Board Members

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About the Board of Directors

The Heartland Workforce Investment Board, Inc. d/b/a CareerSource Heartland, Board of Directors provide policy and guidance along with the general direction of CareerSource Florida, Inc. the state's chief policy organization for all CareerSource Heartland's activities affecting DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands and Okeechobee counties. The Board is mandated legislatively to have representatives from the following categories: private sector, education, labor, community-based organizations, economic development, veterans, and non-public post-secondary educational institutions.

All CareerSource Heartland Board Members, as well as the organization’s President/Chief Executive Officer, file Financial Disclosure Information Forms with the Florida Commission on Ethics. Verification of filing may be found at http://public.ethics.state.fl.us/search.cfm.

Local Elected Officials – the Executive Board

The Honorable Kevin Roberts – Chair / Chief Elected Official
Highlands County Board of County Commissioners

The Honorable Jerod Gross – Vice Chair
DeSoto County Board of County Commissioners

The Honorable Kenny Miller
Hardee County Board of County Commissioners

The Honorable Michael Sumner
Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners

Board Officers: 2023-2025

Chair

David Royal, Nutrient Stewardship Director
The Nature Conservancy, Altamonte Springs
Officer Term: 7/1/2025 – 6/30/2027
Membership Term: 7/01/2021 – 6/30/2028

Chair-Elect

Denise Grimsley, Vice President
Grimsley Groves
Officer Term: 7/1/2025-6/30/2027
Membership Term: 7/5/2022-7/4/2030

Secretary/Treasurer

William Allbritton, Highlands Market President
Seacoast Bank
Officer Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2025
Membership Term: 6/15/2022 – 6/14/2030

Board Members

Board Members

Leigh Ann Bellamy, District Administrator
Division of Blind Services
Membership Term: 6/15/2022 – N/A

Andrea Broomfield, Senior HR Business Partner (HRBP)
HCA Florida Raulerson Hospital
Membership Term: 1/26/2022 – 12/31/2029

Yarima Cuencas, Economic Development Manager
Office of Economic Development Highlands County BOCC
Membership Term: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2027

Billie Jo Decker, Owner/Manager
Decker Plumbing & Drains, LLC
Membership Term: 6/18/2025-6/17/2033

Stephanie Etter, Dean, School of Continuing and Adult Education
Indian River State College
Membership Term: 6/19/2023 – N/A

Sarah Evers, President/CEO
The Development Group (EDC)
Membership Term: 7/1/2026 – 6/30/2027

Joshua Exendine, Union Treasurer, Executive Board
Hardee County Professional Firefighters Union, Local 3471
Membership Term: 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2028

Skylar Harrison, Project Director
The AARP Foundation
Membership Term: 4/27/2022-4/26/2030

Fred Hawkins, President
South Florida State College
Membership Term: 7/3/2023 – 6/30/2031

Rick Herndon, Owner/Vice-President
Herndon Landscape Group LLC
Membership Term: 4/23/2025-4/22/2033

Dawn Hoover, HR Director
Gilbert Family of Companies
Membership Term: 10/25/2023 – 10/25/2031

Yessenia Irizarry, Staffing Manager
Sunshine Staffing of Highlands County
Membership Term: 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2027

Christen Johnson, Executive Director
AdventHealth Wauchula
Membership Term: 6/15/2022 – 6/14/2030

Deborah Mancini, Vice President
Mancini Foods
Membership Term: 10/25/2023 – 10/25/2031

Jake Reynolds, Deputy Superintendent of Schools
School District of Desoto County
Membership Term: Membership Term: 7/1/2026-06/30/2027

Emily Roesner, President/ Program Director
Miller Dynamics, Inc
Membership Term: 7/1/2025-06/30/2033

Raymond Royce, Executive Director
Highlands County Citrus Growers Assn.
Membership Term 7/01/2021-12/31/2026

