Who We Are
Members, Leadership & Staff
At its heart, WGA is a membership organization.
Our Members elect officers, decide where monies are spent, and what kind of organization they’d like to have. WGA Committees carry out this substantial work. Our Leadership, Operating Board and The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida guide and support our efforts, directed by our Governance documents. Guided by the principle “one Member, one vote”, we all have equal say and the same opportunities to become involved.
Meet Our Members, Leadership & Staff
Outgoing president, Sheila Collier (pictured left), passes the gavel to incoming president, Sabeen Perwaiz (pictured right).
Members
Everything begins with our Members! Click here to see a list of Members that contributed to last year’s grants pool. To access the complete Member Directory, log into the Member Portal for names and contact information.
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Leadership Team
Sabeen Perwaiz, President
Sabeen Perwaiz is President & CEO of Florida Nonprofit Alliance where she strengthens, promotes and advocates on behalf of Florida’s nonprofit sector. Since joining WGA in 2015, she has served as Education Co-Chair, Delores Barr Weaver Fellow and a member of the Diversity taskforce. An avid volunteer, she has also led the all-volunteer team for TEDxJacksonville since 2012. She is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Florida Connect. She serves on the board of directors of National Council of Nonprofits and The United Way of Northeast Florida. Perwaiz has been named an Aspen Ideas Scholar, Woman of Influence, Athena International Young Professional, 40 under 40 and a National Business Journal Influencer. She has also received a One Jax Humanitarian award. Sabeen earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and pre-medicine from City College of New York and her master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham in the UK. An avid traveler, Sabeen has visited over 42 countries and hopes to visit at least 100 in her lifetime.
Melissa Shrader, Vice President, Membership
Melissa is the Director of Learning Partnerships for YPO, a global community of 33,000 chief executives from 150+ countries unified around the common belief the world needs better leaders. Melissa has led her globally distributed team in optimizing multi-year relationships with notable global brands (EY, Goldman Sachs, DLA Piper, UBS, Salesforce, Mayo Clinic, etc.). To date, this has resulted in the design of over 400 virtual and in-person immersive learning events for executives and has impacted the 22 million employees and US$9 trillion in annual company revenues those executives represent.
Community involvement for Melissa includes the World Affairs Council, Women’s Giving Alliance and Year Up. Melissa is a Jacksonville native and hails from the University of Central Florida where she received a B.A. in Advertising/Public Relations and a M.A. in Interpersonal Communication. She has supported her entrepreneurial husband Cory Shrader, CFA, CFP, CMT in founding Black Creek Wealth Management and is actively raising two teens in Fleming Island.
A deeper dive into Melissa’s professional and community experience, including references and shared thought leadership, is viewable at linkedin.com/in/melissashrader
Tina Wirth, Vice President, Governance/DEI
Tina is founder and principal consultant at Wirth Works LLC, a management practice focused on hands-on solutions for nonprofits. Current and recent clients include Partnership for Child Health, Downtown Ecumenical Services Council (DESC), United Way of Northeast Florida, Here Tomorrow, Duval County Public Schools, Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, LIFT JAX, City Year, READ USA and many others. Her career spans more than 25 years in economic development, workforce development and nonprofit leadership in roles as both staff and board, including leading workforce and education initiatives at the JAX Chamber and Charleston Chamber for more than 15 years and in board leadership at JASMYN, Leadership Jacksonville, Cathedral Arts Project, City Year Jacksonville and the Women’s Giving Alliance, where she has co-chaired the Grants Leadership Team and served on Grants Decision prior to her current role as VP for Governance & Inclusion.
She is founder of JAX Leaders & Allies, a collaborative of nonprofit and civic leaders formed in Fall 2022 in response to a legislative and cultural climate negatively impacting services to the LGBTQ community in Northeast Florida. She is also proud founding member of 904WARD, begun 10 years ago to foster truth and reconciliation around race and racism and whose work is more important than ever. She and her wife Carrie, both UNF Osprey alums, are at the mercy of their sweet pups and enjoy travel, cooking and laughter with friends.
