Step Up for Students

Our Governance Board

Julio Fuentes

Julio is President and CEO of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, a group whose mission is to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic children by empowering families through parental choice. He previously founded and served as President and CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Today the organization has grown to 38 chapters and manages a database of more than 80,000 minority-owned businesses. He currently serves on the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, the Board of Directors for Florida Kidcare, is Chairman of Latin CEO and has been ranked by Florida Trend magazine as one of the state’s “100 Most Influential Leaders.”

Allison Hertog

Allison is the founding attorney of Florida School Partners, a private law firm whose mission is to help parents access the right placement - public or private - for their special needs children. Allison, who is one of only a handful of lawyers in the country with a masters degree in special education, has long been an advocate of school choice and has gained particular expertise in Florida's groundbreaking McKay Scholarship - a special needs voucher for students with disabilities. She has worked with the U.S. Congress and has spoken nationally about special education law and special needs vouchers. She graduated from Smith College, Columbia University's Teachers College, and the Loyola Law School of Los Angeles.

John Kirtley, chairman

John is co-founder of KLH Capital, a Tampa-based private equity firm that invests in management buyouts of smaller middle-market companies. He created the Children's Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay in 1998 to privately fund scholarships for low-income children in grades K-8, and the reaction was so overwhelming he persuaded the Florida Legislature in 2001 to create a statewide Tax Credit Scholarship for all low-income students. He is currently vice chairman of the Alliance For School Choice and the American Federation for Children and serves on the board of The James Madison Institute. He was most recently appointed to serve on the Education Transition Team of Gov. Rick Scott.

Deon Long

Deon is a Winter Park attorney who is a passionate advocate for school choice. While earning a degree in history at the University of Florida, he served in the student Senate. He went on to attend the University of Michigan School of Law and serve as Associate Editor for the Michigan Law Review. He was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to serve on the board of the St. Johns River Water Management District from 1999-2007 and spent two terms as chairman. He also serves on the board of the Frey Institute and was the chairman of a former scholarship organization known as Children First.

Curtis Stokes

Curtis Stokes is Vice President of Community Affairs for Fifth Third Bank. Previously, he held management positions at Norwest Financial and later became Vice President Business Client Manager at Bank of America. His broad community involvement includes serving as a member of the Tampa City Council, as former president of the Hillsborough Branch of the NAACP, past chairman of the Board of the American Cancer Society, on the University Area Community Development Corporation and as area chairman for the United Negro College Fund. In 2002,Tampa Bay Business Journal  named him one of the “Top 40 under 40” business leaders in the region.

Gerald Whitburn

Gerald Whitburn is chairman and retired president and CEO of Church Mutual Insurance Company, the nation's leading insurer of religious institutions, covering more than 100,000 houses of worship and related organizations in all 50 states. He served as Church Mutual’s CEO from 2001 until January 2010, having joined the company in 1996 as Vice President of Administration. He has a broad background in business and government. Previously, he served as Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, with a budget of $8 billion and a workforce of 25,000 employees. He also held two state cabinet positions in Wisconsin in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as Labor Secretary and as Secretary of Health and Social Services.

 

 

  

Our Advisory Board

Bryan Anderson

Bryan Anderson is Vice President of Government Relations for HCA's Eastern Group, which includes Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. In this role, he provides executive strategy for state and federal legislative relations, public policy, political and charitable giving and external communication. Prior to joining HCA, Bryan was Director of Legislative Affairs for Bailey Consulting, a multi-state political and business consulting firm. Bryan is a native of Ocala, and has bachelor degrees in political science and communication from Troy University and a master of arts degree in political science from Auburn University. He is a member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Associated Industries of Florida, the Board of Governors of the Federation of American Hospitals and the state Neurological Compensation Association Board of Directors.

Erbi Blanco-True

Erbi currently serves as Senior Vice President/Director of Community Development for Great Florida Bank. In her position she manages the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act programs, which include lending, investments and services related to affordable housing and community development. Erbi’s career includes more than 20 years of management experience in banking, including the areas of investments, retail, marketing, lending, community relations and business development. She has won many awards for her community outreach, has served as an expert speaker, and has been featured in publications including The Miami Herald, the Daily Business Review, the Miami Today and the South Florida Business Journal. Erbi obtained her Master’s in Business Administration from Florida International University and her undergraduate degree from Barry University. 

