MEET THE 2015 FLORIDA PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SANDRA BERNARD-BASTIEN – CHILDREN’S SERVICES COUNCIL OF BROWARD
Sandra Bernard-Bastien, MA, is the Chief Communications Officer at
The Children’s Services Council of Broward County. She created and has
coordinated the twelve-year-old county-wide public awareness campaign around
the EITC and the VITA program funded by her agency, using First Call For
Help, 2-1-1, as the initial point of contact for additional information about
FREE tax assistance. Sandra is a founding member of the Florida Prosperity
Partnership Board of Directors and serves on its Executive Committee. She also serves on the board
of 2-1-1 Broward and Partners In Education.
DOUGLAS BROWN – COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Doug Brown is the Executive Director of the Community Action
Program Committee in Pensacola, Florida. Previously from the Jacksonville,
Florida area, Doug specializes in Nonprofit Organization Management and his
former organizations included Operation New Hope, Neighborhood Lending
Partners, and the City of Jacksonville. Doug received his degree from Edward
Waters College. Doug serves on the board the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
KAMALAH FLETCHER – CATALYST MIAMI
Kamalah Fletcher considers herself a social entrepreneur who has spent
her 18-year career in the non-profit sector pursuing a life journey centered on the
possibility of doing all we can to achieve an equitable society where all people
can live with respect and dignity. Ms. Fletcher currently serves as the Community
Prosperity Director at Catalyst Miami, where she develops and pursues strategies,
both within Catalyst Miami and through community partnerships, to promote
prosperity programming that involve constituent engagement and public policy
advocacy. She is part of both the Prosperity Financial and the Policy & Advocacy Teams at Catalyst
Miami, where she oversees the identification of areas for innovation and growth within the wealth
and asset building programming and serves as a bridge to connect financial empowerment policy and
programming to how it impacts people in their daily lives. She also represents Catalyst Miami in
local, state, and national coalitions and serves on the board of the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
LARS GILBERTS – UNITED WAY OF BROWARD (ALICE INITIATIVE)
Lars is the Statewide ALICE Director at United Way of Broward
County. Lars uses the United Way ALICE Report to equip businesses,
nonprofits, funders and policy makers with common data and language to
improve policy and practice for those who are Asset Limited, Income
Constrained and Employed. Prior to joining United Way, Lars was the Director
of Financial Stability at Branches, where he served more than 10 years. While
at Branches, Lars started and grew a variety of programs that promoted
financial self-sufficiency through emergency services, VITA free tax
preparation, financial education, personal financial coaching, the automotive
microloan Ways to Work program and small business services. His commitment to finding
sustainable solutions for businesses and families alike has led to a number of regional and national
research and speaking opportunities. Lars completed a BBA in Marketing at the University of Texas
Pan American as well as an MBA in Management from Barry University.
MICHAEL GUTTER, PH.D – UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IFAS
Dr. Michael Gutter is an Associate Professor, Interim FCS Program
Leader, and Financial Management State Specialist for the Department of
Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, In the Institute for Food and
Agricultural at the University of Florida. His BS is in Family Financial
Management and his PhD is in Family Resource Management from The Ohio
State University with a specialization in Finance. Gutter has received several
awards including the 1999 Texas Instruments Award for an Outstanding
Paper, 2001 ACCI Dissertation Award, 2003 School of Human Ecology
Excellence in Outreach Service Award, and the 2008 American Council on Consumer Interests MidCareer Award. Michael oversees the University of Florida’s Personal and Family Financial Planning
Program, which is registered with the CFP Board of Standards, Inc. to meet the education
requirement. Michael is one of the inaugural members on the Board of Directors for the Florida
Prosperity Partnership.
SHARON HACKNEY – FLORIDA BLUE FOUNDATION
Sharon Hackney is a Senior Program Manager for the Florida Blue
Foundation. For the past eight years, she served as the Senior Community
Affairs Manager for Florida Blue, leading the company’s corporate giving
strategy, annual United Way Campaign and their employee volunteer
program. She served as a Community Builder for the United Way of
Northeast Florida’s 2004 campaign and has 20 years of diverse public and
community relations experience. Volunteering has always been a part of
Sharon’s life and she continues to devote time to the public school system and
various organizations serving children at risk and persons with disabilities. Sharon also serves on the
Real$ense Prosperity Campaign’s Steering Committee and the board of directors for the Florida
Prosperity Partnership. Sharon graduated from Valdosta State University in 1988 with a bachelor’s
degree in Speech Communications. She and her husband both grew up in Jacksonville and have two
sons and a daughter.
