Class of 2007:

Rebekah Brightbill

BIO -

I am a 24 year old community development professional.  I didn’t start off with much interest in community development, but the interest started to grow through a series of events that began in high school.  I entered college thinking I would study community development as a minor, but the more I delved into the topic, the more captivating it became.

My passion is for whole communities that work for the well-being of all individuals.  Broken relationships make communities work non-harmoniously, and conversely, right relationships make communities work harmoniously.  My faith inspires me, because my faith calls me to live a life of reconciled relationships.

I want my community to be a good place for all people to live – not just a good place for residents of Lakewood Ranch, or residents of Northwest Bradenton, but a place that provides life opportunities that are as equally rich for residents of East Bradenton.  Someone that came into the office the other day commented that people view East Bradenton as the step-child of the city, and I would like for people to respect and value residents of East Bradenton as their equals, and as blood brothers.

Much of my community involvement in the past two years was with my church community.  I wanted to do more during that time, but I felt like I was floundering without a place to plug into.  Now that I am working with the CCRA, I am able to connect with the community in a way I never was able to before.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Washington Park Neighborhood Association: Rebekah Brightbill A neighborhood association in East Bradenton was formed applying ABCD concepts, network connections and encouragement from her place of employment with the Central Community Redevelopment Association and newly-sharpened leadership skills. Mission: create a neighborhood association Vision: a whole and healthy neighborhood that works for the wellbeing of all its residents. Project Goal: a self-sustaining Neighborhood Association in the Washington Park neighborhood of Bradenton, with indigenous neighborhood leaders at the helm, who are able to work constructively with power brokers in the community to negotiate things they need to make their community a better place.

8 regular meetings 2 special meetings with Police & CCRA meetings with Dr. Willie Holley, consultant; Neighborhood Block Party on 9/8/07; Officer Elections on 11/10/07; Raised & managed project budget of $1,894.74

Unexpected people began to participate in the Neighborhood Association meetings Rebekah experienced being viewed  more as a leader than she considered herself to be one;  put together a project team for Washington Park Neighborhood Association leadership including Dr. Willie Holley, JoAnn Spencer, and Rosa Dennis; tried to foster better relationships between the Bradenton Police Department and community residents; involved different City of Bradenton agencies:  Public Works, the CCRA, Bradenton Police Department

Natalia Cava

BIO –

I am a 35 year old mom of 2 (3 year old Sofia and 5 month old Pedro) who has a B.S. in Biological Sciences and an M.S. in Nutrition.  I was born in Lima, Peru and moved the US 22 years ago with my mom, brother and sister.  I went to school at UC Davis for both my B.S. and my M.S.  In 1998 I moved back to Peru, where I worked for the Ministry of Agriculture in the Peruvian Amazon jungle teaching nutrition to women and kids.  I also met my husband while in Peru.  In 1999 I lost my job (because of unstable government) and moved to Washington, D.C. to work at the Pan American Health Organization.  After two years my husband I got married and after one more year of living in DC (and suffering the cold) we moved to Sarasota (2002).  I worked as a nutrition educator for WIC until my daughter Sofia was born in 2003.  While at WIC I became a Certified Lactation Consultant and became very involved with the Breastfeeding Supporters of Sarasota.  Breastfeeding was always my passion (even published a book about its benefits) and after becoming a mother and actually breastfeeding, now more than ever.  As an immigrant, I’ve seen and felt many experiences (both positive and negative) and have fought first hand to make it in the US.  As an adult, living in Sarasota, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with women and see their basic human needs.  That’s why I want to focus my efforts in helping them succeed in the US and also make it!

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Red Latina Directory: Natalia Cava, Sandra Figueroa-Walker & Patty Snyder Project Goal: create a directory of local resources for the Sarasota Latino community. to provide assistance or access to resources that address the participant's desire to learn English, know how to buy a home or start their own business; improve personal and/or professionally; or find out about financial, legal and medical services available in the community; to promote collaborations among individuals, volunteers, partners, and organizations; To encourage and promote interest among stakeholders for project continuity beyond December 2007.

