Robin Abbott
Chief Financial Officer
Robin is an experienced CFO with demonstrated success in both for-profit and non-profit organizations across varying industries. Driven by her desire for excellence, she takes pride in understanding the organization to position finance as an integral strategic partner in achieving both financial and operational goals. Robin is a member of CFLOC, NABA, a Disruptive Leadership Advisory Board Member at Stetson University and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. While finance is her primary job function by day, Robin also enjoys movies, reading, music and spending time with her family and friends.
Jennifer Mikosky
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
A skilled storyteller and brand builder, Jennifer brings more than 20 years of corporate and nonprofit experience to her role at United Way. She most recently served as Vice President of Communications for the Tampa Bay Partnership, where she navigated pivotal transitions in mission and leadership, led campaigns to advance public policy initiatives, and leveraged strong media and community relationships to position the organization as a thought leader on critical regional issues. Jennifer is a Jacksonville native and a graduate of Florida International University, whose work has been recognized by the American Advertising Federation and the International Economic Development Council. She is an avid traveler who has visited more than 40 countries on six continents, and currently lives in Northeast Florida with her husband, Brock, and daughter, Collins.
Maureen Mercho
Chief Development Officer
Maureen Mercho has experience leading not for profits in fundraising, communication and marketing. Driven by the desire to connect people’s passion to community needs, she takes pride in providing the best donor journey possible. Her goals at United Way include creating change through building greater connections and awareness to solutions. Outside of the office, Maureen enjoys her family, dog ZsaZsa and the beach.
Melanie Patz
President and CEO
A respected community and nonprofit leader, Melanie D. Patz most recently served as vice president of community investment and impact at Baptist Health and previously served as vice president of community impact for United Way. During her tenure at Baptist Health, she spearheaded the implementation of a school health center at Ribault High School, drove the creation of JaxCareConnect, and led the effort to initiate Blue Zones Jacksonville. Melanie has 27 years of nonprofit management experience, a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Samford University, and an MBA with a concentration in Economics from the University of North Florida. She currently serves on the boards of the System of Care initiative and the Early Learning Coalition of Duval and is a founding board member of 904WARD.
Tina Wirth
Interim Head of Community Impact and Strategic Investments
Tina Wirth has been working in the Economic Development and Nonprofit sectors for more than 20 years. Most recently, she was SVP of Talent Advancement at the Charleston Metro Chamber, supporting regional alignment between education and industry through research and partnerships. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Education and Workforce Development for the JAXUSA Partnership, a division of the JAX Chamber focused upon business attraction, growth and sustainability. Other employment posts include Supervisor of Community Engagement at Duval County Public Schools and public relations for the City of Jacksonville’s Public Library. Tina holds her bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of North Florida.
Board of Directors
LISA PALMER, Chair
Regency Centers
GREG MONTANA, Vice Chair
FIS
HENRY BROWN
Miller Electric Company
BRIAN EVANS
Fifth Third Bank
DR. DIANA GREENE
Duval County Public Schools
MIKE HERMAN
Regency Centers
ROBERT HILL
Acosta Sales and Marketing, Retired
RUDY F. JAMISON JR., Ed.D
University of North Florida
JAVON KNIGHT
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
KIRK LARSEN
Black Knight
PHILLIP LEE
Florida Blue
SARA LEY
Johnson & Johnson
SABEEN PERWAIZ
Florida Nonprofit Alliance
NED PEVERLEY
Vestcom
DARNELL SMITH
Florida Blue
JIM STEPNOSKI (Immediate Past Chair)
KPMG, Retired
AUNDRA WALLACE
JAXUSA Partnership
DELORES BARR WEAVER, Emeritus