Board of Governors

Laura Lietaert

Board Chair

Principal of Coral Shores High School. Former principal, vice principal and teacher at Key Largo School. Named Monroe County School District “Principal of the Year” for 2017-2018. Member, AVID Eastern Division Principals’ Collaborative among numerous other committees. President, Rotary Club of Key Largo; Grant reviewer, United Way of the Florida Keys; 2019 nominee for Woman of Distinction, Upper Keys Business and Professional Women; member, Key Largo and Islamorada Chambers of Commerce; past director, Kids Come First. ME, American College of Education; BS, Florida International University.

Jodi Weinhofer

Secretary

President and CEO of The Lodging Association of the Florida Keys & Key West, a nonprofit trade organization representing the lodging industry and the businesses that work with lodging. Jodi has served as President since 2005. Previously worked in property management, real estate and tourism since moving to the Keys 30 years ago.  She is currently a member all 5 Chambers of Commerce, the Key West Attractions Association, the Key West Business Guild and is a member of the Government and Legislative Affairs Committee and the Tourism Committee for the Key West Chamber. She is a proud graduate of Leadership Monroe County – Class 14.  She served on the board of Leadership Monroe County from 2007 to 2017.  She has served on 2 Monroe County Affordable Housing Advisory Committees and the Monroe County Airport Taskforce.  Originally from New Jersey. BA degree from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Andrea Spottswood

Treasurer

Long-time Key West resident. Certified Public Accountant. Partner in the firm Moore & Spottswood. Appointed by the Governor to the Florida Board of Accountancy in 1992, served as its Board Chair in 1996, and as Chair of Probable Cause Panel and member of Professional Education Committee. Member, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Board member, Keys to Be the Change; treasurer for more than 30 years, Key West United Methodist Church; Financial advisor since its inception, Samuel’s House. Graduated with High Honors from University of Florida. Andrea and her husband Bill have three children: son Billy, daughter Lande, and son Chas.

Marian Buccafurni

Investments and Grants Chair

Key Colony resident since 2007, lives part of the year in Monterey, California. Active member of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Former board president and major donor of the Women’s Fund; created several annual fund raisers in Monterey, established programs to benefit girls’ health and those in need of small loans. Law school graduate in 1979. Diverse business background in the medical, science and legal fields. Created with her husband a biotechnology company, Litmus Concepts, Inc., in California. Raised more than $30 million in private equity; sold the firm in 2000 to devote their time to philanthropy.

Bobby Highsmith

Governance Chair

Bobby is managing partner of Highsmith & Van Loon and has achieved a successful 30+ year career specializing in estate planning. He is the only attorney in the Florida Keys who is Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Born and raised in Key West, Bobby was valedictorian of Key West High School. He fulfilled his dream of starting on a Division 1 college football team at Duke University, which he attended on a full athletic scholarship.  He went on to graduate from University of Florida Law School. Bobby is a former board chair of the Community Foundation, was Chancellor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,  and has served on the boards of the Monroe County School District and the Tennessee Williams Theatre.

Warren Leamard

Development Chair

Principal of Destination Catering & Events. Served as president of the Key West Sunrise Rotary Club and on the boards of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity of Key West & the Lower Keys, the Monroe County Affordable Housing Task Force, the Montessori Children’s School, and as a Monroe County volunteer firefighter. Born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica and moved to Key West in 1985. Married to his business partner Abby and they have two daughters, Alison and Felicia.

Heidi Morris

Owner of The UPS Store® in Big Pine Key, has lived full-time in the Keys since 2017. Chair of the Community Foundation’s Lower Keys Advisory Council. President of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, past president of the Lower Keys Rotary Club, a Leadership Monroe graduate, founding volunteer of the Monroe Emergency Reserve Corps, an emergency shelter manager and an amateur radio operator. Graduated with a business degree from Westin College, climbed the corporate ladder at Radio Shack, and ran a successful business in Colorado for over a decade. Lives in Summerland Key with her husband and they have three children.

Larry Nolt

Over 42 years of experience in estate and charitable planning and over 32 years in financial, trust and banking services. Past president and investment manager for a regional financial advisors unit of BB&T. Bachelor’s degree in management and accounting from Elizabethtown College, MBA from James Madison University, and a graduate of the Community Foundation’s Leadership Success Academy. Served on the Unity of the Keys Spiritual Center finance committee and was the Volunteer of the Year for the Guidance/Care Center. Married to Sherry G Read, and they enjoy visiting their hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has three children and seven grandchildren residing in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Ken Silverman

Ken Silverman is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management with degrees in engineering and computer science. He retired to Key West in 2012 after a 30 + year career in the New York City residential real estate management and sales industry, concentrating in high end luxury housing, middle income investment properties, and assisted and regulated housing. In his retirement he manages Key West commercial properties including the 400 block of Duval Street and the Overseas Market Shopping Center anchored by Winn-Dixie.

He and his wife Kate spend part of the year in Amagansett, New York.

Robyn Still

Robyn Still serves on the Community Foundation’s Middle Keys Advisory Council. She and her husband, Chris, own The Tackle Box, a bait and tackle store in Marathon. Currently the Mayor of Marathon, Still has been a resident of the Keys since 2016, moving from north Georgia after a 20-year career in law enforcement. She holds several community leadership positions, including past chair of the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce, board member of the Rotary Club of Marathon, advisory board member for the Domestic Abuse Shelter, and member of Zonta. She is a graduate of Leadership Monroe County and a mentor for Take Stock in Children.

Isis Wright

An inaugural member of the Community Foundation’s Upper Keys Advisory Council since 2021, serving as council chair since 2022. With over 20 years of professional experience in business development and marketing, Wright recently launched two Keys-based brands: B. Ready, a travel and leisure wellness online marketplace, and Italian Food Company, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria. She is a board member of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce and has served with the Rotary Club of Key Largo, Rotary Interact, and Junior Achievement. Wright holds an MBA from the University of Miami and is a graduate of Leadership Miami.

Staff

Elizabeth Brown

President and CEO

Elizabeth Brown is an executive nonprofit professional with a passion for community engagement, philanthropy, and sustainable organization development. She brings over 15 years of experience with a variety of nonprofits including leadership and consulting roles. Elizabeth was most recently the Deputy Director of Advancement for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art. Elizabeth has a Master of Public Policy from Duke University; her undergraduate education includes both a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Auburn University. She also holds a Sunshine Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Florida Association of Nonprofits.

Lainie Plotnik, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Lainie has been serving on the Community Foundation’s Lower Keys Advisory Council for over a year as a charter member. Lainie is a Certified Public Accountant and moved to the Keys in 2021 from Fort Myers. Prior to that, Lainie lived in Minnesota and worked for ALLETE-Minnesota Power in various roles. In addition, she was a long-standing board member of the United Way, where she served on the grants committee. In her spare time, Lainie enjoys shelling, biking, cooking, and fishing with her husband Paul.

Kevin Bowes

Director of Philanthropic Services

Prior to joining the Community Foundation Kevin worked at Florida State Parks overseeing volunteer programs, educational outreach, and events for Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida with experience in graphic design, event management, sound and video production, and photography. Volunteered with the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, Florida Keys Wildlife Society, Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, Horace O’Bryant School, Key West Art and Historical Society, Key West Preschool Cooperative, Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, Key West Wildlife Center, and Sigsbee Elementary.

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