Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida Elects 2021-2022 Board of Directors

FORT MYERS, Fla. – July 27, 2021 – Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida has recently announced its incoming board of directors, elected to serve through the end of June 2022.

The board of directors will be led by chair, Jeff Fusco, Southwest Florida area executive for First Citizens Bank; immediate past chair, Scott Fischer, CEO of Scott Fischer Enterprises; treasurer, Tom Pitser, PIM manager at Robert W. Baird & Co.; secretary, Suzanne Specht, small business consultant for Florida Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University; and members-at-large Andrew Buschle, senior vice president for Bank of America Private Bank; Curt Todd, senior vice president and wealth advisor for Wells Fargo; Sean Friend, senior vice president, and commercial relationship manager for Cogent Bank; and Gary Tasman, CEO and principal broker for Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida.

The board of directors also includes members Carlos Artime, director of career and technical education for Collier County Public Schools; Jason Brewer, market president for Truist Bank; Jason Duke, senior vice president of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management; Nancy Korista, vice president of human resources for Klocke of America, Inc.; Justin Land, chief investment strategist for Wasmer Schroeder Strategies at Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.; Linda Maere, executive director, school support for the School District of Lee County; Sandy Stilwell Youngquist, owner of Stilwell Enterprises and Restaurant Group; Mathew L. Sheep, Ph.D., associate dean, and professor of management for the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University; Michael Traficante, shareholder for Grant Fridkin Pearson Attorneys at Law; and Earnest Wilks, senior vice president for Regions Bank.

“The support we receive from our board of directors is vital to the operations of our organization and we could not be more honored to welcome our incoming 2021-2022 members and executive committee,” said Angela Fisher, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida. “It’s inspiring to see the leaders in our community dedicate their time to share their business experience and knowledge with the younger generation to help prepare them for future success.”

The responsibilities of the elected board members of Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida include managing the organization’s business, assets and activities and the authorization of critical policies and practices. The board members will also be responsible for fulfilling key roles such as trusteeship and take charge of strategic planning, policy and evaluations, and resource development.

About Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches more than 4.8 million students per year in more than 107 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.2 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide.

Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with classroom business volunteers during the 2020-2021 school year to provide more than 126,000 hours of instruction to nearly 13,900 students in 576 classes throughout Collier, Lee, and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org, call 239-225-2590, or email info@jaswfl.org.