Jose Acevedo
Board Member
Jose A. Acevedo believes literacy is the way to change your community for the better. Serving on the Library Foundation of Jacksonville is a path to improving all of Jacksonville.
Jose’s true passion has constantly been impacting youth. While living in Miami, he developed multiple programs to decrease truancy and violence for elementary and middle school students in Miami-Dade Public Schools. His programs provided social service support to 10,000 students in six of the most poverty-stricken communities in Miami. He implemented a restorative justice program for all Miami-Dade schools to educate school staff and students to reduce violence in and outside schools. He created an initiative for the integration of law enforcement, human services, and youth to provide a holistic approach to meeting the needs of at-risk youth.
From a young age, Jose embraced an entrepreneurial spirit. He has successfully started and sold several businesses, including an independent record label, a marketing firm, a CrossFit Box gym, and a sports management firm.
Jose positively impacts students, teachers, and community stakeholders at Duval County Public Schools every day as a valued member of the Communications Team. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Albizu University in Miami, FL. A native of Puerto Rico, he is the father of three young adults. His wife is a school counselor for Duval County Public Schools.
Virginia Berg
Board of Library Trustee Liaison
Virginia Berg is the Director of Government Relations and Community Engagement for Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ). In this role, she develops and executes the college’s strategy for legislative and government relations priorities including $78 million in state funding. Previously, Virginia served as Appointments Director to Governor Rick Scott from 2012 to 2015 and later as Finance Director for Let’s Get to Work PC.Prior to joining FSCJ, Virginia worked with VisionFirst Advisors, an Economic Development Consulting Firm led by former head of EFI, Gray Swoope.
Virginia received her bachelor’s degree from Auburn University and is currently pursuing her MBA from the University of West Florida.
Whit Brighton
Board Member
Whit Brighton is the Vice President of Business Transformation at Swisher, the largest volumeproducing cigar manufacturer in the United States. He joined Swisher in 2020 with responsibilities for reevaluating the company’s core business pillars and focusing on strategic improvement and business transformation initiatives across the organization. Whit designs and leads transformation programs on the business strategy and provides inspirational leadership to transform and shape the future of Swisher, a family-owned company based in Jacksonville for nearly 100 years. Whit rejoined Swisher in 2020 after serving in various roles with the company including as Digital Marketing Manager and Director of Consumer Engagement from 2012 – 2018. An experienced leader in transformational services, Whit and his team are responsible for partnering with business leaders and functions across the organization to establish the framework for business optimization and transformation initiatives. His experience also includes enterprise architecture, program oversight, metrics and reporting to ensure consistency, accountability, and controls as it relates to each corporate function. The Business Transformation team acts as a catalyst across businesses and functions driving the transformation of Swisher into a simpler, customer-centric organization. Prior to joining Swisher, Whit was a Senior Associate in Grant Thornton’s Advisory Services practice – the sixth largest accounting and advisory organization in the U.S. In that role, he specialized in organizational strategy and transformation for large-scale U.S. based CPG companies developing strategies and recommending solutions to help customers achieve their desired results. Whit holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, and received a bachelor’s degree in history from Colorado College. He and his wife Marisa have two daughters and reside in Atlantic Beach.
Julia Davis
Board Member
Julia Davis is an experienced information science professional with a strong passion for employee-focused leadership practices, accessibility, and procedural standardization. Her experience includes time spent in both academic and public libraries, as well as the legal and insurance industries. She currently serves as the Information Systems Manager for Smith, Hulsey, and Busey, a full-service business law firm in Jacksonville FL. Julia holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Valdosta State University, a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Jacksonville University, and is a current PhD candidate
studying leadership at Anderson University. She has published several peer-reviewed articles in professional library journals and developed, as well as regularly instructs, the popular Fundamentals of Management course for the American Library Association’s Core Division. Originally from New England, Julia relocated to Jacksonville in 2017 and is a proud resident of the Avondale neighborhood. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and stepson exploring the parks and local small businesses in their neighborhood.
