At Volunteer Florida, we are lucky to be guided by Commissioners and Foundation Board members that dedicate their time and talent to serving our agency and the people of Florida. Volunteer Florida is guided by a Governor-appointed Commission and supported by board members that make up the Volunteer Florida Foundation. These individuals represent different areas of our state with different expertise, from business and finance to nonprofit management and community service. Each member of our Commission and Foundation brings something unique to the agency and we are grateful for their service. We also recognize and thank those who hold leadership positions.
At the Annual Meeting of the Volunteer Florida Commission and Foundation last month, we had the opportunity to celebrate our outgoing officers and welcome our new ones. We invite you to keep reading to learn more about our new chairs of the Volunteer Florida Commission and Volunteer Florida Foundation.
Kerry Anne Schultz-Battle was unanimously voted by the Volunteer Florida Commission to serve as the Commission Chair for the 2020-2021 year. Schultz-Battle is an attorney by trade, but spends her free time giving back to her Gulf Breeze community. As a volunteer, she has been involved with several organizations and held many leadership roles, including ones with Gulf Breeze Rotary, Rotary District 6940, Sacred Heart Foundation, Pensacola State College Foundation, The Starfish Project, Florida Bar Association, Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association, Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida, Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Pensacola Little Theatre. As a Rotarian, she has participated in many domestic and international service projects, including most recently a project benefitting children in Kenya, Africa. Schultz-Battle’s giving back spirit doesn’t end there. She also donates her time to providing pro-bono work and trainings.
Schultz-Battle has served on the Volunteer Florida Commission since 2014 and recently served as the Vice Chair under Past Chair, Autumn Karlinsky.
Maritza Rovira-Forino was unanimously voted by the Volunteer Florida Foundation to serve as the Foundation Chair for a term ending in 2022. Rovira-Forino resides in Tampa Bay and serves as the Diversity Business Director for Foresight Construction. While she oversees business development throughout the state, she is also very tied to her hometown of Tampa, serving as a volunteer and philanthropist. Rovira-Forino has served on many different boards, including the City of Tampa Bay Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Glazer Children’s Museum, American Red Cross, Museum of Science and Industry and University of South Florida Latin Advisory Council, to name a few. She is the proud recipient of the Tampa Hispanic Heritage 2011 Woman of the Year and has received the Minority Advocate Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce twice. Rovira-Forino was also the first female recipient of the Presidential Medal of the Ana G. Mendez University System, the first bilingual university in the US.
Rovira-Forino has served on the Volunteer Florida Foundation since 2015 and recently served as the Vice Chair under Past Chair, Derek Cooper of Comcast. She also serves on the Volunteer Florida Commission where she has held leadership roles as the National Services Program Committee Chair and Treasurer.
To learn more about the Volunteer Florida Commission, please click here. To learn more about the Volunteer Florida Foundation, please click here.