Safe Children Coalition announces 2024-2025 board of directors

Child welfare agency Safe Children Coalition (SCC) is proud to announce its 2024-2025 board of directors, a volunteer leadership body tasked with providing expertise in areas including child welfare, fostering, adopting, education, banking, finance and accounting, and mental/behavioral health, and assisting the organization in achieving its organizational directives.

Tony Gamelin is the new chair of the board, Brian Goodrich is vice chair, and Chris Stobaugh is treasurer. Directors are Ken Alexander, Jamara Clark, Paul Couzelis, Darren Gambrell, Rob Goldstein, Ann Marie Jones, and Lee Lipton.

Gamelin is the owner of CFO Integrity LLC, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in providing fractional/outsourced CFO, accounting clean-up, personnel management, mergers and acquisitions due diligence, and forensic accounting services to businesses and nonprofits. He has more than 35 years of experience as a CPA in accounting, finance, and management. Gamelin has adopted three children and has an ongoing passion for helping children.

Goodrich is an attorney and shareholder of Bentley Goodrich Kison, P.A., where he concentrates his practice in commercial and real estate litigation.

Stobaugh is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, where she has provided expert direction for the foundation’s financial, fund accounting, and investment activities since August 2018. She has an extensive background in corporate finance and accounting, and previously served for eight years as CFO of Grain Management, a private equity firm with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. She is passionate about children’s and women’s causes.

In the coming year, the board will support SCC’s continued emphasis on the expansion of prevention and diversion services, to help families to keep children safe at home by using collaborative community partnerships – including provisions for mental health services – that empower families to use and benefit from all available community resources. SCC will continue its efforts to be a trauma informed board and organization, to ensure a safe and supportive environment for staff as well as the youths and families served. The board will also be charged with guiding and supporting SCC’s ongoing capital campaign to build a new Youth Shelter in Sarasota.

“We are so fortunate to have a strong, expert board of directors, with diverse backgrounds and widespread areas of expertise to help guide us through every challenge and take advantage of every opportunity,” said SCC President and CEO Brena Slater. “We are so grateful to our volunteer leaders for committing their time, resources and knowledge to help us create a brighter future for the children and families of Circuit 12.”

Florida’s Circuit 12 comprises Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. The core functions provided by SCC include child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services. Last year, SCC served nearly 9,700 children and families, provided nearly 3,000 emergency safe shelter bed nights for homeless youth, advocated for more than 1,000 homeless and unaccompanied youth through the Schoolhouse Link program, and helped hundreds of children to find their forever homes through adoption services.

For more information, visit sccfl.org.

About Safe Children Coalition, Inc.
Safe Children Coalition, Inc. (SCC) serves as the lead agency for community-based care for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. SCC is a collaboration between local community agencies who provide services to children and families in need. SCC is committed to protecting children, strengthening families, and building community. The core functions provided by SCC include child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services. Visit sccfl.org or call 941-371-4799.