John Finotti
Development Committee Chair
John Finotti joined Tucker/Hall in 2012 with the merger of Access Public Relations, a Jacksonville consultancy he founded in 2004. He has been instrumental in developing and implementing successful communication strategies for a wide range of clients, including corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. John has built a reputation as a trusted adviser to senior level executives and developed a close working relationship with many organizations’ communications teams.
As a veteran journalist, John has extensive connections with local, regional and national media outlets. Prior to forming Access Public Relations he was Associate Editor of Florida Trend, an award-winning monthly business magazine. He wrote on a variety of business and public policy issues, including a regular column called Insiders that covered Florida’s publicly traded companies. Previously, John served as a staff reporter for The Florida Times-Union covering business and finance. In addition, his articles have appeared in The New York Times, BusinessWeek and Southern Living.
John studied journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1995 he was awarded a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship to study business and finance at the Columbia University Business School in New York. John is the co-author of the books, Insiders’ Guide to Jacksonville and The New Columbia Knight-Bagehot Guide to Economics & Business Journalism. Earlier in his career, John served as vice president of a public relations firm in Atlanta where he represented a variety of clients, including a national accounting firm, real estate developers, banks and investment firms.
John has served on the boards of the Jacksonville Foreclosure Task Force, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (North Florida), Better Jacksonville Plan Citizens Advisory Committee and Atlantic Beach Country Club. He presently serves as Board President of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s Transportation & Logistics Council and the Policy Committee of the North Florida Green Chamber of Commerce.
In his spare time, John enjoys surfing, reading and traveling throughout Florida and the Southeast with his wife Marisa in their AirStream travel trailer.
Wanda L. Ford, D.M.
Board Member
Dr. Wanda L. Ford has over 25 years of higher education administration experience and currently serves as the Vice President for Finance and Administration at Florida State College at Jacksonville. She provides oversight and leadership for the offices of Finance, Budget, Human Resources, Information Technology, Purchasing, Business and Auxiliary Services, Facilities, Employee Relations, Risk Management, and Campus Safety. Dr. Ford served as Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Florida A&M University (FAMU). In this role, she was responsible for the oversight of the institution’s $375m budget and provided leadership to the areas of Information Technology, Human Resources, Facilities Planning and Construction, Budget Office, Environmental Health and Safety, Controller’s Office, and Auxiliary Services. She served as Treasurer of the FAMU Foundation Board of Directors which oversees the institution’s $125m endowment. Dr. Ford currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida A&M Federal Credit Union. Dr. Ford is a 2014-15 American Council of Education (ACE) Fellow and spent her fellowship year at Georgia Gwinnett College. The focus of her fellowship project was innovative learning strategies including effective enrollment, recruitment, and retention strategies. She has held various other leadership positions including Assistant Controller, Associate Controller, Director of Contracts and Grants, Director of Sponsored Programs, and Executive Director of Title III Programs. Prior to her employment at FAMU, Dr. Ford served as the Assistant Controller and Director of Financial and Business Services at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Ford holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, master’s degree in Organizational Management and a Doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership.
Allana Forté
Board Member
Allana Forté serves as the Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Culture Officer, and Legal Counsel at Jacksonville University.
Ms. Forté attended the University of Florida where she received her degree in Telecommunications with a focus in Education. She also attended Stetson University College of Law where she received her J.D. and a certificate concentration in Trial Advocacy.
Prior to returning to Jacksonville, Allana served as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment and Director of Admission at the University of Denver. She also served as the Director of Admission at Jacksonville University and Florida Coastal School of Law.
Ms. Forté’s work portfolio includes criminal law and civil litigation. She has worked for two Fortune 500 companies - Merrill Lynch Global and Citibank Global.
As a trained advocate, Allana considers her transition to higher education seamless, as she went from advocating for her clients to advocating for students. Allana admits “while practicing law is stressful, basing my career on the decisions of 17-year-old student(s) may be one of the greatest challenges of my life. I am excited to advocate for students through policy change, equity compliance and impacting systemic change.”