SHEROD HALLIBURTON – MANATEE COMMUNITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
Sherod Halliburton served as Vice Chair for the Manatee Community
Federal Credit Union (MCFCU), and while serving in that capacity guided the
organization successfully through the process of becoming a Community
Development Financial Institution (CDFI). MCFCU now stands as one of only
three CDFI credit unions in Florida and Sherod now serves that organization as
its President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer). Sherod holds other board
positions that include: the Florida CDFA Advisory board, the Manatee
Community Action Agency, the Florida Redevelopment Association and the
Florida Prosperity Partnership. He is also on the Board of Directors for Manatee Educational TV and
served a three year term on the Board of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he
currently hosts the long-running Community Matters TV show on Manatee Educational TV. Sherod
has received numerous awards and recognition and has been invited to be a presenter at the 2014
National Federation for Community Development Credit Unions annual conference. Sherod attended
Morehouse College for two years and transferred to Georgia State University where he earned a BS
degree in Marketing with a minor in Corporate Communications.
JANET HAMER – TD BANK
Janet Hamer, the former Senior Regional Community Development
Manager with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Jacksonville Branch has
recently left that position and joined TD Bank. As the Community
Development Manager for TD in the northern half of Florida, Janet will be
based in Daytona. Previous to joining the Federal Reserve Bank, Janet had
more than 30 years of experience in housing, community and economic
development, and urban planning. Originally from Illinois, Janet has a B.A.
degree from Judson College, an M.A. degree in Public Affairs from Northern
Illinois University, and is a commissioned Safety and Soundness Bank Examiner. Janet is a coconvener of the Florida Prosperity Partnership, and is its Board Chair.
IRIS JONES – COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Iris Clark Jones, former Vice President of BB&T, serves as
Community Development and Community Reinvestment Act Officer for the
Florida Market. Previously Iris worked with SunTrust Bank as Community
Development Manager for North Florida markets and worked briefly as
Consumer Credit Counseling Manager with Family Foundations in
Jacksonville. Iris has enjoyed an extensive career in financial services
management and community economic development. Iris has a reputation for
partnering with non-profit organizations and faith based groups in addressing
key community economic issues. Iris actively serves the Florida community in
various capacities ranging from board of directors, advisory council member, community volunteer
and local speaker’s bureau member with several statewide organizations. Iris serves as an active
board member of Florida Prosperity Partnership which spearheads the Bank On Florida initiative, a
program that helps individuals achieve financial stability while building banking relationships. Iris
also is on the board of Riviera Beach CDC. Iris is a graduate of University of Wisconsin with a
degree in Economics and Industrial Relations and holds an MBA. Iris is a native of Mississippi, grew
up in Wisconsin, relocated to Upstate New York and then settled in Florida.
DAVE KREPCHO – SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Dave is the President/CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of
Central Florida, which distributes food through a network of 550 providers
in a six county area and provides 50 million meals through the organization
annually. The food bank is continually innovating and provides various
additional services beyond general food distribution that include public
benefit outreach, a variety of social entrepreneurial ventures, job training
and placement. Dave has 22 years of experience in the food security sector.
He started in nonprofit management with a food bank in Miami as
President/CEO, and then moved on to working at the national level for
Feeding America as VP of Business Development. Dave also serves on various boards at the local,
State and international levels. In addition, he is President of the Florida Association of Food Banks
and chairs a Feeding America national task force on Performance Benchmarking.
AUDREY LJUNG – COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIPS IN BROWARD COUNTY
Audrey Ljung is the Human Services Regional Coordinator in the
Broward County Family Success Division, as part of the Community Action
Partnerships in Broward County. Audrey has been in community service for
most of her career and focuses on coordinating not only resources, but also
programs within the Community Action Partnerships in Broward County,
with a focus on free financial education. A long time member of the Florida
Prosperity Partnership, Audrey also serves on the Florida Prosperity
Partnership board of directors.