Meeting with leadership of St. Jude Catholic Church to present project idea  and request collaboration; held several group meetings with mentors and other collaborators, church parishioners and volunteers; solicited and managed in-kind contributions of $5,120; created a draft and final version of a 14-page resource directory in Spanish for Latino population in Sarasota County; printed and distributed 300 directories during the St. Jude's Hispanic Festival on November 10th

"We promoted and distributed the Directories during the St. Jude's festival, at the November GLI workshop, and via email to collaborating partners and community organizations. We utilized the guidance, expertise, and sphere of influence of our GLI mentors, fellows, Steering Committee and staff. We requested and received assistance from family members, friends and colleagues in the form of time commitment, contact information, printing process, gifts and talents. During this project we encountered the difficult situation of dealing with a non-responsive group member and having to exclude him from the group. As a result we had to adjust our group composition and timeline, and modify some of the original project objectives. Another difficulty we faced was we envisioned a project larger than the allocate time for the GLI project. Furthermore we did not account for the extent of our busy schedules which affected our time available for the project. On a more personal note, it was difficult to maintain the initial energy we brought to the project as we dealt with unforeseen personal events.

Jeff Darwin

BIO –

I am Charles Jeffery Darwin (Jeff).  My father was a Navy man, and I’ve lived in Jacksonville Florida, Memphis Tennessee, Hudson Michigan, Ceiba Puerto Rico, and Tallahassee Florida.  I’ve lived in the Sarasota/Bradenton area for 14 years.

My inspiration is drawn from two sources: social and artistic. Socially, I have a passion to understand people; this is the motivation for my Masters in International Affairs, and my Bachelors in Religious Studies.  I am very interested in the ways that people organize and govern themselves, relate to one another, and apply meaning to the world.  I hope to see a career in political science; intelligence, policy, or education, be it governmental, non-governmental, Foreign Service, or college professorship.

Artistically, I enjoy drawing and writing stories, and I teach a comic book class once a week.

I am the Teen Program Coordinator for the Anna Maria Island Community Center.  A list of community service I have been involved in includes: Teen Guidance, Environmental Clean-ups, Capital Campaign Fund Raising, and Job Shadowing.  Other sources of community involvement include Art Class Instruction, Current Events Discussions, and Co-Production of a weekly TV show, Community.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Teen Life Skills @ Anna Maria Island Community Center: Jeff Darwin He took his work at the Community Center several steps further by creating a new class teaching life skills for teenagers who participate in the other programs he directs.

Drew upon direct affiliation with the Anna Maria Island Community Center (AMICC) to support the project to serve the community AMICC contributions therefore included: a room specified as a Teen Lounge, Learning Center classroom, office space for paperwork and record keeping, and a bus that seats up to 24 people); collected in-kind support for items from three individuals, one business and one foundation; created and managed a budget with $1,499.73 of expected expenses; over saw teen fundraising of $2,691; recruited local youth ages 11-17 by word of mouth, flyers, and outreach; fundraised at Island Kiwanis meeting;

invited AMICC board members to bring skills to the project; hosted a meeting of teens parents and invited them to bring skills to the project;  initiated and later oversaw the recruitment of mentors by contacting people such as young professionals, digital photographers, healthy chefs, bank representatives, GLI fellows, computer programmers, graduate students, and social service workers as well as organizations including Red Cross, United Way, Kiwanis, Kamanteens, Planned Parenthood, Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island, Manatee County Conservation Land's Management and more; created and released the official Ten Life Skills "Hang Out" calendar; scheduled and implemented lectures/discussions; facilitated the first Teen Council meeting thereby relinquishing decision-making power to the teens in the program; drew upon five individuals for support and guidance

