Press Release
Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 8, 2020 – North Florida Land Trust has elected new officers and added four new members to its board of directors. John Delaney was elected to take over as chair, David Barton will once again serve as vice-chair, Ryan Switzer will be secretary and Patrick Carney was re-elected to the treasurer position. The leadership roles will begin in 2021 and each will serve in the position for a term of one year.
“John Delaney has been a champion for conservation for many years and we are honored that he will guide us as chair to help us make the very best decisions for our mission and the environment,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. “I look forward to working alongside all of the officers as we continue to focus on preserving environmentally sensitive lands throughout North Florida. I would also like to welcome our newest members who each have tremendous qualities that I am sure will serve us well.”
The four new members of the board are Lisa Barton, Scott Keith, Connie McDaniel, and Ted McGowan. They will begin their service in January of 2021.
Barton is a broker associate with Keller Williams Atlantic Partners. She has been a supporter of NFLT since its inception in 1999 and she and her husband are both NFLT Legacy Members. Barton is a lifelong Florida resident and has lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for the past 26 years where she has been active in local philanthropic activities. She currently serves on the Family Advisory Council for the Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital. Barton is a graduate of the University of Florida and holds a masters degree in psychology from George Mason University in Virginia.
Keith has spent 33 years in the banking industry and is the regional president for North Florida at Truist Financial Corporation. He assumed the role last November after the merger of BB&T Corporation and SunTrust Banks, Inc. Prior to his current position, Keith was the BB&T regional president for North and Central Florida. Keith serves as trustee and treasurer for Gator Bowl Sports and is the workplace development chair for United Way of Northeast Florida. He is also on The Players Council, Florida Banker Association Executive Committee, Jacksonville Civic Council and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
McDaniel is a former executive with The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta where she served in a variety of finance roles during her 24 years with the company including vice president and chief of internal audit, vice president and controller, and division finance manager roles in Thailand and Germany. She retired from the company in 2013 and currently lives in Fernandina Beach. McDaniel serves on the board of Global Payments Inc, a more than $7 billion leading pure- payments technology company and is also a member of the board of trustees and audit committee of Virtus Mutual Funds, a more than $44 billion multi-strategy mutual fund family based in Hartford, CT.
McGowan has served as executive director of Clay County Port, Inc. and Reynolds Real Estate Ventures since 1998. Before managing Clay County Port, he worked with the St. Joe Company for 13 years in land management and development when it was Florida’s largest non-public landowner. McGowan is a fourth-generation Jacksonville native and currently serves on the boards of Clay County Economic Development and the St. Vincent’s Hospital Foundation. He is an active member in the Urban Land Institute, the Northeast Florida Builders Association, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and NAIOP. He is also a 20-year member of the advisory board of the University of Florida Bergstrom Center for the Master of Science of Real Estate and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in environmental engineering.
The four join a diverse group of professionals from throughout north Florida. Each of the new board members will serve a term of three years.
About North Florida Land Trust
North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the natural resources, historic places and working lands (farms and ranches) throughout north Florida. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through donation or purchase of land as well as conservation easements. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations. For more information, visit nflt.org.