KATIE METZ – NATIONAL DISABILITY INSTITUTE
Katie Metz joined the National Disability Institute in January 2011 and
is the Manager of Financial Empowerment and Inclusion for National
Disability Institute (NDI). She works on a variety of national projects related
to financial education and asset development working towards the goal of
achieving economic empowerment for persons with disabilities. In 2011, Katie
became certified as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Preparer. This
knowledge, combined with her extensive experience with the disability
community contributed to her ability to support VITA Tax Coalitions across the country and pioneer
projects such as MyFreeTaxes (MFT) Facilitated Self Assistance Tax preparation. MFT is part of a
national initiative funded by Walmart in collaboration with United Way Worldwide, Goodwill
Industries International and National Disability Institute to expand awareness and access to free tax
preparation services and receipt of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). During the 2012 tax season,
Katie worked closely with the MyFreeTaxes Project Manager to provide support to workforce
regions across the country selected as pilot sites and in 2013 expanded MyFreeTaxes into the Veteran
community. Katie has been a member of the FPP Board of Directors since 2012.
JOAN NELSON – HEART OF FLORIDA UNITED WAY
Joan Nelson is the Vice President of Community Investment, with the
responsibility of implementing an expansion of the current business model
called Investing In Results (IIR).The IIR process focuses resources for
programs and initiatives that address the root causes of problems to move the
needle and create lasting change in the community. She has served with the
Orange County Partnership Committee, the Orange County Commission on
Aging, Seminole Community Alliance, the UCF School of Social Work
Community Advisory Committee, the UCF Nonprofit Management Advisory Board, the Orange
County Central Receiving Center Governing Board and the Wraparound Orange Continuum of Care
Committee, in addition to the Florida Prosperity Partnership board of directors. Nelson received her
MBA from Rollins College and earned a Masters in Social Work from UCF and a B.A. from Temple
University in Philadelphia, PA. She has two grown sons and has lived in Winter Park for 28 years.
JOYCE ODONGO – WELLS FARGO BANK
Joyce Odongo is the Community Development Officer for Central
Florida. She represents the company in community and economic development
activities. In her role, she establishes and maintains relationships with
community organizations, such as activist groups, community agencies,
nonprofits and minority organizations. She is a Community Development
executive with more than 10 years’ experience both in the Corporate and notfor-profit Industry. Prior to her career at Wells Fargo, she spent several years
at Fifth Third Bank as Vice President for Community Affairs. She also worked in the not-for-profit
industry as a community advocate for affordable housing, seniors, small business and neighborhood
revitalization efforts. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Finance, from Wayne State
University and a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of
Pittsburgh. She currently serves on the following boards: Bethune Cookman University Board of
Trustees, the City of Orlando Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Bank on Florida, Financial
Education Chair and the Florida Prosperity Partnership Board of Directors.
GEORGE OWEN – GEORGE OWEN CONSULTING, LLC
George Owen, a former Vice President and Community Development
Manager with Regions Bank, retired recently and formed his own company,
George Owen Consulting, LLC. His 23-year career in banking includes
community development, issues management, corporate communications,
supporting community development banking, consumer and small business
banking, and mortgage banking. Prior to joining Regions in 2007, he was a
Senior Vice President at Bank of America and held positions at Bank of
America, NationsBank, and Barnett Bank. At Bank of America, he served as a Public Policy
Manager, responsible for identifying, analyzing and managing current and emerging issues relative to
political and business environments. He also served as a Community Development Banking
Relationship Manager, providing strategic counsel to management on community development
issues, from low-and moderate-income mortgage lending to community reinvestment. Prior to his
banking career, he worked for The Florida Times-Union and the Jacksonville Journal, as a business
writer, covering banks, thrifts, credit unions, insurance and other public companies. He also serves on
the board of the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
LEONARD PARKHURST – LEAGUE OF SOUTHEAST CREDIT UNIONS
Leonard is the Director of the Southeastern Credit Union Foundation,
the Foundation for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions. He has more
than 13 years of experience in fundraising and volunteer development, with
an emphasis in the non-profit arena. Prior to his work with the Southeastern
Credit Union Foundation, based out of Tallahassee, FL, Leonard worked
with the American Cancer Society for 8 years, most recently as the
Executive Director of the Capital Area in Tallahassee. Other positions
include Director of Development at Florida State University and Director of
Major Gifts at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Hospital.
