Community Foundation of Sarasota County Welcomes New Board Members

New members include Dan Denton, Erin Duggan, and Mitzie Henson.

SARASOTA, FL – The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has elected officers and appointed new members to its Board of Directors, which governs the organization.

The Hon. Charles E. Williams, a circuit court judge of the 12^th Judicial Circuit, will step into the role of secretary. Continuing service in their roles of chair, vice chair, and treasurer, respectively, will be Marilyn Thompson, a retired human resources executive with Johnson & Johnson; Paul G. Hudson, market leader at Northern Trust; and Andrew Stultz, president and owner of Atlas Building Company of Florida.

Joining the Board for three-year terms are Dan Denton, Erin Duggan, and Mitzie Henson.

"It is an honor for our Board of Directors to welcome these new members,” said Marilyn Thompson, Board Chair. “Each brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will preserve the excellence of our community foundation and ensure the foundation continues to create a community where everyone can achieve their full potential.”

Dan Denton is the founder and retired president of Sarasota Magazine and its parent company, Gulfshore Media, which owned and operated city/regional magazines throughout Florida and in Santa Barbara, CA. He was inducted into the Florida Magazine Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and served on the Board of Florida Humanities for the past three years. He also served as a trustee of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. He graduated from Yale University and attended Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy. A Florida native, he attended Manatee High School and was trained in journalism as an intern with the St. Petersburg Times and as a reporter with the Bradenton Herald.

Erin Duggan is president & CEO of Visit Sarasota County, leading a team of marketing and sales professionals to ensure Sarasota County is regarded as a must-experience travel destination to potential visitors worldwide. She began working for Visit Sarasota County as a public relations manager in 2005. She served as the Junior League of Sarasota president (2017 – 2018), where she has been a member since 2001 and continues as a sustaining member today. She also currently serves on the Lakewood Ranch Community Activities Board. In 2012, Duggan earned her C.D.M.E. (Certification in Destination Management Executive), a program through Purdue University and Destinations International. She graduated from Florida Southern College in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications Arts.

Mitzie Henson is a Mississippi native who relocated from Washington D.C. to Sarasota 30 years ago. Although she began her healthcare career in the hospital setting, she quickly transitioned into sales and marketing with Genentech, Inc., an innovative biotechnology company. She was a clinical marketing specialist responsible for product sales in several states where she consistently placed in the top 5 percent of the sales force. During her early years in Sarasota, she co-founded and served as vice president of business development for Butterfly Effects, a behavioral therapy company specializing in the field of autism. Later, she pursued her lifelong passions of education and mental health. She joined the board at the Out-of-Door Academy and went on to serve as board chair. Mitzie later became involved with the Ringling College Library Association Board where she served on the Executive Committee and was the 2019 Town Hall Lecture Series Chair. Most recently, Mitzie joined the board at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) where she currently serves as board chair.

Continuing their duties as board members are Daniel DeLeo, Dr. Karen Hamad, David Joyner, Patricia A. Mathews, Dr. Laura Mattia, Mercedes Soler, Jeff Troiano, Janet Taylor, MD, MPH, Terri Vitale, and Mary Lou Winnick.