Charla M. Burchett
Partner,
Shutts & Bowen, LLP

Charla M. Burchett is a partner in the Sarasota office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Private Client Services Practice Group.

Charla is one of less than 300 attorneys in the State of Florida and one of less than 30 attorneys in the Sarasota and Manatee counties who have been certified by The Florida Bar as a Board Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates. She has more than thirty years of experience assisting clients through challenging decisions and difficult times to preserve their legacies across generations. She focuses her practice on estate planning, estate and gift taxation, estate administration, and trust administration.

A Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ rated attorney, Charla has been recognized for her legal capabilities by SRQ Magazine’s “Elite Top Attorneys,” Florida Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers In America® and as a “Top Rated Lawyer” on Avvo.com®. She is actively engaged in her community, currently serving as an Advisory Task Force Member for Impact100 SRQ and a board member for the Easterseals of Southwest Florida Foundation and the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club, in addition to previously serving as the 2021 Chair of The Pines of Sarasota Foundation and the 2011 Chair of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc. Charla earned her LL.M. from the University of Miami School of Law, focusing on Estate Planning, and received her J.D. from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, with her B.A. from the University of Kentucky.

David K. Cahoone
Senior Partner,
The Dorcey Law Firm

David is an attorney, consultant, author, and frequent public speaker. He has over 30 years of active practice experience in the areas of wealth transfer planning, charitable planning, trusts and estates, income tax planning and business planning. David has significant experience planning with ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals and working with them in all phases of design, implementation and ongoing support.

David enjoys engaging with individuals, families and business owners to develop and implement plans to achieve their unique goals and objectives by listening to discover, and then working with them to build a plan to implement, their "enlightened dreams" for themselves, their loved ones, their communities and their philanthropic passions.

David also assists public charities and private foundations with navigating the challenging requirements for accepting complex gifts and providing proper documentation to donors and IRS compliance. He also provides training to charitable fundraisers and presentations to charitable donors who are looking to be more tax efficient in their charitable giving.

David has a Masters degree in Taxation from the University of Florida College of Law and has attained the highest professional ranking (AV) from Martindale-Hubbell. He is a member of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Counsel, National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida, and the Sarasota County and Florida Bar Associations (Sections on Business Law, Tax Law, Real Property and Trust Law).

David is a co-author of Protect and Enhance Your Estate published by McGraw Hill and The Living Trust Workbook published by the Penguin Group. He has been quoted in national newspapers, magazines and appeared as a guest on a number of radio talk shows. David is also a frequent keynote speaker for local and national organizations.

For five years David was the Director of Philanthropic Strategies and Planned Giving at Brown University. At Brown he worked collaboratively with the Advancement office, faculty, staff and alumni as a resource for donors and their advisors to develop and achieve their charitable and financial goals and dreams in a tax-wise manner.

In addition, David looks forward to working collaboratively with other attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, and insurance professionals to serve the specialized planning needs of individuals, families and business owners.

Joe Carter
Vice President of Philanthropy,
Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Joe has over 30 years’ experience in higher education and nonprofit fundraising for organizations in the areas of major gifts and planned giving. He is new to the Gulf Coast area as the VP of Philanthropy for the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Previously, he spent twenty years as the VP of Development at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation assisting professional advisors, donors and organizations with gift planning. During his tenure, the foundation assets grew from $314 million to $1.7 billion. His primary duties included oversite of all development activities of the foundation with a focus on educating and working with non-profits, professional advisors and their clients on structuring philanthropic plans that best meet the donor’s charitable goals and objectives. In addition, he develops and presents continuing education classes for all advisor groups on the technical aspects of gift planning, the psychology of donor giving and the advantages that charitable giving can provide. Duties also included working with non-profit organizations on developing their planned giving programs including board training and educational events for donors.

He was a member and past president of the Oklahoma Association of Charitable Gift Planners and a member of the OKC Estate Planning Council. He is a graduate of the American College’s Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) program and currently serves as the moderator for the Gulf Coast CAP cohorts. Prior to joining GCCF and OCCF he held positions as the Chief Development Officer for Children’s Hospital Foundation of OK, Associate Director of Development, and Director of Admissions for St. Gregory’s University, and Associate Athletic Director at Oklahoma City University. Joe received his undergraduate degrees in Finance, Marketing and Economics from Oklahoma City University where he attended on a baseball scholarship. He and his wife, Lori, have a nineteen-year-old son, Jaxon attending CO School of Mines.