Ms. Forté’s passions include social justice work and community mentorship. In 2021, Mayor Curry appointed her to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission where she serves as Chair of the Employment Commission. Ms. Forté is also a member of the Jacksonville Women’s Network, Carnegie Board, and the University of Florida Alumni Board, where she serves as a co-chair for the Historic Gator Club of St. Augustine. Allana loves to travel nationally and internationally and prides herself on traveling to 48 states. In her spare time, she teaches Higher Education Law and Policy at Colorado State University and enjoys yoga, poetry, listening to podcast, watching Jeopardy, and hosting game nights for her family.
Angie Garman
Board Member
Angie has nearly 20 years of risk management experience with her current role as Senior Vice President of Audit and Project Management for First Florida Credit Union. Her career began as an auditor for Arthur Andersen & Co but shortly focused to Internal Audit where she concentrated mainly in the financial services sector. Collaborating with business units, varying levels of management and external third party relationships provided the launching pad to deconstruct complex problems and provide strategic solutions to organizational obstacles.
Angie received an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a M.S. in Accounting from University of Hartford and a B. A. in Political Science from Bates College. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Credit Union Internal Auditor.
As an advocate for community stewardship, she is a counselor for the Florida Shine program, volunteer for The Players Championship and involved with the Junior League of Jacksonville as a Sustaining member. Angie’s past community involvement entailed co-chair and founder of the Albany Race for the Cure and board member for the American Cancer Society.
Marie Foster Gnage, Ph.D.
Board Member
Dr. Marie Foster Gnage retired as Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Advancement at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in 2021. She is President Emerita of West Virginia University at Parkersburg where she served as college president for ten years. Gnage is a graduate of Alcorn State University (B.S.), the University of Southwestern Louisiana (M.A.), and Florida State University (Ph.D.). She has served as President, Campus President, Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Education Services, Dean of Academic Affairs, Department Head, ACE Fellow, and Assistant Professor at a number of U.S. colleges and universities, gaining experience leading/serving diverse areas of higher education. She is a published author; has served on national boards for such organizations as American Association of Community Colleges, American Council on Education and National Campus Compact; is a Rotarian; and continues to have a passion for serving on nonprofit boards.
Ty Grady
Board Member
Ty is a real estate investor, entrepreneur, consultant, and speaker. Ty has over 20 years' experience in the Banking, Mortgage, and Finance industries. He has helped individuals, business owners and their teams with financial empowerment, leadership effectiveness, professional development, innovation, preparing for workplace shifts, and organizational culture change. Ty guides his clients, with their success in mind, to feel a renewed sense of purpose and take real steps towards securing a better future. Ty received a M.S. in Sports Management from Florida International University and a B.S. in Business Management from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Over the years, he has worked as a college professor for three Universities, developing his passion for building programs and curriculum for career professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. Ty is the author of “Wealth Principles” – 6 Fundamental Strategies to Create Wealth. In addition, he developed a self-paced online course titled “Master Your Money, Master Your Life”, which focuses on simple financial concepts that will change the way people look at money forever. He also serves on the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association in Washington, D.C. When he is not busy working, Ty enjoys traveling and exploring different cultures with his wife.
Kevin Hyde
Chair
Kevin E. Hyde is a partner and employment lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. Kevin represents employers in a variety of human resources matters. His practice focuses on day-to-day employment counseling and workplace safety, and he has represented employers in numerous charges of discrimination, employment-discrimination cases, wage-hour and management-union matters. Kevin is managing partner of the firm’s Jacksonville office and a former chair of the Firm's Labor & Employment Practice group. He is also a member of the Automotive, Food & Beverage, and Manufacturing Industry Teams. Kevin speaks regularly at various programs and seminars, focusing on employment issues. He has served as keynote speaker at more than 30 states, regional, and national business and civic organization conventions. Kevin served on the Jacksonville, Fla. City Council from 2003 - 2011 and is a past president of the City Council. He is also the past Interim President of the Florida State College at Jacksonville and is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Florida.
Patrick Leddy
Co-Treasurer & Finance Committee Chair
Patrick is responsible for client services, business development, community engagement and firm administration. He brings over sixteen years of leadership, industry/Big Four public accounting and financial management experience to Farmand, Farmand and Farmand, LLP. Patrick was previously an accounting director with a large, publicly traded health care solutions provider where he spent nearly nine years working with key internal customers in mitigating financial risk, acquisition due diligence/integration and process improvement.
