Children’s Campaign, Inc. - Board of Directors
Debbie Mason, Board Chair
Debbie Mason serves on the Board of Directors of the Children's Campaign, Inc.
Debbie Mason is President of Strategists, Inc., offering research, facilitation, strategic planning, business development and communications services to a variety of corporate and non-profit organizations. Debbie is a speaker and trainer at regional and national professional conferences, focusing on a range of leadership, communications and inspirational topics.
Previously, Debbie was founder and president of Mason Strategic Communications (MSC) with offices in Ft. Lauderdale and Gainesville, Florida prior to its sale in 2000.
Debbie served as vice president of corporate communications for JM Family Enterprises, Inc. and was the lead crisis response team member for the largest chemical spill in the history of Florida.
Debbie is an accredited public relations professional and is active in the Public Relations Society of America, serving as a national board member. Honors and awards in the industry include the 2003 PRSA Silver Anvil Award for her work in Broward County on children's issues; 2002 Florida Atlantic Women in Communication's "Woman of the Year"; 1998 "40 Under 40" recognition for significant business and community standing; 1994 Up and Comer in Public Relations; Who's Who in Public Relations; and Who's Who in Business and Finance.
Debbie has served with distinction on the board of many non-profit organizations including Chairman, Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival; Chairman, Artserve, Inc; Chairman, Kids in Distress; and Chairman, University of Florida College of Journalism Public Relations Advisory Board. Civic activities include graduate of Leadership America, Leadership Florida, Leadership Gainesville and Leadership St. Lucie.
Debbie is a graduate of the University of Florida.
Sandra L. Cook
After serving 17 years in a variety of consulting and senior management positions at Hewitt Associates (a global human resources consulting and outsourcing firm, currently listed on the NYSE), Sandy and her husband, Bob, retired and settled in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Sandy has BS and MS degrees in Business Administration from Wichita State University.
She currently serves as Vice President of the Board of the World Affairs Council of Jacksonville, Chair of the Community Research Team of the Women’s Giving Alliance, and is a member of the WJCT Board of Trustees, UNF’s Fine Arts Center Advisory Council, The Garden Advisory Committee of The Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens and the Board of the Children’s Campaign. Sandy graduated from the 2006 class of Leadership Jacksonville.
Dot Inman-Johnson
In 1986, Dot became the first African-American woman elected to the Tallahassee City Commission, and went on to serve as Mayor. Dot also served as Chair of the Human Development Policy Committee of the National League of Cities.
An Associate Professor at the Florida State University Laboratory School, Dot has also served that educational institution as a Program Administrator for the Full-Service School Program, Community Resource Director for the Family/School/Community Partnership, and Assistant Professor for Art, K-6.
Current community service roles include President, Girl Scout Council of the Apalachee Bend; Chairperson and Founder, Stand for Children of the Big Bend; and the Strategic Planning Committee, Children's Defense Fund, Southeast Region. Awards and recognitions include Outstanding Citizen of the Year, Omega Psi Phi, Graduate Chapter; Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Arts - Community Service and Education Award - American Association of University Women; Outstanding Woman of the Year, Tallahassee JayCeettes; and Outstanding Citizen of the Year, Tallahassee Chapter of Frontiers International; and George W. Conoly Community Service Award, Tallahassee Chapter of the NAACP.
Dot earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art from Clark College.
Rockie Pennington
Rockie is the past Executive Director of the Republican Party of Florida and has also worked as the Executive Director of the Washington State Republican Party. He has been involved in Republican elections for over 20 years both nationally and in the state of Florida.
Rockie is also the owner of Southern Campaign Resources, Inc. which is based in Tallahassee. Southern Campaign Resources is both a Republican campaign consulting firm and lobbying firm. He has over 20 years of experience assembling Republican races and currently has over 20 clients in both the Florida Legislature and Congress.
Rockie's second company, Direct Mail Systems, is a full service direct mail firm located in Clearwater. In addition to its commercial clients, Direct Mail Systems does voter contact and fund raising mail for Republican clients in Florida and over 15 other states.
Rockie's third and newest company, Summit Communications, Inc., is a post-production and editing company, and is also operated in Tallahassee. Summit Communications works with many of Rockie's Republican clients to write, produce and edit their television commercials. In addition to production and editing, Summit Communications consults on the purchase and placement of television ads.