Benjamin Bright

Benjamin is Director of State Taxes at VF Corporation, which is a leader in branded apparel, including Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, JanSport, The North Face, and 7 For All Mankind.  At VF Corporation, he is responsible for all aspects of state taxation. Prior to joining VF Corporation, he was Senior Tax Manager with HCA Inc., where his primary responsibility was to represent the company on state and local income and franchise tax audits. In his role as senior tax manager, he also led HCA’s state income and franchise tax credit initiatives and was involved in various tax compliance and tax planning projects. He is a licensed CPA and member of the American Institute and Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received his B.B.A in accounting at Tennessee Technological University.

Michele Cavallo

Michelle is a Senior Account Executive at Progress Energy, an investor-owned utility serving 35 counties in Florida.  Michele has been with Progress Energy for 21 years and has extensive experience in external relations, customer service and economic development.  Her community involvement includes volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House and participating in the mentoring program at Tyrone Middle School.  She serves on the board of the Pinellas County Science Center. Michele received her B.S. in Management from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

Casey R. Cesnovar

Casey is the Senior Manager of State Government Relations at Walgreens and oversees all State Government Relations activity on the east coast. He directly handles Government Relations activity in five southeastern states and Puerto Rico. Previously, he spent nearly five years as a Professional Sales Representative for TAP Pharmaceuticals. He also served as Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Advance for the Illinois Lieutenant Governor. Additionally he played an integral role on the Wood for Governor Statewide campaign while working for and volunteering on various campaigns for the House and Senate. Casey received a BA in Political Science from DePaul University, Chicago.

David Conway

David Conway is Vice President of Finance and CFO for Summit Consulting Inc. based in Lakeland, Florida. Summit is a leading provider of workers' compensation programs and services in 11 southeastern states. The company manages five workers' compensation insurance companies, including the largest carrier in the state of Florida. Summit is a member of Liberty Mutual Group, a diversified global insurer and the fifth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2009 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 71st on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations based on 2009 revenues. Conway also serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Workers Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association.

Gordon Fales

Gordon Fales was born in New York City and served in the U.S. Coast Guard before beginning his business career with American Airlines. He and his family moved to Miami where he continued his aviation career. In 2002, he was working as Community Redevelopment officer for Pointe Bank when he became involved with a school in the Overtown section of Miami, which was heavily supported by families benefitting from Step Up For Students scholarships. It was here that he became enthusiastically involved. Beyond gaining a major contribution from his bank, he continues to be active in introducing other banks and businesses to the program. 

Melissa Froehlich Flood

Melissa is Vice President of Government Affairs for Marriott International and is responsible for federal lobbying, grassroots, public policy communications, and Marriott’s Political Action Committee. Melissa supports Chairman and CEO, J.W. Marriott, Jr. in his Board appointments for Immigration Works USA and the US Travel Association’s CEO Roundtable. In addition, Melissa is the Secretary for Immigration Works USA, the Chairperson of Corporate Voices for Working Families’ Legislative Committee, and is the former Chairperson for the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s Under 30 Council. She now serves on the Executive Committee for Women in Lodging.  Prior to joining Marriott, Melissa worked in the Public Affairs office for UPS on international trade, PAC, and grassroots issues.

Stephen V. Fuller

Stephen is Senior Vice President of Human Resources at The GEO Group Inc. and oversees all HR activities for the $1.5-billion company with more than 17,500 employees. The GEO Group is a world leader in the delivery of correctional, detention, and residential treatment services to federal, state, and local government agencies around the globe. Prior to joining GEO, Fuller served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for AmeriPath, Inc., where he was a founding executive officer and led the company from start-up to annual revenue of $1 billion. Fuller has more than 30 years of experience in Human Resources, a Masters in Business Administration (Dean’s List) from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations from Auburn University.