Sandra Figueroa

BIO –

I was born in Puerto Rico and spent most of my childhood there.  I started school in the states and always desired to live here as an adult.  After graduating from college, I worked for two years before joining the military.  I served 8 years in the U. S. Army, including the Persian Gulf War.  After completing my service duty, I worked in different areas while attending school.  I earned my M.B.A. in 2002 and moved to Florida that summer.  Through a friend, I was introduced to church and Sarasota, which proved to be a defining moment in my life.  My new outlook on life and my spiritual leader inspired me to share more and help others.  Now I participate in my Neighborhood Association meetings and events, as well as my church.  Last year and a half, I was a member of the Hispanic/Latino Coalition and the Juvenile Justice Prevention Board for the three year plan.  I wish to see a comprehensive and coherent program or tool to aid the Spanish-speaking population attain the social and other services they need, when an interpreter is not available.  As a bilingual/bicultural person, I can assist in making such program a reality.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Red Latina Directory: Natalia Cava, Sandra Figueroa-Walker & Patty Snyder   Project Goal: create a directory of local resources for the Sarasota Latino community. to provide assistance or access to resources that address the participant's desire to learn English, know how to buy a home or start their own business; improve personal and/or professionally; or find out about financial, legal and medical services available in the community; to promote collaborations among individuals, volunteers, partners, and organizations; To encourage and promote interest among stakeholders for project continuity beyond December 2007.

Meeting with leadership of St. Jude Catholic Church to present project idea  and request collaboration; held several group meetings with mentors and other collaborators, church parishioners and volunteers; solicited and managed in-kind contributions of $5,120; created a draft and final version of a 14-page resource directory in Spanish for Latino population in Sarasota County; printed and distributed 300 directories during the St. Jude's Hispanic Festival on November 10th

"We promoted and distributed the Directories during the St. Jude's festival, at the November GLI workshop, and via email to collaborating partners and community organizations. We utilized the guidance, expertise, and sphere of influence of our GLI mentors, fellows, Steering Committee and staff. We requested and received assistance from family members, friends and colleagues in the form of time commitment, contact information, printing process, gifts and talents. During this project we encountered the difficult situation of dealing with a non-responsive group member and having to exclude him from the group. As a result we had to adjust our group composition and timeline, and modify some of the original project objectives. Another difficulty we faced was we envisioned a project larger than the allocate time for the GLI project. Furthermore we did not account for the extent of our busy schedules which affected our time available for the project. On a more personal note, it was difficult to maintain the initial energy we brought to the project as we dealt with unforeseen personal events.

Jose Manuel Godinez

BIO –

I grew up in Mexico until I was 9.  My parents were political activists in Mexico and I feel that I have to live up to their precedent of political activism.  That is my passion and inspiration.  I am also a Roman Catholic; this is another respect of my inspiration and passion to see change.  My hope for the Sarasota/Manatee County community (among others) is to see the people made outcasts throughout current immigration laws be made free.  I hope to accomplish in this community a movement that will be one among many trying to break the cast system that our current immigration laws reinforce.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Immigration Reform Forum & Rally: Jose Manuel Godinez-Sampiero   Manuel drew upon extensive academic research for his thesis on immigration reform at New College of Florida to host a debate, forum and rally that drew the attention of hundreds from the Sarasota-Manatee community.

Organized a "Anti-Lou Dobbs Rally" attended by about 100 people to raise awareness about immigrant rights issues during Lou Dobbs' speech at the Sarasota Reading Festival; appeared on local radio station 96.5FM WSLR and area Spanish-language stations; spoke to several churches with high Latino populations; alerted Sarasota Herald-Tribune; contributed to article in Sarasota Indymedia newsletter; co-organized a well-attended forum/debate on immigration reform held at New College of Florida