Patrick Received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Master’s in Accountancy, both from the University of North Florida. Locally, Patrick serves on the Advisory Committee for Make-A-Wish Northeast Florida and is a member of the Downtown Jacksonville Rotary. He has also supported the UNF Coggin College of Business as a mentor and Junior Achievement as a Class Volunteer.
Marjorie Sabio Marquinez
Board Member
Marjorie Sabio Marquinez, is currently an independent contractor/consultant and community volunteer. Her background is in grantmaking, program advocacy, program development and media campaigns/messaging. She was a Program Officer for the philanthropic arm of the NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars. She was an original staff member of the Jaguars/Jaguars Foundation and was part of the organization for 15 years. In her role, she managed multiple programs including the Playbooks program, Straight Talk program and grants. The Playbooks program was in partnership with the all the public library systems in the greater Jacksonville area (Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties) to promote youth reading and utilization of the public libraries.
Marquinez graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor’s degree in English and a concentration in Communication. She resides in St. Johns, Florida with her husband, Rodnie and son, Trevor.
Kathy Mcllvaine
Immediate Past Chair
Kathy McIlvaine retired in 2014 as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. In this role, she was responsible for developing marketing, communications and community relation’s strategies to enhance brand equity and to broaden community understanding of hospice and palliative care and end-of-life issues.
Prior to joining Community Hospice in 2004, Kathy held various leadership positions over a
25-year career working in both consumer and business-to-business markets for various technology and service organizations including Align, GiftCertificates.com, Brodeur Partners and IBM Corporation.
Kathy is active in the community including serving as a board member for the Rotary Club of Jacksonville and the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville as a member of the Advisory Council for The Baptist AgeWell Institute. She also volunteers for Community Hospice and Pallative Care where she serves as a facilitator and instructor for Honoring Choices Florida, a community-wide, advance care planning initiative.
Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Pace University in New York. She and her husband, John, reside in Jacksonville, FL.
Kelly Milliron
Governance Committee Chair
Kelly Milliron is a Jacksonville native, who grew up attending LaVilla Middle School of the Arts and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts studying Creative Writing. When she moved away for college she focused her studies in English and Criminology, which ultimately led her to law school. During her educational years, Kelly served as an Executive Articles Editor on the Florida Law Review and worked on local non-profit initiatives, including the Unshame Campaign, which sought to connect survivors of sexual violence with local, state-wide, and international resources and eliminate stigma surrounding sexual assault. Kelly also has prior experience working at the Children’s Home Society of Florida in child welfare and at the State Attorney’s Office of the Eighth Judicial Circuit in victim advocacy.
Kelly currently serves as a Judicial Law Clerk at the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. Previously, she was an attorney at a large multinational law firm (AmLaw 50) in the Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice. Kelly also is an active member in the Jacksonville Bar Association and the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Richard Naylor
Board Member
Richard Naylor joined the team at the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation as the Director of Business Operations in 2017. In this role, Richard is responsible for overseeing HR, Finance, Operations and Special Projects on the organization. Prior to this role, he served as the External Relations Manager for the Year Up Jacksonville where he helped to establish the first advisory board and achieved over $1 million dollars in direct donations. Richard spent 10 years in orchestra management which brought him to Jacksonville, serving as the Vice President of Artistic Operations for the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Richard has a Bachelors degree from Winthrop University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Indiana Institute of Technology.
Richard is married to Rachel Naylor and enjoys reading, volunteer teaching ESL at his church, and traveling with Rachel as much as possible.
Tim Rogers
Library Director & Secretary
As the library director of the Jacksonville Public Library (JPL), Tim Rogers works closely with the Board of Library Trustees, the City Council and Mayor’s Office, and a host of other city leaders to animate the Library’s mission of enriching lives, building community and fostering success by bringing people, information and ideas together. He is responsible for the overall operations of JPL’s Main Library and 20 branches which serve Jacksonville’s 369,995 households and 941,798 residents with a collection of more than 2.2 million borrowable physical and digital items. His other key duties include strengthening the Library’s financial base while providing an environment that attracts and supports a diverse and talented staff of more than 460 people.
