The Florida Chamber Foundation Team is Uniting Leaders on the Road to 2030 – September 2023 Update

By: Susan Towler, Florida Blue Executive Director, CSR/Florida Blue Foundation; Chair of the Florida Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees

The Florida Chamber Foundation team continues to build momentum behind the Florida 2030 Blueprint’s mission of securing Florida’s future as a top 10 global economy as our team prioritizes leading and participating in the strategic conversations that will help us achieve our mission. I’m proud to share with you some recent highlights of our Foundation team uniting leaders at the local and national levels.

President Mark Wilson on the Road:

• Presented to MIDFLORIDA Credit Union’s board of directors and senior management team on Florida’s changing population and economy
• Spoke on the importance of uniting to secure Florida’s talent with a group of cross-sector C-suite executives and leaders at the FutureMakers Coalition’s Breakfast of Champions
• Spotlighted the TheFloridaScorecard.org as a decision-making tool to drive economic results at the local level at the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals annual conference
• Shared why business leaders should focus on early learning to create stronger communities and a better-equipped workforce at the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County’s Education of Young Children Summit

Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative Team:

SVP of Equality of Opportunity Kyle Baltuch on the road:

• In a special Myers Business Alliance Meeting hosted by our board member Collaboratory, Kyle had the opportunity to elicit feedback from leading researchers, economists, policy experts, and members of the Florida Senate and House on ways to move early learning efforts forward.
• Provided an in-depth look at opportunities for broadband expansion in Florida at the Broadband Summit
• Gave an economic overview of poverty in Florida and addressed state-level policy

Equality of Opportunity Coordinator Zenani Johnson on the road:

• Provided an overview of the Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative’s efforts to unite the business community on the path to prosperity at Children’s Home Society’s Annual Meeting

Senior Director of Future of Work Rachel Ludwig on the Road:

Rachel provided thought leadership on the possibilities, challenges, and solutions to create a more prosperous talent pipeline in Florida, referencing our 2030 goals and TheFloridaScorecard.org as a tool to track state and local level progress…

• The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce’s Chipola Region Future of Work Education Summit
• The Talent Development Council quarterly meeting
• The Rotary Clubs of Orange Park and Lake City’s membership meetings
• The Consortium of Florida Education Foundation’s ConnectED conference

Senior Research Economist Sheridan Meek on the Road:

Sheridan provided an economic update for Florida at the following engagements…

• Florida Natural Gas Association Strategic Planning Summit
• Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Board Meeting

I would like to wrap up this update by welcoming Dawn Belamarich of Collaboratory to the Board of Trustees. On behalf of the entire Board, we look forward to engaging with you on the solutions to grow and propel our great state!

Our last Board of Trustees Meeting of this fiscal year is quickly approaching and will be held on October 24, in conjunction with our 2023 Florida Chamber Annual Meeting & Future of Florida Forum, October 23-24. Please make plans to attend both events as we will look back at the wins of 2023 and look ahead at the great things to come! If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to register for our October 24 Board of Trustees Meeting HERE> and Forum HERE>.

Stay tuned for more updates next month on the momentum-building efforts of the Chamber Foundation team to secure Florida’s future.

Susan

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