VALERIA PEREZ-FERREIRO – CITI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Valeria Perez Ferreiro is Citi’s Vice President and Community
Development Officer for South Florida. Valeria brings over 20 years of
experience in economic, workforc e, and youth development to this position.
Prior to joining Citi Community, Valeria worked on launching South Florida’s
first kitchen incubator with Opa-locka CDC. As the incubator’s Co-Founder
and Director she completed a feasibility study, secured $3.7MM in funding,
and developed partnerships with community-based organizations, local
governments, as well as with food industry and educational institutions.
Before launching this effort, Valeria served as the Vice- President for Resource Development at
Accion East and Online, where she led the fundraising efforts a multi-million dollar operations. Prior
to working with entrepreneurs, Valeria ran workforce development programs for youth and people
with disabilities. She is a native of Argentina and a graduate of Cornell University and the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves on the board of the Florida
Prosperity Partnership.
FELIPE PINZON – HISPANIC UNITY OF FLORIDA
Felipe Pinzon is Vice President of Programs for Hispanic Unity of
Florida, located in Ft. Lauderdale, where he oversees program development
and implementation for 21 social service programs, supervises a staff of
more than 120 employees and manages an annual budget of approximately
$3.4M to ensure that contractual obligations are fulfilled, outcomes are met
and client needs are satisfied. Other positions Felipe has held at Hispanic
Unity of Florida include Director of Programs, Family and Health Program
Manager, and Program Coordinator. Prior to that, Felipe held positions with
Pontifical Javariana University and the Valores School Educational
Cooperation, both of which are in Cali, Columbia. Felipe holds degrees from the American Express
Nonprofit Leadership Academy in New York City, USA; Pontificia Javeriana University in Cali,
Columbia, and Baleares University in Palma deMallorca, Spain. Felipe serves on the board of
directors of the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
FRANK RODRIGUEZ – FIRST FLORIDA INTEGRITY BANK
Frank Rodriguez is the Community Reinvestment Act Officer of
First Florida Integrity Bank (FFIB), based out of Naples in Collier County,
serving Southwest Florida and Tampa. Frank’s efforts are committed to
reaching out and improving the lives of those in low-to-moderate income
levels, economic and small(er) business development, and strengthening
their financial literacy. Frank has served on several boards and committees
that address Affordable Housing and Small business development. Frank
created a series of Financial Education presentations, and after assisting
First National Bank of Naples (FNBN) to develop their criteria for a residential loan program to meet
the needs of low-to-moderate income families, Frank went to work for the bank to implement the
same “Own A Home” program, including home buyer financial education. Frank extended his reach
by implementing the SBA Low Doc program for small businesses, and while serving as President of
the Collier County Banking Partnership, became an advocate assuming a leading role in the creation
of the Collier County Microenterprise Corp., before becoming the CRA Officer for FFIB for the State
of Florida.
LINDA RIMMER – GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, INC.
Linda K. Rimmer has more than 30 years of experience in social
services. Before joining Goodwill Industries of Central Florida, where she has
been the Vice President of Vocational & Community Services for the past 18
years, she also worked with Goodwills in Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
Ms. Rimmer currently administers and oversees Goodwill programs and
services in six counties in Central Florida. She is Past-President of the Florida
Rehabilitation Association and has served on the National Rehabilitation
Association’s Board of Directors. She also volunteers her time on the Board
of La Amistad Foundation; the School Advisory Council for Winter Park Vo-Tech; the Heart of
Florida United Way’s Prosperity Campaign Advisory Council; and the Board of the Florida
Prosperity Partnership. She has also served on the Leadership Circle for the National Disability
Institute’s REI Tour. Ms. Rimmer has a Master’s degree from the University of South Florida and is a
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor; a Certified Vocational Evaluator; a surveyor for the National
Accreditation Agency, CARF; and a CARF consultant with Goodwill Industries International.