Stevan Collins
Executive Benefits Consultant,
Professional Benefits (PBI)

Stevan Collins is an Executive Benefits Consultant at Professional Benefits (PBI) and works closely with physicians, executives, and other high earning individuals for their insurance needs. His specialty is customizing insurance to the client, which often includes discussions beyond traditional insurance uses, into charitable and legacy planning.

Prior to joining PBI he held several leadership positions in engineering and supply chain at PGT Innovations in Nokomis, FL. His responsibilities included capital planning, project management, budgeting, and leadership for several different teams. Prior to moving to Sarasota, Florida he worked on the railroad in England, leading teams of engineers responsible for producing training simulators.

He graduated in Industrial Engineering from the University of the West of England, and went on to graduate from Florida State University with a Master’s in Business Administration.

Richard R. Gans
Shareholder, 
Ferguson Skipper Attorneys at Law

Richard R. Gans is a shareholder in the Sarasota, Florida, firm of Fergeson Skipper, P.A. Mr. Gans is certified by The Florida Bar as a specialized Wills, Trusts and Estates lawyer, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is active in the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. Mr. Gans is the current vice-chair of the Section’s Asset Protection Committee, and is past chair of the Section’s Estate and Trust Tax Planning and Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification Exam CLE course committees. Mr. Gans is a member and past President of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council and the Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida. He is past chair of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc., and is a Director of the Sarasota Woman’s Exchange. Mr. Gans has been named by Best Lawyers in America as the 2012, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for Trusts and Estates Law in Sarasota. He has been selected in 2007-2024 as a Florida Super Lawyer, in 2008-2024 as a Florida Trend Legal Elite, and in 2010-2023 by Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Gans plays tuba in the Sarasota Concert Band, the Manatee County Community Band, and the Lakewood Ranch Wind Ensemble. He has attended the Indianapolis 500 40 times.

Susan Hines
Managing Principal
Sabal Trust

Susan Hines is the Managing Principal of Sabal Trust’s Sarasota Wealth Team and brings more than 34 years of trust and legal experience to her clients. Susan works closely with the firm’s clients and is responsible for leading all aspects of the firm’s wealth management services in Sarasota County and its our surrounding markets. Susan earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management, magna cum laude, and Juris Doctorate (JD) degrees from the University of Florida and she is an honors graduate of the American Banker Association’s (ABA) National Trust School at Northwestern University. She is a licensed attorney in Florida, a Florida Bar member, a past director of the Sarasota County Bar Association and Past President of both the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council and the Venice Area Estate Planning Council.

Susan is passionate about education, financial literacy and youth development and has committed her time in many leadership roles within the community. She is proud to serve as the Board Chair of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation and as a trustee for the James M. Doss Charitable Foundation and the Jerome and Mildred Paddock Foundation. She is a graduate and active member of Leadership Sarasota, a two term Board Member of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and has served on the Boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Venice Hospital Foundation and Rotary Futures.

Susan is the proud mother of three adult children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends at sporting events and in and around our beautiful Florida waterways.

Jacqueline House, MBA CFRE

Vice President, Communications and Community Engagement,
Safe Children Coalition

Jacqueline House, Vice President of Communications and Community Engagement  for Safe Children Coalition, Inc. is a native Floridian, and South Florida transplant by way of Fort Myers. She arrived in Sarasota and at Safe Children Coalition in October 2020. She brings with her over 10 years of leadership and fundraising experiences with non-profits in child welfare, education, and human services. Her background includes work with Children’s Home Society, St. Thomas University, Goodwill Industries, and Women In Distress of Broward County. She has previously served on various professional and community boards such as the Association of Professional Researchers, the Zonta Club of Miami Lakes, and Quality Life Center of Southwest Florida. She currently serves on the program committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals -Southwest Florida Chapter.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Central Florida, a Master of Business Administration from Hodges University, and is a Certified Fundraising Executive.

Barbara A. Jones, CPA/CFP®
Shareholder,
Kerkering Barberio

Ms Jones joined Kerkering Barberio in 1997. She has 20 years of experience in the banking industry in senior management.