Rockie graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Political Science.
Sean Pittman
Sean Pittman, Esq. is the President of The Pittman Law Group.
Florida Trend Magazine labeled Sean the “One to look for” in the new wave of politics in Florida. He was honored with a seat on the Miami Herald Legislative Ranking Committee that annually ranks member performance of the Florida House and Senate, and is generally regarded as an “expert” in the legislative process. His alma mater, Florida State University, honored him with the “Sean Pittman Leadership Award” given to the outstanding student leader at the Presidents annual leadership awards night.
Sean has been heavily involved in state government over the past 15 years as chief lobbyist for the Florida Student Association, Member of the Florida Board of Regents and Presidential Search Committees for Florida State University, University of Central Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast University. He served as law clerk to House Speaker Peter Rudy Wallace and Tallahassee Mayor John Marks (Past Chair of the Public Service Commission); staffer to Governor Lawton Chiles; attorney and assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation; and staff attorney to the Florida House of Representatives, under the leadership of House Speaker John Thrasher.
In addition to his legal and lobbying efforts, Sean serves as a co-host for the exceedingly popular North Florida political talk show, “The Usual Suspects.” The Usual Suspect airs on the CBS Network and is broadcast in 27 counties across North Florida and South Georgia.
Ed Rodriguez
A native of San Juan, Ed's first experience in public service was at the federal government level in Washington, DC where he served in George H.W. Bush's administration on the White House staff, at the Office of Management and Budget, as well as the Pentagon. A graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, he was awarded a mid-career Master's degree in Public Administration, and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ed has served in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Naval Reserve.
He founded Connectiv Solutions, LLC to serve the needs of the private and public sectors by matching private sector capabilities with public sector needs. Prior to starting up Connectiv Solutions, Ed served in Governor Jeb Bush's administration as Deputy Secretary at the Department of Management Services (DMS) and Chief Transformation Officer at the State Technology Office (STO). He led two key enterprise-wide IT implementation initiatives: "People First," and "My Florida Marketplace."
Ed is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Dianne, reside in Tallahassee.
Leon Russell
Leon W. Russell currently serves as the Director of the Office of Human Rights for Pinellas County Government, Clearwater, Florida. He has held this post since January of 1977. In this position Mr. Russell is responsible for implementing the county's Affirmative Action and Human Rights Ordinances.
Mr. Russell served as the President of the Florida State Conference of Branches of the NAACP from January 1996 until January 2000, after serving for fifteen years as the First Vice President. He also serves as a member of the National Board of Directors of the NAACP, having been first elected in 1990. He has served that board as the assistant secretary and currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Board. He is a member of the International City Management Association; a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators; a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies; Chair of the Minority issues Advisory Council of the Children's Campaign of Florida; past President of the Alternative Human Services Board of Directors; volunteer for the United Way of Pinellas County; past Board Member of the Pinellas Opportunity Council, past President and Board Member of the National Association of Human Rights Workers; and as past President of the Florida Association Of Community Relations Professionals.
Mark Snipes
Mark Snipes, is the former Chief Fiscal officer for the Early Learning Coalitions of the Big Bend, Inc. Mark has a B.A. in accounting from the
Linda Sutherland
Linda currently serves as Executive Director of Orange County Healthy Start Coalition and Administrator of Orange County KidCare Outreach.
Linda is a former school board member for Orange County Schools and is a lifetime member of the Florida PTA and National PTA.
Her current community service roles include Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions; Orange County Primary Care Access Network, Success by Six; Orange County Readiness Coalition, United Way Fund Distribution Panel Chair; Health and Human Services Qualification Review Board, Health Communities Initiative; Children's Advocacy Center School Health Advisory Committee; District 7 Child Abuse and Neglect Task Force, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition; Safe and Drug Free Schools Committee, Jeppesen Vision Quest; University of Central Florida Early Childhood Advisory Board; Eatonville Foundation; and Central Florida Children's Museum.
Among the many community service awards Linda has received, in 2003 she was the recipient of the Women's Resource Center Summit Award and Orange County Council of PTAs Children's Friend Award.
Linda earned her graduate degree in Business Administration from Marymount College.
Linda and her husband Douglas have one son and one daughter.
