Florida State Parks Foundation Board President Kathleen Brennan
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, October 25, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Florida State Parks Foundation today announced a dynamic new group of board officers who will serve through 2023-24 and seek to build on the organization’s unprecedented recent successes.
The Foundation’s 2023-24 board officers, first shared at its statewide annual meeting on Wednesday, include:
President: Kathleen Brennan
Immediate Past President: Tammy Gustafson
President-Elect: Matt Caldwell
Secretary: Emily Lewis
Treasurer: Audrine Finnerty
“Tammy, Matt, Emily and Audrine have already made invaluable contributions to the Foundation as board members, and we couldn’t be happier to have them in leadership positions for the next two years,” said Julia Gill Woodward, CEO of the Florida State Parks Foundation. “Not only are they among the very best in their respective fields, but they are also passionate supporters of Florida’s award-winning state parks.”
Brennan, a Foundation board member since 2019, has dedicated decades to volunteerism and nonprofit organizations. She is both a founder and the immediate past president of the Oasis Center for Women and Girls in Tallahassee, is a member of the executive committee for the Florida Urban Forestry Council and has served as president of the GFWC Tallahassee Junior Woman’s Club.
A graduate of the Florida State University College of Law, Brennan lives in Tallahassee with her husband of 31 years, Claude Hendon. They have four children together.
“It is an honor to serve as board president for the Florida State Parks Foundation,” Brennan said. “The Foundation has an outstanding team of board members and staff, and we are all committed to fulfilling our mission to preserve, protect, sustain and grow Florida’s incredible state parks.”
Brennan assumes the board presidency from Gustafson, who helped guide the Foundation to record successes in 2021-22.
Under Gustafson’s leadership, the Foundation set an organization record for fundraising in 2022, launched a new Greener Initiative to promote environmental sustainability in state parks, and created a new partnership with Live Wildly to amplify the role that state parks play in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Florida State Parks also received a combined total of more than $300 million in budget allocation from the Florida Legislature during Gustafson’s two years as board president.
“I have enjoyed every minute of my time as board president of the Florida State Parks Foundation, and I am proud of all that our team has achieved over the last few years,” Gustafson said. “Kathleen is going to be an excellent board president, and I cannot wait to see the amazing things the Foundation does during her term.”
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The Florida State Parks Foundation, founded in 1993 as Friends of Florida State Parks and renamed in 2018, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose mission is to support and help sustain the Florida Park Service, its 175 award-winning parks and trails, local Friends groups and more than 20,000 park volunteers.
It does this through programs that preserve and protect state parks, educate visitors about the value of state parks, encourage community engagement and active use of state parks, and advocacy. The volunteer Board of Directors represents private and public sectors as well as local and statewide interests.
Tim Linafelt
Florida State Parks Foundation
+1 8505598914
email us here