Education

• Hartwick College B.A. in Economics
• University of Hartford M.S. in Professional Accounting
• Licenses / Certifications
• Florida Certified Public Accountant
• Certified Financial Planner

Organization Involvement

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• Designing Women Boutique
• Easter Seals Southwest Florida
• Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA)
• Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance
• Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch
• Rotary Gift of Life of Florida, Inc.
• Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council

Kathy Jordan
Director of Development,
WUSF Public Media

Kathy Jordan is the Director of Philanthropy at WUSF/NPR and Classical WSMR where she is responsible for planning and implementing fundraising strategies for major gifts / planned giving and serves as a liaison for WUSF Public Media in the Sarasota and Manatee communities. Previously, Kathy was managing director at the Sarasota Film Festival, a 10-day international film festival. Prior to moving to Sarasota, Kathy was a film producer and worked for Miramax, DeLaurentiis and Mahagonny Pictures in Los Angeles. Kathy is a graduate of the University of Texas with a B.S. in Radio-Television-Film and B.A. in Psychology. She is also a certified yoga instructor, an Alumni of Leadership Sarasota and a graduate of the Gulf Coast Leadership Institute. She has served on professional and community boards including Association for Fundraising Professionals, Sarasota Womens Alliance, and as Panel Chair and Policy Chair for Sarasota County Tourist Development Cultural/Arts Grants Program.

Kathy proudly served as president for the Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida in 2022. 

Melodie Rich
Tax Partner,
Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC

Melodie Rich is a tax partner with Mauldin & Jenkins and has more than 30 years of experience in providing a wide range of both individual and business tax services. She specializes in Estate Planning, including income tax planning for trusts and estates. Melodie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Central Florida. She received her CPA license from the State of Florida in 1994.

Melodie is a strong supporter of the community. She serves many organizations in addition to being on the board of of Charitable Gift Planners of Southwest Florida she was a past Treasurer of Realize Bradenton, Inc. and board member/past President for the Estate Planning Council of Manatee County, Inc., and past Treasurer of Children’s Guardian Fund and the Literacy Council of Sarasota. She is also a member of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council, FICPA, and the AICPA. Melodie is graduate of Leadership Manatee and Sarasota and she is a native of Manatee County, where she resides with her husband Ron.

Lee Ann Rodriguez, MA, MBA, DBA
Founder & Principal
EXTENDIO Resources + LLC

Lee Ann Rodriguez is a dynamic leader in grant seeking, fundraising, and public policy, with an extensive track record of helping nonprofits achieve transformative growth and impact. She holds a Doctor of Business Administration from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, as well as an MBA, MA in Translation, and BA in Modern Languages from the State University of Puerto Rico.

Lee Ann has successfully secured multimillion-dollar funding for nonprofits and higher education institutions, including unrestricted and restricted grants, planned giving, major gifts, and capital campaigns. Her strategic leadership has empowered organizations to expand their services, launch new programs, and strengthen operational sustainability. As the founder of EXTENDIO, she works closely with nonprofits to secure vital resources, craft winning strategies, and build capacity for long-term success.

Her accomplishments include leading the development of comprehensive grant policies and managing large-scale federal projects, such as a 7-figure National Science Foundation grant that earned her the White House Champion of Change award in 2013. She has also driven transformative change in the public sector, designing interagency initiatives to support vulnerable populations.

Lee Ann’s dedication to nonprofit excellence and community impact empowers organizations to expand their reach, fulfill their missions, and create lasting change.

Declan J. Sheehy
Chief Development Officer,
Senior Friendship Centers

​Declan J. Sheehy is currently Chief Development Officer at the Senior Friendship Centers. His past roles include Director of Philanthropy at New College of Florida, Senior Advancement Officer at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, Associate Director of Development at The Ringling and Assistant Director of the Smith Fund at Smith College. He has been involved in the nonprofit world for over 15+ years and has raised significant funds for a number of organizations. Declan has served on the board of Association of Fundraising Professionals for Southwest Florida, Tanglewood Business Partners and co-founded the successful Berkshire County, Mass., Women's Financial Empowerment series and was state president of the Massachusetts Jump$tart Coalition. He is currently state president of Florida Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

Dan Vigne, CFP®, CPWA®

Senior Managing Director, Northwest Florida,
Northern Trust

Dan Vigne is a Managing Director in the Sarasota office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Dan partners with C-suite executives, business owners and first-generation wealth creators who seek the strength and stability of the firm’s stalwart balance sheet.

