25 Graduate from Leadership Institute

Twenty-five talented community leaders from across the region graduated from the 2021 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute. The group made up the 14th class to complete Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s long-running leadership-development initiative, and the first to complete it virtually.

This year’s program included six virtual training sessions held over two months and led by faculty of the internationally acclaimed Leadership Development Institute (LDI) of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. Gulf Coast commissioned the training and provided all resources at no cost to participants in exchange for their commitment to use their new skills to benefit our region through community service.

“This program was life-changing.”

Unlike many civic leadership programs that aim to educate participants about community institutions and processes, Gulf Coast Leadership Institute is structured to help community-minded individuals develop their own leadership knowledge and capacity so they can more effectively serve their communities. At the same time, the Institute connects participants from diverse backgrounds into a tight-knit group of skilled, action-oriented leaders. As the participants met in-person for the first time at their graduation, many shared that the program will change the way they lead in the future, for the better. 

The following 25 community leaders completed the 2021 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute:

Erik J.  Arroyo, Attorney, Band, Gates & Dramis

Aly Busse, Associate Vice President for Education, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium

Cameron Deems, Director of Business Development, FYZICAL Venice

Aurilla (Dee Dee) Fusco, Principal Giving Officer, Jackson Laboratory 

Kendra Gemma, President, klg communications

Virginia Harshman, Manager, Marketing and Public Relations, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Sharron Howard, Social Justice Chairperson, Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota

Paula Ippolito, community leader and volunteer

Svetlana Ivashchenko, Executive Director, Children’s Guardian Fund

Carrie Kashawlic, Business Operations Director, Hershorin Schiff Community Day School

Christine Kasten, President and CEO, The Venice Symphony

Maneesha Lal, Associate Director of Faculty Development/Associate Director of Corporate and Private Foundation Relations, New College of Florida

Joshua Matlock, EVP/Chief Operating Officer, CareerSource Suncoast

Fran McPoland, Vice President, Paper Recycling Coalition; Associate, Colling Swift & Hynes

Patrick McQuillan, Director of Development, Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation 

Ginger V. Miranda, Co-Founder and Community Engagement Director, North Port Forward

Regina Morris, Case Manager, Women’s Resource Center

Paul Murphy, Founder/Director, The Sarasota Vegan Society

Derek Ober, Financial Advisor, Derek Ober – Northwestern Mutual

Richard Paolillo, Sales Manager, Landshore Enterprises

Jeannie Perales, Chief Experience Officer, Bay Park Conservancy

Sandra M. Petway, community leader, retired from Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories

Cheryl Schum, General Manager, Boca Beacon

Heather Todd, Executive Director, Teen Court of Sarasota

Andrea Watson, Development Director, Manatee County Girls Club

To date, almost 400 community members have participated in Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s leadership-development initiative. Applications for the 2022 Gulf Coast Leadership Institute will be available in February 2022 at GulfCoastCF.org.