Kecia Carroll is a consultant and strategic partner for organizations doing meaningful work. With more than 20 years of communications and program strategy experience, she helps clients elevate their brand and achieve their business goals.
With a career divided between in-house leadership and consulting roles, she has worked with organizations across a wide range of industries — from startups to Fortune 500 companies, professional service firms, startups and nonprofits — helping them build their businesses and their brands.
Kecia is a champion for work that matters. As a highly regarded leader, she has built and led strategies and programs for brand communications, corporate citizenship, diversity, equity and inclusion, philanthropy and other community initiatives. Kecia acts as a trusted partner to help ensure the good work her clients do delivers on their brand and is in alignment with their goals.
Kecia has her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and certificates in Technology of Participation Facilitation Methods from The Institute of Cultural Affairs in the USA and Diversity and Inclusion from the University of Southern Florida. She serves on the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) D&I communications committee as well as for the Tampa Bay chapter, where she established the organization’s D&I strategy and now serves as co-chair.
When she’s not helping clients overcome business and branding challenges, Kecia can often be found on her paddle board, finding energy and wellbeing on the peaceful waters of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Debbie Craig is a Human Resource consultant, leader, facilitator, and educator with over 30 years of HR experience in areas such as workforce planning, training & development, recruitment, employee relations, compensation, policy development, and culture & engagement. Debbie has worked for national and international employers in industries such as healthcare technology, legal information, forensic accounting, and full-service HR outsourcing.
In 2022 Debbie retired from corporate roles and now focuses on the non-profit sector. She is currently on the Board of Directors for The Loveland Center, serving on the Governance Committee. While in Denver, CO she served on the Board of Directors for The Executive Women's Summit (EWS) where she co-created the EWS University leadership program. She also served on the Board of Directors for RMPS (Rocky Mountain HR People & Strategy) and was a Vistage Key Executive program member. Debbie holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and her certifications include SPHR, SHRM-SCP, and MBTI.
In 2017, Debbie and her husband relocated back to Florida where they spend their free time with family, and friends, boating, and enjoying the Florida lifestyle!
Whitney Crettol is a senior strategist and board governance consultant who has dedicated both her career and volunteer efforts to organizations that serve the common good. With nearly three decades of experience, Whitney has helped dozens of nonprofit and public agencies take their governance capacity, connection to the community, and mission impact to the next level.
Prior to the launch of her consulting practice in 2001, Whitney drew attention as an effective change agent through a career in nonprofit administration & planning, as a director and officer on numerous boards, and as a public library commissioner. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and earned a Master’s degree in Public Affairs & Planning from the University’s distinguished Humphrey School. A believer in lifelong learning, she has continued to refresh her skill set, most notably by becoming a BoardSource Certified Nonprofit Board Consultant, an alumnus of the Blandin Foundation Community Leadership Program, and an Institute of Cultural Affairs trained facilitator.
Whitney is skilled in providing support for nonprofit leaders to address strategy and governance challenges, build capacity, and position their organizations as high performers that really deliver on making the community a better place. She is an enthusiastic advocate of best practices. In addition to working with individual organizations, Whitney excels at bringing together diverse entities in community-wide planning and collaborative ventures. Her specialties include: Strategic Planning – Stakeholder/Public Engagement Processes –Board & Organizational Assessments – Governance Education – Board Structure Transformations – Bylaws & Policy Development – Performance Dashboards – Strategic Communications – Grant Writing – Task Force Facilitation.
Together with her husband, Whitney has rolled up her sleeves to rehabilitate three dilapidated houses to new glory, and raised three children – two with special needs – along with a very sweet golden retriever. In addition to family, her personal pursuits include fitness and voracious reading. After vacationing in Florida for twenty years, she has permanently relocated to make Venice her home.
Laurie Huebner joined Gulf Coast Community Foundation as an Invest In Incredible Consultant in April of 2015. Since then, she has also expanded her human resource consulting business to serve both non-profit and for profit organizations.
Her board experience includes serving as a board member of the United Way of Westchester County, NY; board director and HR Committee Chairperson of My Possibilities in Plano, Texas; board director, vice president and president for the Heron Creek Community Foundation in North Port, FL, and current Board Chair of Loveland Center, Venice, FL., where she also served as Vice Chair and Governance Committee Chair. She is also certified in Board Governance, via Board Source.
Her corporate experience includes serving as Vice President of Human Resources for Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), a Fortune 500 company which was formerly a regional, North American division of Cadbury Schweppes. In this role, she was responsible for providing senior HR business partner support to C-suite leaders and their functions, including finance, marketing, supply chain, R&D, corporate communications, legal, etc. Additionally, she managed organization development programs for the company. These included talent and succession planning; strategic HR planning; recruiting and on-boarding programs; executive search; organizational design; mergers & acquisitions; leadership coaching; compensation & benefits; HR policy & programs; recognition programs; employee relations & engagement; change management; performance management; facilitation & team building; and, training & development with a focus on building culture and leadership capability. Prior to her 20 years with Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Cadbury Schweppes, she was a self employed consultant specialising in organizational capability and capacity programs, HR policy and practice, AAP, Diversity and Employee Relations. Laurie began her career in the banking field in CT, rising to the role of VP of HR before she left to raise her family. Her education includes business and psychology programs at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield CT, and several leadership and management training programs throughout her career, most notably with the Center for Creative Leadership.