Gary Ritter, City Administrator
Okeechobee City Administrator
Membership Term: 7/1/2021 – N/A

Efran Schraeder, President/CEO
Kraus Services
Membership Term 1/22/2025 – 1/21/2033

Glenn West, Representing Military Veterans
Veterans Council of Highlands County
Membership Term: 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2031

Trudy Williams, HR Director
DeSoto Memorial Hospital
Membership Term: 4/15/2026 – 4/14/2034

Amanda Wilson, Community Development Administrator, Circuit 10
Dept. of Children & Families
Membership Term: 7/1/2021 – N/A

Sharon Wright, Area 3 Director
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Membership Term: 1/28/2026 – N/A

“On behalf of our entire team at Okeechobee Primary Care, I want to extend our sincerest gratitude to you and the CareerSource Heartland team. Your guidance throughout this process from navigating the initial application parameters to finalizing our contract execution was absolutely instrumental in making this workforce upskilling phase a success.

Because of this targeted training, our specialized core team is now fully certified in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS) operations. Our site is actively positioned to bring cutting edge Life Sciences trials and advanced clinical care opportunities directly to the Okeechobee community.

We are proud of the compliance and efficiency demonstrated during this contract performance period, and we look forward to partnering with CareerSource Heartland again as our research operations and staffing needs continue to expand.

Thank you once again for your exceptional support.”

Talib Jaber, RPh
CEO & Site Director
Okechobee Primary Care

“I wanted to take a moment to thank you and your team for accommodating us during our hiring event. We had an amazing turnout, with over 400 candidates coming through over the course of two days, and we truly could not have pulled this off without all of your assistance.

From the very first time we spoke through the final day of the event, you were absolutely amazing. Your team jumped right in to help keep the lines flowing so we could continue interviews efficiently, and the follow-up and follow-through on your end were outstanding.

Thank you for partnering with Rural King and helping make this hiring event such a huge success. We truly appreciate everything you and your team did to support us.”

“We are incredibly grateful for CareerSource Heartland. Their assistance has allowed us to provide more structured, formal training opportunities for our team, making it easier to onboard new apprentices and advance our existing workforce—both essential to our company’s growth. In a short time, their partnership has already made a significant impact, and we truly appreciate their commitment to workforce development. We look forward to working with them for many years to come!”

We truly mean that – thank you!

Central Contractors Logo

Chelsea Bilukha

Office Manager

“We highly recommend using the CareerSource Heartland for any hiring events.”

Teresa Aviles
SEB Administrative Coordinator
GulfCoast Supply & Manufacturing

“… I appreciate all the help from you (CareerSource Heartland) in a time when there was no hope…CareerSource Heartland drove in and fixed it like a superhero! Thank you for all the hard work… This job fair hit big – our companies in Texas and Florida have been calls all morning asking me how did I make this happen?! Even though I would like to take credit, it was all the work of our local career center. I advised them to reach out to their community CareerSources, it is very much worth it. See you all very soon and thank you!”

Sincerely , Myesha Smith, Manager, Florida Pop, LLC, DBA Popeyes Chicken

Anything I do say about the Career Source Heartland in Okeechobee will be very downplayed to the actual experience we encountered. Not only were they exceptional in helping us achieve our results for talented associates, but they were also well organized and on top of everything. Although I felt like I may be a burden they really went the extra mile to make me feel like part of their family and allowed me and my team to be ourselves and work closely together to make sure we were all very comfortable. Nothing I do or can say about them will ever amount to the wonderful experience I have had and will continue to have moving forward. They are the greatest resource in helping find you qualified candidates. With this being another store opening/market opening for me, this has by far been the easiest in terms of finding a staff. They help reduce the stress one may find when trying to find candidates to interview. I could keep going on how wonderful and great they were but it’s an experience and a great resource every business should try, they won’t regret it!!!!

Thank You

CareerSource Heartland helped me, I know that they can help you…