Barb Wenger, Secretary
Barb Wenger joined the Women’s Giving Alliance in 2010 and immediately got involved in the Grants Team. She served on the Decision Team, did two stints as Grants Leadership Team Co-Chair and led the Evaluation Team. Recently she has focused on special projects like the 20th Anniversary Celebration and our FRIENDraising campaign. As Secretary, she lends “institutional memory” to Steering! Barb graduated from Miami (Ohio) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Analysis where she met her husband, Klaus. She got her dream marketing job with IBM in Chicago. Barb started her volunteer career when they moved to the Philippines for Klaus’ job in 1994. In 2002, Barb started Spirited Ageing, LLC where she helps people create custom wine cellars in their homes. She serves as Vice President of the Clear Lake Township Land Conservancy in Indiana. Klaus passed away in 2020 from cancer and left a huge void in her life. Barb has a beautiful daughter, wonderful son-in-law and a grand-dog.
Mary Strickland, Treasurer/Finance
Mary Strickland has been living and working in Jacksonville for the past 11 years. From 2009 to 2015 she worked as the Head of Government Affairs for Sandoz, Inc a multinational pharmaceutical company. Prior to her work in Pharma she served as the Deputy Commissioner of Human Services in New Jersey.
In 2016 she was appointed as President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida. Leaving that role in 2020, Mary worked as a clinical trial nurse, mixing and injecting COVID vaccines right here in Jacksonville. During COVID she volunteered as a nurse for Volunteers in Medicine. A registered nurse, Mary holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth as well as a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University. She has been a member of WGA for several years and serves on both the Finance Committee and the Grants Review team.
Joni Poitier, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair
Joni Poitier is a partner in Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones, a law firm specializing in the preparation and trial of complex and high-risk transportation, personal injury, and business litigation in state and federal courts throughout Florida. Previously she spent six years as an Assistant State Attorney handling a wide range of criminal cases, including serious felonies and crimes against women and children. In this position, she had more than 40 jury trials as first chair. Joni received her law degree from Vanderbilt University and her B.A. from Spelman College. She is a member of many civic and charitable organizations including the Women’s Giving Alliance, the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Women’s Board, and the UNCF Northeast Florida Council. She also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Florida Elections Commission, as well as on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc., Diocese of St. Augustine. She was Chair of the board of directors for Family Foundations of Northeast Florida, Inc. until 2021. Joni is a native Floridian who grew up in Miami. She is an active member of St. Pius V Catholic Church.
Operating Board
The 2025-2026 Operating Board includes: Sabeen Perwaiz, Melissa Shrader, Tina Wirth, Barb Wenger, Mary Strickland, Kristi Brandon, Jan Healy, Julie Bessent, Trina Medarev, Judy Addison, Rachel Mueller, Jennifer Kowkabany, Elizabeth Gainer, Sheila Collier, Kirsten Martino, Joni Poitier, Doreen Gross, Kate Ligare, Tara Braithwaite, Susan Rodgers, Grace Sacerdote, Stephanie Garfunkel, Wanda Willis, and Nikki Sabol.
The Operating Board is responsible for establishing the strategic direction and management of WGA. The Operating Board consists of:
- WGA Officers (President, Vice President of Governance/DEI, Vice President of Membership, Secretary and Treasurer)
- Chairs/Co-Chairs of Standing Committees
- Members At Large
- Staff and Consultants of The Community Foundation (TCF)
Log in to the Member Portal for a complete list of Steering Committee Members and their contact information.
Learn more about our committees here.
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida – Staff
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida plays a vital role in the life of WGA, providing staff support and more for our Members and activities.
The Community Foundation staff supports the Women’s Giving Alliance in many ways. Pictured here are Amber Jubinsky, Stephanie Garry Garfunkel, Nikki Sabol, Wanda Willis, Kathleen Shaw, and Grace Sacerdote.
Governance Documents
Two fundamental documents govern WGA: the Member-approved Bylaws and the WGA/TCF Operating Agreement. They are reviewed regularly and approved by the Steering Committee. WGA also practices active, regularly renewed strategic planning to guide the organization’s efforts.