Wendy Hernandez

BIO –

My name is Wendy Hernandez.  I am 47 years old.  I have three children.  I moved to Florida from New York in August 2005.  My passion has always been to help make people’s lives better.  I have been in the field of social work for 8 ½ years.  During the last two years I have been involved with various community groups.  In New York, I was a member of the Staten Island Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (SICCAN) which is a coalition of agencies that promote community awareness of resources.  I attended meetings of the Boro Based Council which serviced mentally ill consumers and I was a rape crisis advocate volunteer.  Since Moving to North Port, I have become an active member of the North Port Community Health Action Team (CHAT) and the Health Promotions Committee whose goal is to develop a healthy community through collaboration and interconnectiveness between the community’s residents and officials.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Domestic Violence Vigil: Wendy Hernandez Reconnected with her passion to end domestic violence by drawing together a committee of volunteers to present North Port's first Domestic Violence Awareness Candlelight Vigil. Mission: honor those affected by domestic violence, raise community awareness and provide resources. Vision: break the silence by holding an annual event that will provide a safe place for domestic violence survivors to come and feel empowered by receiving the support they need from their community.

112 people attended the event; two domestic violence survivors publicly shared their stories at the event; a resource table of materials was available at the event; assets utilized included local social service agency staff, local businesses, media, City and County officials, community residents, and the local high school Color Guard; created a committee of seven people; six speakers were recruited to speak at the event; managed a budget based on in-kind support from committee members, social service agencies, local business and the community; held twelve meetings; visited local businesses to post advertisement flyer; contacted TV and print media; attended a City Commissioner meeting; Emailed and telephoned every official and social service agency to attend and help promote event.

"This project helped me connect with my community, develop a broader network, media experience, and re-connect with my passion of empowering domestic violence survivors. This project helped me to develop a structured plan to make a positive difference in my community. We received positive feedback from attendees as well as the media." Plans to engage 1-3 domestic violence survivors to be on the planning committee for next year's vigil.

Debby Miedema

BIO –

Debby Miedema, 20 year resident of Sarasota, Florida and transplant from North Dakota.  Mother of two grown children, Justin and Tyson Ann Miedema, both soldiers currently serving with the 3-265^th ADA, FL Army National Guard based in Sarasota, FL.

Owner of Senior Consulting Services, Inc. a Life and Health insurance agency.  Starting in the insurance business in 1976, and currently focusing in on the senior market.  Currently managing three states for sales in the new Medicare Part D program.

Until recently, I have served as the Unit Coordinator for the 3-165^th ADA Family Readiness Group program, helping the families of our units’ many soldiers.  I also enjoy working with Brothers Serving Christ and their wonderful work with our area homeless and also with the Mayors Feed the Hungry program.

I hope to bring new ideas that can benefit our community, our many charitable organizations and “any thing that can assist our senior population” in having a better life.

I would love to see our community grow closer, mixing wealth, cultures and lifestyles together for the betterment of all of Sarasota.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Get Sarasota Insured: Debby Miedema Utilized her professional background in insurance for seniors to become involved with this campaign to connect the uninsured with opportunities for insurance coverage. The Health Insurance Products Workgroup is a committee of the Community Solutions Initiative, SI: Health, a community-based group established by CHIP to develop local solutions to the health insurance needs of the Sarasota community. Their intent is to provide unbiased information for businesses and their employees about health care and coverage and is not intended to sell or promote any particular insurance product or vendor. This is done through promotion of forums, educational tools and websites.

Participated in a workgroup of eleven other volunteers, numerous County organizations and workgroups including the Sarasota Health Department, Sarasota County Government, local hospitals and Community Foundations; assigned with the development of marketing and implementation of the Get Sarasota Insured program; working closely with the Chamber of Commerce; planned a meeting with the Economic Development Corp. group and other community sources; contributed to two forums (in Sarasota and Venice); planned to expand outreach programs;

"This project is very close to my heart. There are over 44,000 small employer groups in Sarasota County that do not offer coverage to their employees thus leaving thousands of families without vital insurance coverage. It is important for those individuals to know there are other opportunities to provide care to their families, through services offered right here in our community. I have been tasked with developing the marketing and implementation of this program. Besides our current forums, we are working closely with the Chamber of Commerce and will be meeting with the Economic Development group. Also reaching out to many other community sources."