Kathleen Waltz
Waltz's publishing career spans thirty-four years in Chicago, Virginia and Florida. She retired from Tribune Company in February 2008 as president, publisher and chief executive officer of Orlando Sentinel Communications and vice president of Tribune Publishing with oversight of the Daily Press and the Virginia Gazette on the Virginia Peninsula and The Morning Call in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania.
As publisher of the Orlando Sentinel, Waltz held overall responsibility for news, editorial and business aspects of the company. Business lines included the daily newspaper, companion and stand alone web sites, weekly Spanish language products, direct mail and commercial printing.
Prior to joining the Orlando Sentinel, Waltz was president, publisher and chief executive officer of the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia and vice president and general manager of the South Florida based Sun-Sentinel Company.
Waltz began her career at the Chicago Tribune in advertising sales and rose through various management positions to become vice president of developing businesses. This included responsibility for ancillary Tribune Company products such as Tribune's Spanish language publication Exito, real estate finders service RELCON, alternate delivery service Precision Home Delivery and early on-line effort Chicago OnLine in partnership with America OnLine.
Waltz holds a bachelor's degree from DePaul University School for New Learning in Chicago and completed the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
She and her husband reside in Florida.
Bill White
Bill White serves as the Elected Public Defender of Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties.
Appointed Chief Assistant Public Defender in 1976, Bill has provided 34 years of service to the community in the Public Defender’s Office. In his tenure with the Public Defender’s Office he has tried every type of criminal case, argued before the Supreme Court of Florida, and presented pleadings in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bill has received the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Defender Services Award (the highest national honor given to an assistant public defender), the Florida Public Defender Association’s Outstanding Service Award, the Florida Public Defender Association’s President’s Award, and the Kesler Mentoring Connection, Exemplary Volunteer Mentor 2006
He is very active with Take Stock in Children, serving as the Chair for the Leadership Council, a member of the student selection committee, and mentor to five students.
Bill grew up in north Florida and attended local public schools. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science at the University of Florida, he received his Juris Doctor Degree, University of Florida, College of Law. He served with the United States Navy – 1968 – 1972.
Of Counsel
General Counsel – Pro Bono: Al Geske
Al has extensive knowledge of advocacy activities permissible for 501 (C)(3) tax-exempt organizations and was primary legal counsel to Children's Campaign, Inc. in its formation and application to the Internal Revenue Service.
Headquartered in Washington D.C., Al practices in the area of taxation, representing clients in Internal Revenue Service matters and those seeking favorable tax legislation or the issuance of beneficial Treasury regulations. A large part of Mr. Geske's practice involves tax planning, including obtaining Internal Revenue Service rulings as to proposed transactions.
The author of several articles and books, Al is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the State Bar of Texas. He is admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Federal Claims. Earlier in his career, he was an Attorney and Assistant Legislation Counsel with the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation (1975-81) and an Attorney and Assistant Branch Chief with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. (1970-74).
Al earned his B.A. in Economics, with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1964 from Southern Methodist University. He earned his J.D., with honors, in 1967 from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. In 1974, Mr. Geske earned his LL.M. in Taxation, with highest honors, from George Washington University.
Public Opinion Consultant: Bruce Barcelo
A political pollster and native of Jacksonville, Bruce Barcelo advises on politics, public affairs, and organizational positioning. His clients have included dozens of political candidates and committees, the Republican Party, Chambers of Commerce, think tanks, and major Florida corporations. Active in education reform, he was a member of the original design team for the Florida Chamber Foundation’s WorldClass strategy. He has worked extensively in international democracy-building efforts, traveling five times to the Ukraine to teach modern polling techniques and political communication in that emerging democracy. Over the past several years his work with leaders of opposition parties in Haiti was instrumental in planning for a successful post-Aristide democracy. His work with JCCI’s groundbreaking “Beyond the Talk” Race Relations Study has been honored by Folio Magazine and the Jacksonville Urban League. In 2004 he was named by Florida Trend as one of Florida’s 174 most influential leaders.
Bruce has been active in the Florida and Jacksonville Chambers of Commerce, Leadership Florida, the MountainTop Institute, the Florida Children’s Campaign, Junior Achievement, JCCI, the Republican Party, and St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.
Bruce and Anne have a daughter Paige who has thoughtfully provided them with the world’s most perfect grandsons, Miles (6) and Collier (almost 3.)