As an advisor with a long history of helping to optimize wealth, he delivers a breadth of capabilities and platforms thoughtfully designed to address the complexity of substantial assets. Dan will be responsible for focusing on our largest and most complex clients across the Sarasota market, and will work alongside Chris Brandriff, Mark Malone and Andrew Smith to drive the strategy and vision for the Sarasota business.

Dan’s focus is on uncovering each client’s essential mandates—liquidity transactions, portfolio management, tax mitigation, legacy creation, philanthropy and other sophisticated goals. He develops a wealth plan that reflects these objectives and orchestrates the intellectual capital of J.P. Morgan to inform his recommendations. Dan is a direct conduit to institutional strategies and esoteric ideas not commonly available to individual investors. He’s a well-known leader in Sarasota, and serves as the face of the firm in elevating its presence in the community.

Tom Waters
President & CEO,
Easterseals Southwest Florida

Tom Waters, longtime local philanthropy leader and president and CEO of Easterseals Southwest Florida, has extensive work experience in nonprofit management, fundraising and community partnerships. Waters leads one of Southwest Florida’s oldest and most successful nonprofits serving children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities. He recently added comprehensive autism services with over thirty community collaborators, leveraging the power of partnership and positive impact regionally and across the state.

As chief advancement office at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Waters led the organization’s 2020 vision and strategic plan. He was responsible for surpassing initial fundraising goals and executing the successful beginnings of a $50 million comprehensive fundraising effort.

Throughout his noteworthy career, Tom has held leadership positions at several nonprofits, including Mile High United Way in Denver, Colorado and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. In his twelve years as Vice President of Philanthropy at the Community Foundation of Sarasota, he led a team whose fundraising efforts help grow to over 200 million in assets, with another $200+ million in future commitments.

Waters is a third-generation Sarasota “snowbird” and has been a permanent resident of Florida for the past twenty-five years. He carries on a family legacy of community engagement and commitment to serving others.

Jay Young
Vice President of Philanthropy,
Community Foundation of Sarasota County

Jay Young is Vice President of Philanthropy at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. As a member of senior staff, Jay oversees all facets of the philanthropy team, working with prospective and current donors to connect them with the causes they are most passionate about to ensure their philanthropic goals are accomplished in our community.

Jay has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, providing solutions for investment management, employee retirement plans, and custodial needs. Jay most recently oversaw a regional team covering the state of Florida and portions of the Southeast at Fifth Third working with large for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. He previously held positions at Fidelity Investments and SunTrust Bank (now Truist).

Jay received his bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, DC, and throughout his career has served as a volunteer on the board of various arts and human services organizations.

Karen Zelden 
Chief Development & Marketing Officer
Caring Collective (Formerly Glasser/Schoenbaum)

For over 30 years, Karen Zelden has participated in building thriving fundraising, grants, sales, client and donor relations, communications, marketing, and media relations programs and departments.

As Caring Collective’s first Chief Development & Marketing Officer, her responsibilities include strategic initiative development, revenue generation, marketing, community engagement, and communications. She participated extensively in the rebrand of Glasser/Schoenbaum to Caring Collective. Since 2008, her fundraising experience includes innovating and building planned giving, major gifts, and capital campaign programs. She successfully staff-led the major gifts fundraising efforts for a large health care system’s first-ever $20 million capital campaign. An experienced speaker and presenter, Karen has a passion for coaching boards, leaders, and individual performers to achieve organizational excellence, build relationships, and generate revenue. Through fundraising and development communications initiatives, she has contributed to raising over $50 million for diverse non-profits and universities.

Her for-profit industry accomplishments include co-leading a division’s revenue growth from $80 million to $110 million; participating on a $3 billion company’s senior leadership team to create and facilitate business training programs and grow revenue; and launching a large law firm’s client development, marketing, and media relations efforts including leading a major re-brand.

Karen earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification in 2021 and recertified in 2024. Passionate about mentoring others to achieve their goals, her greatest career joy comes from celebrating others’ achievements. Her interests include travel, hiking, fitness, cooking, music, reading, and writing – with authoring a mentor’s biography, Doggett Determination and receiving Amazon Editors’ recognition – an honor.