. Gitlin is currently working on her doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology at Florida Tech.

She lives in Indian Harbour Beach with her husband, Scott Hoffman, where they enjoy combining their love of bicycling and kayaking with international travel in their free time.

Photo by Cheryl Clermont Photography.

Reneé Couperthwaite manages the daily operations of the center.

Prior to joining the WBC, she worked in the marketing department of Space Coast Credit Union for 6 years. Her past positions include Marketing Coordinator, Marketing Generalist, and Marketing Specialist. She managed several projects, including the direct mail program, email program, member newsletters, child and teen programs and newsletters, company website, and annual report.  She started her time at SCCU as a teller/customer service representative for 4 years prior to joining the marketing department.

Reneé earned her Associates Degree from Brevard Community College. She is currently working on a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Marketing at Florida Institute of Technology.

She lives in Melbourne with her husband and son, and enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, and watching movies in her spare time.

Photo by Cheryl Clermont Photography.