Bernard Jacob

Bernard is the Vice President of Customer Operations at Gulf Power Company.  His areas of responsibility include Customer Service, Transmission and Distribution, Marketing and Customer Operations Support. Bernard’s career began with Southern Company in 1982 as an External Affairs representative with Mississippi Power Company in Gulfport. In 1992 he moved to Southern Company’s Washington, D.C. office where he was Manager of Federal Legislative Affairs for Mississippi Power and Manager of Federal Regulatory Affairs for Southern Company.  In 2003, Bernard was elected as Vice President, External Affairs and Corporate Services at Gulf Power, and later became Vice President of Customer Operations. He serves on the Baptist Health Care Board of Directors and is the Chairman of Gulf Power Company’s Foundation Board. 

Michael Maddaloni

Michael is Vice President-Treasurer at Beall’s, Inc., which is the parent company of Beall's Department Stores, Inc., Beall's Outlet Stores, Inc., and Burke's Outlet Stores, LLC. Michael joined the company in 1996 and is responsible for the Tax and Treasury Departments. The corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates about 600 retail stores in Sun Belt states from Florida to California and has an active eCommerce presence. Beall’s has annual sales of more than $1 billion dollars with headquarters in Bradenton. Previously, Michael spent 11 years in public accounting at a firm in Albany, New York.  He earned his CPA license in New York and graduated from Siena College in 1985 with a BBA in Accounting and a minor in Computer Science. Michael also sits on the Board of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce and the Tax Committee of the National Retail Federation.

Cole Peacock

Cole is a past retail executive for Chico’s FAS, has managed political campaigns on the state and local level, and currently is President of his own company, RC Peacock Consulting. Peacock Consulting works with corporations and non-profit agencies on their branding, community relations, marketing, and corporate strategy efforts. Cole is a member of the 2008/2009 Leadership Florida Class, the Florida and Greater Ft. Myers Chambers, the Executive Board for the Florida Retail Federation, and also serves as the Chairman of the Boys and Girls Club Be Great  Campaign, Chairman of the American Red Cross of Lee County, Vice Chairman of the Edison Ford Winter Estates and Treasurer for the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools.

Paul L. Phillips

Paul Phillips is the Regional Vice President for Lowes Home Improvement overseeing most of the state of Florida. He has been with Lowes for 11 years in various capacities and has 29 years overall retail management experience. He has previously partnered with organizations such as Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity to better the communities Lowes serves. In his spare time Paul also likes to devote time to youth sports.

 

Suzanne Cafferty Ross

Suzanne relocated to Miami from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the past year and is the Chief Compliance Officer for BankUnited. She is responsible for Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) regulations, as well as Regulatory Compliance and Community Development. Most of her career was spent with PNC Bank in Wealth Management with a transfer to the Compliance Department after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. She then moved to BNY Mellon for a number of years to create a Due Diligence function within the Compliance area. Suzanne obtained her J.D. from the Duquesne University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Boston College.

Jeff Sabin

Jeff is a senior manager at Waste Management and has been with the company for 32 years. He is responsible for Public Sector Services, based in Hobe Sound, and for interfacing with Government Agencies in the surrounding six counties. Jeff's role as Government Affairs Manager includes Statewide Strategic Initiative coordination and oversight of outreach activities for Waste Management. Jeff is a charter member of the Keep America Beautiful affiliates of Florida and is an 18-year member and chairman of the Palm Beach Gardens Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He also serves on the Big Heart Brigade, Keep Martin and Palm Beach Counties Beautiful, Okeechobee County Education Foundation, Business Development Board and Economic Council of Martin County Board and Palm City Chamber of Commerce Board.

Armando P. Trabanco

Armando is Senior Vice President, Regional Manager for U.S. Century Bank, one of the fastest growing community banks in South Florida. In this role, he is responsible for the retail bank branches within the North Region, including overall growth, production, management and profitability. He is a seasoned banking professional with more than 25 years experience in South Florida. Previously, he held numerous positions with SunTrust Bank in Miami, where he served as Senior Vice President/ Southern District Manager. Armando is extremely involved with his community, serving as past chairman of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an active volunteer with the Miami Rescue Mission, previous member of the Miami Beach Preservation Board and current Advisory Board Chairman with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.