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, Steering Committee 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
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.
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
Sheila Collier, President
Sheila Collier is a native of Oklahoma (Go Pokes!) and has embraced Jacksonville as her home for over 35 years. Sheila’s early career days were in banking, specializing in Cash / Treasury Management for over 13 years. She then became what she likes to call a “Professional Volunteer”. Over the past 35 years, Sheila has chaired a wide variety of numerous community fundraising events. Sheila is honored to be President-Elect for the Women Giving Alliance and has enjoyed serving on the Grants Leadership Team, Secretary of the Steering Committee, Governance and Education Chair. Currently, Sheila is also a member The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital (2015 was Chair of the Art & Antiques Show), Board of Director of the First Coast American Cancer Society (Cabinet Member of The Hope Lodge Capital Campaign), Board of Director of North Florida School of Special Education (Governance Chair) and a Jacksonville Junior League Sustainer. Married over 32 years to her supportive husband and best friend, Claude, they have two children, Will and Jessica. She realizes her many blessings and feels strongly about being able to “give back” to help make our community stronger. Her favorite pastime is being with friends and laughing!
Sabeen Perwaiz, President-elect
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.
Rachael Mueller, Vice President
Rachael Mueller is the Chief Development Officer at Hope Haven. Rachael is passionate about creating organizational sustainability for non profits through fundraising and marketing efforts. Rachael has over 10 years experience in the nonprofit industry sector. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Flagler College and her Juris Doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law. Since joining WGA, she has been an active member of the Advocacy committee. Rachael currently serves as the current past chair of the Women With Vision Council – St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, is an active board member with the Planned Giving Society of Northeast Florida, and a cabinet member with the American Lung Association. Rachael is a proud military wife with two beautiful children.
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
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.
Steering Committee
The 2023-2024 Steering Committee includes:
TOP ROW (left to right): Elizabeth Bernardo, Tina Wirth, Julie Bessent, Jana Ertrachter, Jennier Kowkabany, Marty Jones, Kenzie Crane, Vicki Waytowich, Margaret Barton and Doreen Gross; BOTTOM ROW (left to right): Kristi Brandon, Elizabeth Gainer, Melissa Shrader, Judy Addison, Wanda Willis, Sheila Collier, Sabeen Perwaiz, Barb Wenger, Mary Strickland and Nikki Sabol
NOT PICTURED: Tara Braithwaite, Saralyn Grass, Jan Healy, Kate Ligare, Karen Mayfield, Rachael Mueller, Joni Poitier and Gracie Simendinger.
The Steering Committee is responsible for establishing the strategic direction and management of WGA. The Steering Committee consists of:
- WGA Officers (President, President-elect, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer)
- Chairs of Standing Committees
- Members At Large
- Representative of The Community Foundation (TCF) Board of Trustees
- Representative of TCF staff
- Liaison to TCF (ex officio)
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.
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.