Erin Silk, vice president of Business Development Services at the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, has become the county’s first Certified Economic Developer and one of only 20 in the state.

Conferred by the International Economic Development Council, CEcD status is recognized globally, and it is the only certification program for economic developers in the United States. It is considered the most prestigious designation in the economic development profession.

Silk’s designation denotes a mastery of skills in economic development and professional attainment and a commitment to personal and professional growth, which will support the EDC’s mission to diversify and strengthen the Sarasota County economy.

…

Dr. Swapnil Gohil, a provisional psychologist licensee, has joined Davenport Psychology, in Sarasota and Venice.

He completed his undergraduate schooling at Rutgers University New Brunswick and received a doctorate from Regent University, in Virginia Beach.

Gohil has had extensive training in integrated behavioral health care and will be providing therapy for those with chronic pain disorders, neurocognitive disorders, acute crisis, trauma, substance use, personality disorders and mood disorders.

He will provide psychology services including individual therapy, couples counseling and psychological testing, including ADHD and Gifted Evaluation.

…

The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation recently added to its staff and board of directors, and elected board officers for 2022-23.

Kiarra Womack joins Selby Foundation as scholarships and special projects manager. Previously, Womack was director of college success with Sunrise Scholars Foundation.

She is a 2021 graduate of Washington University, St. Louis, holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology. At Selby, she will be the primary point of contact for all scholarship applicants and recipients.

Molly Swift, the foundation’s scholarships manager since 2018, moves into the position of grants manager, the primary point of contact for grant applicants and recipients.

Susan Hines, managing principal at Sabal Trust Co., recently joined the Selby Foundation Board.

She brings experience as a Florida attorney and a trust and investment officer.

She also is an executive board member of the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council and a long-term board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Bar Association.

At the foundation’s April 14 board meeting, the following board officers were elected. They will officially assume their roles June 1.

Barbara Zdravecky will take over as chair from Cathy Layton, who remains on the board.

E. Keith DuBose will be vice chair and Carolyn Johnson secretary and treasurer.

…

Jacob Stein, a high school senior from Sarasota, is the recipient of the 2022 William R. Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, Individual.

The award, sponsored by CARTER through the Association of Fundraising Professionals Foundation for Philanthropy, honors young people with a proven record of exceptional generosity who demonstrate outstanding civic and charitable responsibility and whose philanthropy encourages others to engage on a community, national and/or international level.

Stein’s work is taking on donor inequity, focusing on individuals’ collective ability to drive change. In 2019, he started Dollar Donations, a nonprofit that creates changemakers through something as simple as donating $1.

Stein, who was nominated by the AFP Florida, Southwest Chapter, first completed a young entrepreneurs’ program through the Boys and Girls Club of Sarasota, learning invaluable business skills and receiving seed money to launch Dollar Donations.

Since registering the nonprofit, he has been awarded a $10,000-per-month Google Ads Grant, which he uses to drive donations. To date, his efforts have raised more than $10,000 from more than 40,000 traditional donors and sweatcoin cryptocurrency donors worldwide combined.

With the money, his organization has supported 11 nonprofit organizations.

…

John Fotos has joined Sarasota-based artificial intelligence company Envoi, Inc. as its newest partner and chief technology officer.

Over the past 25 years, Fotos has consulted for national multiunit corporations in the hospitality and leisure industry. He provided data and integration solutions for well-known brands, such as Hard Rock Cafe, Disney Cruise Lines, Marriott, Hilton, Oracle Hospitality and EZLinks.

He also has held positions as vice president of analytics and business intelligence for two national marketing companies, BrandMuscle and Fishbowl.

Envoi is known in the housing industry for enterprise systems and platform as a solution technologies. The CTO is a new position, which comes as Envoi’s customer base continues to expand.

Fotos will be based in Orlando and serve customers worldwide.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: EDC VP designated Certified Economic Developer, doctor hired