Patty Snyder

BIO –

Patty moved to Sarasota in 1972 with her family and graduated from Riverview High School “Spirit of 1976”.  During her junior year, Patty helped to put together and participated in Girls Basketball as a club.  In her senior year determined to have a real sports team, Patty pursued the staff and finally put together a team, a coach and a 10-game schedule.  With that start, Girls Basketball in time became Women’s Basketball in the Olympics.  From this experience Patty learned how passion in action can create opportunities for others.  Working with others from Gillespie Park, a Community Substation was built in the park.  Participating in the Weed and Seed project, Patty assisted to run an After-School Tutor Program, to set up Sarasota Court Watch Program, as well as Chairperson of the Greater Downtown Sarasota Action Team.  Patty then turned her attention to Community Theater with The Players.  She has Stage Managed for 9 seasons as well as created props and set dressed.  During these years Patty has seen many young teens, from our communities, become mothers.  She would like to see this growing trend change by finding programs to empower and means to delivering them.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Red Latina Directory: Natalia Cava, Sandra Figueroa-Walker & Patty Snyder Project Goal: create a directory of local resources for the Sarasota Latino community. to provide assistance or access to resources that address the participant's desire to learn English, know how to buy a home or start their own business; improve personal and/or professionally; or find out about financial, legal and medical services available in the community; to promote collaborations among individuals, volunteers, partners, and organizations; To encourage and promote interest among stakeholders for project continuity beyond December 2007.

Meeting with leadership of St. Jude Catholic Church to present project idea  and request collaboration; held several group meetings with mentors and other collaborators, church parishioners and volunteers; solicited and managed in-kind contributions of $5,120; created a draft and final version of a 14-page resource directory in Spanish for Latino population in Sarasota County; printed and distributed 300 directories during the St. Jude's Hispanic Festival on November 10th

"We promoted and distributed the Directories during the St. Jude's festival, at the November GLI workshop, and via email to collaborating partners and community organizations. We utilized the guidance, expertise, and sphere of influence of our GLI mentors, fellows, Steering Committee and staff. We requested and received assistance from family members, friends and colleagues in the form of time commitment, contact information, printing process, gifts and talents. During this project we encountered the difficult situation of dealing with a non-responsive group member and having to exclude him from the group. As a result we had to adjust our group composition and timeline, and modify some of the original project objectives. Another difficulty we faced was we envisioned a project larger than the allocate time for the GLI project. Furthermore we did not account for the extent of our busy schedules which affected our time available for the project. On a more personal note, it was difficult to maintain the initial energy we brought to the project as we dealt with unforeseen personal events.

Pola Sommers

BIO –

I, Pola Sommers, am a student of life.  I love people, perhaps because I was raised in a family of eight in central Florida.

After moving to Indiana when I was in the eighth grade, I happily returned to Florida after completing college.  I settled in the Sarasota area.

My husband I have lived in or home in north Sarasota for over 20 years.  We love our neighborhood and are pleased to have our sons, 18 and 13, grow up here.

I am passionate about life.  I have an open mind and like to learn about new things.  I tend to be a jack-of-all-trades and, literally, a master of only one.  The one trade I keep working is my math education, having finished my Master’s Degree from USF in 1989, I have taught in both Manatee and Sarasota counties including at RSAD, MCC, Booker, Riverview and St. Martha’s.  Although I loved all the schools I’ve worked in, I haven’t found my “work niche” at any of them.  I am still searching for my perfect career fit.

In 1997, when a developer proposed building 45 feet open storage boat racks adjacent to homes in our neighborhood, I became active with neighborhood associations and city government.  I’ve attended the Citizen’s Academy and various workshops for residents.

I hope our community can continue to grow and improve, yet preserve the lifestyle that’s so attractive about this area.  I plan to help by being a liaison between CCNA and the NPO.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Five Tips for Personal Finance: Pola Sommers Combining her teaching skills as a mathematics teacher and creativity as a photographer Pola designed an attractive and clear brochure sharing key advice for personal financial stability oriented towards young adults.

