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.
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.
James Ellout
Vice President, Community Impact
James is responsible for developing and leading high-impact community initiatives that drive results in basic needs, financial well-being and racial equity. He began his career in Detroit, where he held positions in juvenile justice, behavioral mental health and public education. Prior to joining United Way of Northeast Florida, James led efforts with City Year Jacksonville to ensure students achieve their full potential. He has great passion for and expertise in program design and implementation, data and evaluation, and relationship development with stakeholders across the public and private sectors.
Coretta Hill
Chief Operating Officer
With more than two decades of experience in nonprofit management, Coretta's professional expertise spans strategic planning, organizational management, fundraising and communications. She oversees strategy development and improvements to operational efficiency at United Way of Northeast Florida, having previously served as vice president of volunteer and community engagement for more than a decade. Coretta started her United Way career at United Way of Southwest Georgia in Albany. Most recently, she served as vice president of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, where she led strategy implementation and operations. Coretta holds an MPA from Albany State University as well as a BA in mass communications from Fort Valley State University. She also serves on the board of Level the Playing Field Leadership Academy and the North Florida School of Special Education.
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.
Board of Directors
LISA PALMER, Chair
Regency Centers
GREG MONTANA, Vice Chair
FIS
BRIAN EVANS
Fifth Third Bank
DR. DIANA GREENE
Duval County Public Schools
MIKE HERMAN
Regency Centers
RUDY F. JAMISON JR., Ed.D
University of North Florida
PATTY KEENAN
Miller Electric Company
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
DIANA SORFLEET
CSX
JIM STEPNOSKI (Immediate Past Chair)
KPMG, Retired
AUNDRA WALLACE
JAXUSA Partnership
MATT ZUINO
Baptist Health
DELORES BARR WEAVER, Emeritus