Tim has more than 30 years as a library leader, serving in executive leadership positions with library systems and organizations in Kansas, New York, North Carolina and Oklahoma. He has been professionally active on both the national and state level, including terms as the Chair of the Board for the Northeast Florida Library and Information Network, a member of Florida’s State Library Council, the President of the Kansas Library Association, and the President of the Board of Trustees for the Public Library of Smithfield and Johnston County (NC). He has participated in four Rotary clubs in three different states including the Rotary Club of Jacksonville recently, and was a founding member local Lions Club chapter.
Tim earned a BA in Linguistics from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Library Science from Indiana University. He is a lifelong learner, a fan of baseball and baseball analytics, and avid reader of and listener a variety of works of fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Jacksonville with his wife, Carla, and is the proud grandfather of two very curious granddaughters.
Nicole Saunders
Board Member
Nicole Saunders is a Jacksonville-based attorney who currently works as a Senior Law Clerk at the Florida Supreme Court. Before working at the Court, Nicole practiced law in Jacksonville for four years.
In addition to practicing law, Nicole loves writing fiction. In 2016, she independently published her debut novel, Disposable, through her company, Advocate & Entertain Media, LLC. Nicole’s writing experience has provided her unique opportunities to explore Jacksonville’s literary scene–including as a participating author in the 2019 Jax Book Fest.
Nicole is passionate about giving back to her community, especially the youth. To that end, she volunteers at numerous non-profit organizations throughout the Jacksonville area, such as the Continental Societies, Inc., Jacksonville Chapter and the Police Athletic League.
Nicole graduated from Jacksonville University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2016.
Julia Stroud
Board Member
Julia Stroud has both a financial and philanthropic background. Prior to retiring in 2003, Julia held the position of First Vice President of Investments for both Morgan Stanley and Prudential Securities in Jacksonville.
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Julia moved with her husband and family from Atlanta to Jacksonville in 1992. While her children were attending the Bolles School, Julia was active on various projects with her major focus being the Parent Annual Fund and the Agnes Cain Painter Society. For fifteen years, she held various leadership positions, ultimately serving as Chair of the Annual Fund.
Julia, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008. After treatment, she became very active in fund raising for lung cancer research. Julia brought the Free to Breath Run / Walk to Jacksonville and served as race director and major fund-raiser for the initial three years.
In the most recent years, she has been involved with other charities but most of her focus has been with the Women’s Board working on the Arts and Antique Show to benefit the Wolfson’s Children Hospital.
Terresa White, D.Min.
Board Member
Pastor Terresa White is the co-founder of Heritage Christian Center in Jacksonville, FL. Pastor T is a cutting edge, teacher and conference speaker with a relevant word for today’s trend-driven environment. Her ability to translate hard to understand biblical truths into practical everyday, livable concepts is unparalleled. Moreover, her strong spiritual sensitivity allows her to transcend natural boundaries and give her audiences a one-on-one prophetic encounter with the Most High.
A true humanitarian, with a committed, servant style spirit, she demonstrates God’s love with purity and passion. Her inspirational, unique, practical leadership style motivates believers to remove doubt and passionately pursue their God-given destiny.
In 2019 she officially launched Fearless Girlz Inc. a global nonprofit organization that helps women come out of the shadows, find their voice and discover their true purpose through education and empowerment.
Dr. Terresa has a heart to see the body of Christ stand up and take their rightful place as world pioneers socially. For more than 25 years, her enthusiasm and passion in the social and economic arena has take her around the world. Her goal is to see the body of Christ excel and surpass the world standards and system by using Godly principles in the workplace and throughout life.
An Ohio native and current Green Cove Springs, FL resident her education and background in communications is building major strides in the kingdom. Pastor T is a “make a difference woman” in ministry, committed wife to her best friend and ministry partner Dr. James and dedicated mother of their three children and three beautiful grandchildren.