Laurie, who retired from corporate roles in 2013, can be found enjoying the Florida life and everything it has to offer in terms of beach, golf, gym, theater, restaurants, and outdoor activities with her husband Allen after relocating to the Gulf Coast in 2014. They also enjoy travel, especially visiting their sons Shane and Dylan several times a year who both reside in Avon, Colorado.
Cynthia Ayris Kemp is a management consultant with experience helping public and private sector organizations achieve their goals for over 25 years. Influenced by her volunteer efforts, she now focuses on helping national and community nonprofits become high performing – and high impact – organizations. Cynthia integrates knowledge gained working across diverse industries such as finance, health, and government into practical insights for her clients. She advises nonprofit leaders on topics ranging from strategic and project planning, financial management, and organizational change. Cynthia appreciates her time with Deloitte Consulting where she learned many lessons applicable to both life and business, including the importance of culture on an entity’s success.
A native Floridian, Cynthia has enjoyed the opportunity to live and experience life in several regions of the country and in Australia before returning to the Sunshine State. A lifelong learner, she recently completed her Master of Public Health degree in health policy from Columbia University. Cynthia also holds a Bachelor degree in Finance from Florida State University and an MBA from Indiana University in Finance and Organizational Design. She and her husband love exploring Florida’s waterways, climbing mountains, and traveling far and wide, especially when it includes their two adult sons.
Stephanie Kempton, MBA, PRC has over 20 years of marketing and communications experience. Her experience in research, corporate strategy, marketing, advertising, product management and media planning uniquely qualify her to not only conduct research, but also to apply it in an actionable way to your business.
Stephanie has applied her skills in marketing and research across a wide range of industries: banking, real estate, manufacturing, utilities, retail, healthcare, arts, non-profit, sports and entertainment. In her career she has held positions as a group product manager, research analyst, corporate strategist, media planner, account supervisor, director of advertising, account planner and director of research and planning. Her research and planning expertise has directly contributed to enhanced business performance for a wide range of brands and businesses.
Stephanie has a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida and has obtained a Professional Researcher Certification at the expert level from the Marketing Research Association.
Stephanie has a thorough understanding of marketing research —what to do, how to do it and what it means. But more importantly, as a marketing professional, she knows how to apply research insight to your business situation to improve the outcome. Stephanie provides you with the confidence to make better business decisions.
Joan Lowery, M.Ed., has extensive experience working as a professional communicator both domestically and internationally. Her experience spans the fields of training; instructional design; broadcast and print journalism; television producing; acting and counseling. She has consulted to numerous non-profits, as well as Fortune 500 companies, helping others to become more effective, empathic communicators. She specializes in several areas of communication skills training, including media training, listening, high-impact communications skills, emotional intelligence, building trust and executive coaching.
Joan also has extensive experience as an award-winning broadcast and print journalist for news organizations such as CNN, Associated Press, CNBC-TV and the Discovery Channel, KCSM-TV and KTVU-TV (San Francisco Area.) She was a talk show host on radio and television for several years. She regularly contributes to professional publications on a variety of communication-related subjects and currently hosts a monthly talk show on WSRQ News/Talk Radio. “My passion is for communication in all its many facets. I love working with individuals and groups to help them increase their personal effectiveness and career satisfaction.”
Kristine brings to her consulting practice a wealth of experience and ideas from her previous corporate and non-profit careers. She had the good fortune to begin and end her corporate career with two of the world’s most admired companies, Johnson & Johnson and Pepsi. While she launched her career in sales and marketing, it eventually morphed into public relations and communications. Kristine parlayed that Fortune 100 experience into helping rebrand an esteemed non-profit, Tidewell Health Care Systems, from an uninspired moniker of Hospice of Southwest Florida. When she is not practicing the art and science of PR, you will find her reporting on all things culinary and vinous for readers in Southwest Florida. In her non-eating and drinking or working moments, she’ll most likely be relaxing with her two dogs, often with a granddaughter or two along for the ride.
Liz Wooten-Reschke currently serves as President of Connectivity Community Consulting, Inc. a company that works primarily with nonprofits in the Tampa Bay community and state of Florida. As lead consultant she works collaboratively with her clients to create strategic consulting solutions that address a variety of areas: nonprofit capacity & community building, board empowerment & engagement, organizational development, training & workshop facilitation, coaching & mentoring, and philanthropic advising. She provides trainings on topics such as best practices in board governance, the next generation of nonprofit leadership, and meaningful board service; and facilitates strategic planning and board retreats for nonprofits ready to address agency change and growth opportunities.
