Foundation Announces New Board Members and Key Staff Appointments
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg announced the addition of four trustees and three key staff members.
Keisha Bell, Marcus A. Brooks, Emery M. Ivery and Dr. Katurah Jenkins-Hall were appointed to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2016, thus fully seating the 11-member Board that oversees the Foundation. It is the largest grantmaking foundation in St. Petersburg.
Ms. Bell is an author, public speaker and attorney practicing in the areas of personal injury, family law and workers’ compensation. Her public health experience includes the successful oversight of a major grant from the National Institutes of Health aimed at reducing diabetes and child obesity in St. Petersburg. Ms. Bell’s community leadership includes membership in the Florida Association of Women Lawyers in Pinellas County, St. Petersburg Community Planning and Preservation Commission and the Independent Citizens Referendum Oversight Committee as the Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students (COQEBS) representative.
Mr. Brooks is currently working as the Regional Director West of Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay where he manages partnership development efforts for Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties. He worked previously for St. Petersburg College and attended Florida State University. He is an effective public speaker and has lobbied state government on behalf of Junior Achievement.
Mr. Ivery is the current Tampa Bay Area President of the United Way Suncoast, where he provides regional leadership in developing strategies to address the root causes of community issues and creating lasting positive change in the Tampa Bay region. Mr. Ivery has nearly 30 years of experience working at United Way. He holds a master’s degree in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Jenkins-Hall was the first African-American woman to be awarded a PhD in psychology from the University of South Florida, Tampa and retired from the university after a 30-year career and has also served as a licensed clinical psychologist for 30 years. She served on the Florida Board of Psychology for 8 years, and as chair for 4 years. She is an author, public speaker, ordained minister and active volunteer, currently serving as a mental health consultant for the Pinellas County Urban League among other community leadership roles.
“We are delighted to welcome Ms. Bell, Mr. Brooks, Mr. Ivery and Dr. Jenkins-Hall as Trustees of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg,” said Board of Trustees Chair Steven C. Dupré. “Their outstanding professional accomplishments and depth of community knowledge and service are enormously valuable to the Board as we support the Foundation’s mission to improve health and well-being in South Pinellas County.”
Three key staff positions were filled in late 2016. Julie Rocco has joined the Foundation as Operations and Key Initiatives Senior Manager. She is responsible for leading day-to-day operations and identifying new opportunities to achieve best practices in population health.
Ms. Rocco is a seasoned grants writer, special project manager and administrator with an extensive record of service in the Tampa Bay area. She was most recently grant writer and STEAM Manager for the Tampa Housing Authority, and prior to that vice president of resource development and special projects at the Corporation to Develop Communities (CDC) of Tampa, Inc. She holds an A.A. in General Studies from Edison Community College in Naples, Florida, a B.A. in Criminology from the University of South Florida and a Master’s in Public Administration from Hodges University in Fort Myers.
Jaime F. Dixon is Grants and Project Manager at the Foundation, responsible for managing all aspects of the Foundation’s grantmaking activities and post-award monitoring and providing technical assistance to funded partners.
Most recently, Ms. Dixon was grants manager at the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation in Orlando. She has worked in the nonprofit sector in both program and development roles. Ms. Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida and Master’s in Human Development and Family Studies with a specialization in program evaluation from the University of Rhode Island.
Delquanda S. Turner has joined the Foundation as Community Engagement Officer, with responsibility for developing and maintaining external community relationships with individuals, agencies, collectives, planning bodies, municipalities and corporations involved in the broad range of social determinants of health in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Ms. Turner most recently served as the Community Planning Manager of the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) where she advocated for stronger communities and services for families, built and sustained stakeholder relationships, convened providers and residents, and led her team to positive impact and community change initiatives. Her prior positions include work with JWB-funded programs and the corporate sector. Ms. Turner holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, is a Leadership St. Petersburg alumna and lifelong resident of St. Petersburg.
“With the hiring of these three key staff members, the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg is poised to launch our second full year of grantmaking, convening and strategic communications in support of a healthier South Pinellas County,” said Randall H. Russell, President and CEO. “Julie, Jaime and Delquanda will enhance our ability to work in partnership with the community to create positive change.”