Networked with a friend of a friend met at the GLI picnic; developed the five tips of personal finance; took photos for the brochure; recruited family member to design brochure; recruited help from another GLI Fellow to translate the text into Spanish; made plan to share brochure with credit union to ask them to sponsor printing the first run; made plan to approach other banking institutions and nonprofit groups to get involved in printing and distributing copies of the brochure; completed first version of the brochure in English and in Spanish; created and managed a budget of $1200; planned budget  and implementation procedures for printing of brochure

"Being a person who is 48 years old and still doesn't know 'what to be when I grow up,' I decided to work on a project that I know has widespread need. I learned from my credit union teller the more students drop out of college due to credit card debt than for any other reason, and the average debt is $40,000. Once I said to a college class studying consumer credit, 'Rule #1: Never spend more than you make.' I said it as a joke, but was alarmed when a student grabbed a piece of paper to write down that tip. There is a real need for guidance with the basics of personal finance, so I chose to design and make a simple brochure with five guidelines." "I have a desired goal to be a kind and helpful person to others and to my community. I know I have talents to share, but I often feel undirected in knowing how and what to share. By having a project assignment, it forced me to pick something and run with it!" On Networking: "Earlier in 2007, I was speaking with Barbara Langston from Amaryllis Park. She mentioned that many of her neighbors had lost their homes due to unpaid property taxes. When I met with my mentor, Dr. Georges Mims, we discussed how we could investigate the cause of the losses and try to find remedies to prevent additional losses. Dr. George Mims introduced me to Grace Carlson and encouraged us to meet and exchange ideas. He also wanted me to contact Habitat for Humanity. I followed through on his suggestions and also met with Lynne Traver, a paralegal from Williams-Parker law firm. I discovered that the nonpayment of property taxes was just one symptom of a larger problem of the general mismanagement of personal finances."

Judith Williams

BIO –

It is very difficult to put into words who you are but I will try.  My current occupation is working with the public for the past 16 years.  I work for the State of Florida where I’ve acquired experience dealing with other government agencies and offices.  I have 13 years of working in the legal system on civil cases.

I like the interaction of working with people.  I love learning new things.  I’m dedicated and I have the time to devote myself to community issues.

I am currently a member of the Rosemary Neighborhood Association and am currently working on a current project - Rosemary Rising II.  I am also on the transition committee Rosemary Condo Association.  We are currently working with the Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity.  Our community is definitely multicultural.  My hopes that our community will become integrated in such a manner that we become a vital part of Sarasota.

COMMUNITY PROJECT –

Environmentally-Friendly Rosemary District: Judith Williams Initiated a partnership with her neighbors, area business and government offices in her Rosemary District neighborhood to make the landscaping in the District environmentally-friendly, focusing on introducing and preserving Florida native plants. Mission: develop Rosemary District into an environmental proactive district. A district committed to:  -Reduce the use of pesticides -Reduce the use of water to maintain green lawns and plant life -Reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous runoff in our drains. Goals: plant Florida native plants; plant or replace lawns that are drought resistant; become a FEDP site (in research); create a demonstration site; use only certified environmental lawn care services; set up a neighborhood information center; establish subcommittees; identify partners

Researched the benefits of Florida native plants and environmentally-friendly landscaping; identified two possible demonstration sites, one at the Rosemary Condominium Association and one at Player's Theatre; identified possible site for a local resource center at the police substation on Central Avenue; created plan to solicit a sub-committee including expert subject-matter individuals, business owners, home and condominium owners, social service agencies, and County and City offices/officials; identified possible sources of resources for a budget; created an implementation timeline; identified resources for help implementing the project

Lesson Learned: "Take time and do research. I lost a lot of valuable time on the Beautification process. Best information learned often comes from people normally that are experts in their field of expertise. Needed more preparation for core planning. Long and tedious but gained a wealth of knowledge about Sarasota government."