Over her 20 plus years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Liz has served in a variety of capacities including volunteer, staff, board member and consultant for various nonprofit agencies in the Tampa Bay and Key West communities, state of Florida, and the United States. She has served as the founding Board President of Nonprofit Consultants Connection; Board Vice-President for Are You Safe; and is currently a member of the Allegany Franciscan Ministries’ Grant Review Committee. Liz is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer and recently published her first book Board Engagement & Empowerment in the Fundraising Process as part of a five-part Fundraising Success series based on her online Udemy.com course.
Before her career in the nonprofit sector, she worked as an English teacher and dance-team coach in the Florida public school system teaching both high school and middle school in Tampa and Key West. Through her current work in the nonprofit sector she develops training courses and curriculum that integrate her love of teaching with her knowledge of nonprofit best practices. Liz holds a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education, Masters in Public Administration and Certificate in Nonprofit Management all from the University of South Florida. She is a fourth generation Floridian with a passion for education, the arts and animal rights, and active mother of two children, two dogs and a cat. For more information on Liz and how she can help you meet your mission, please visit her company website: ConnectforMore.com or Amazon author page: amazon.com/author/lizwootenreschke.
Betsy Steiner is a business consultant, facilitator, and trainer with over twenty-five years of experience. She works with nonprofits, corporations, and small businesses designing and implementing initiatives for organizational growth and advancement. As a Certified Nonprofit Senior Consultant, Ms. Steiner counsels executives and boards on topics ranging from visioning and business planning to resource development and collaborative partnerships. She has specialized training from Board Source® and La Piana® and serves over 50 Florida nonprofits including Gulf Coast Community Foundation, The Patterson Foundation, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, The Nonprofit Leadership Center of Tampa Bay, and U.S. Small Business Development Centers.
Prior to her role as consultant, Betsy worked in the public sector, first with a member of Congress, then as a consultant to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), a federal advisory panel that advises the United States President and Congress on issues important to business owners. While working with the NWBC, Betsy co-founded a nonprofit organization to advance their research, policy, and advocacy agenda. She also represented the NWBC at the United Nations Conference in Beijing, China. Ms. Steiner earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Michigan State University.
Carlos R. de Quesada, Managing Member & Founder, VeraCruz Advisory, LLC
Continuing his 25+ years of business, managerial and finance work, in October 2011, Carlos founded VeraCruz Advisory, LLC focused on providing financial advisory and strategic consulting services. VeraCruz is focused on serving non-profit organizations by providing financial and business (enterprise) practice consulting and implementation support. Services include mission-based strategic consulting, special projects, financial transaction structuring and execution support, Board level offsite facilitation, organizational governance assessment, budgeting, financial projection/model development, cash flow scenario analyses and asset-mapping/capital planning.
Clients (current or previous) and prospects are local and national in scope, and include social services providers, schools, human services agencies, advocacy organizations, performing arts enterprises, higher education institutions, community foundations, endowments, community development corporations/CDFIs, and faith-based entities.
Through VeraCruz Advisory, Carlos has been a Trustee level member of the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. In April 2015, Carlos completed the Gulf Coast Community Foundation-hosted BoardSource® NFP board governance training and is now part of the GCCF’s, Invest in Incredible, consultant cohort serving the greater Sarasota-Venice, FL area. Believing in its mission and impact, Carlos and his family are Goodwill Manasota Ambassadors. Carlos serves or has served on his neighborhood board association (Indian Beach Sapphire Shores), a Sarasota county public school youth mentoring program and on his church finance council. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Carlos graduated from FSU (B.S. Finance, 1987) then served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps (1988-1991) prior to earning an MBA (George Washington University, 1991-1993). He is a first generation American of Cuban parents and is bilingual (English-Spanish). Though traveling nationally for his business, Carlos resides in Sarasota with his wife, Cynthia, and two children ages 12 and 17.
Dan Weiss, founder and president of Counterpart CFO, is a respected practitioner, speaker, and thought leader focused on financial sustainability. As a CPA and attorney, he has devoted the past 30+ years helping nonprofits and businesses maximize their success.
Dan’s areas of expertise include structuring organizations for sustainability, optimizing accounting systems to support organization-sustaining decision making, streamlining processes and improving internal controls, developing dashboards of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s), governance best practices, strategic planning, training, and other facilitation.
For the past seventeen years, Dan has been an in-demand instructor in both graduate and undergraduate studies. His courses for the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Muskingum University, and Keller Graduate School of Management have included finance, accounting, business law, business strategy, and business ethics.
In his personal time, Dan enjoys playing golf, guitar, and piano. He and his wife, Sheila, live in Osprey.