ROB SANSOME – TRUEWEALTH VENTURES
Rob Sansome was born in Canada and after graduating from high
school spent 10 years as a corporate pilot. In 1979 Rob joined one of Canada’s
leading banks and in 1984 he was hired by NCNB National Bank and moved
to Florida where he worked for 16 years in commercial lending and
community development. Upon leaving the bank, Rob turned his attention to
financial education and in 2002 created The Financial Literacy Group and then
later joined TrueWealth Ventures. Their mission is to advance better outcomes
by preparing children with a foundation of core values and concepts. Starting
with elementary school students, TrueWealth KIDS also successfully connects parents and children
in the real world experiences with money by providing a simple, effective alternative to traditional
allowances. Rob has served on the Board of Directors for The Florida Jump$tart Coalition for
Personal Financial Literacy, the Polk County Financial Literacy Council, and currently serves on the
Board of Directors for the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
ALICE VICKERS – FLORIDA ALLIANCE FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION
Alice Vickers is a founding member and director of Florida Alliance
for Consumer Protection. Prior to forming FLACP, she was a legal services
attorney for 28 years where she advocated for clients on tenants’ rights and
consumer protection before the Florida legislature. Most recently, Alice has
lobbied on behalf of Florida Consumer Action Network, PICO United Florida,
and the Public Interest Law Section of the Florida Bar. The Consumer
Protection Law Committee of the Florida Bar named Alice the “Consumer
Protection Lawyer of the Year” for 2013. She was recognized “for
outstanding and tireless efforts to protect and strengthen the rights of Florida consumers through
legislative advocacy.” Alice is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, a
participating observer with the Uniform Law Commission on the revision to the Uniform Residential
Landlord Tenant Act, chair of the Consumer Protection Committee of the Public Interest Law Section
of the Florida bar, a member of the Florida Bar's Consumer Protection Law Committee, and a
member of the board of directors for the Florida Prosperity Partnership.
JEFF WINKLER – REAL$ENSE PROSPERITY CAMPAIGN, AN INITIATIVE OF UNITED WAY OF NE FL
Jeff currently serves as the director of United Way of Northeast
Florida’s Income initiative, RealSense. Each year, the RealSense coalition
provides free tax preparation to more than 18,000 families in over 60 sites in
seven counties, 10,000 hours of free financial education workshops, assetbuilding opportunities through Individual Development Accounts and a yearround financial stability center, the RealSense Prosperity Place. Since the
inception of the RealSense initiative in 2003, the number of households
served within the VITA tax site network has increased by over 1,000%, with
more than $150 million in refunds being claimed by taxpayers throughout Northeast Florida at no
cost. Jeff serves as a Board member of the Florida Prosperity Partnership, is a graduate of United
Way Worldwide’s Global Resident Fellows program, and a 2012 recipient of the Jacksonville
Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award. Jeff is married with two sons.
MEET THE 2015 FLORIDA PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP STAFF
BILL MILLS – PRESIDENT
Bill Mills is the President of the FPP and handles all of the special and
strategic initiatives for the organization. Bill joined the FPP in 2011 and has
been instrumental in implementing and expanding such initiatives as Bank On
Florida and FPP Train the Trainer. In Bill’s prior career, he spent a number of
years in Community Development with SunTrust Bank and before that with
Rhodes Furniture. Bill is married with three children and lives in Sanford.
DEBBIE PRESCOTT – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FPP POLK
Debbie Prescott is the Executive Director for the FPP initiative to
increase community service delivery integration in Polk County, working
closely with both the United Way of Central Florida and the Financial Stability
Partnership, a part of the resource management arm of United Way of Central
Florida. Since joining the FPP, Debbie has improved United Way agency
interaction and willingness to partner in Polk County. Debbie is married and
lives in Lakeland.
LORI MILLINER – SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR, FPP POLK
Lori Milliner is the Special Projects Coordinator for FPP-Polk and
manages both the free income tax preparation services and volunteers, along
with the financial education program that will soon include a class in
couponing. Lori has worked at FPP-Polk since September 2014.
THRUDE LEGG – BOOKKEEPER
Thrude is the Bookkeeper for the FPP and began in July 2013. She is a
CPA and was formerly with Masters, Smith, and Wisby, the FPP auditing firm.
Thrude has her own business, TLC Bookkeeping, Inc., and has helped the FPP to
tighten and institutionalize its accounting practices. Thrude is married and lives
in Jacksonville.