Business People: Promotions at Safe Children Coalition in response to need
Each year, child welfare organization Safe Children Coalition works to ensure the care and safety of thousands of children in Florida’s 12th Circuit (Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties) who are in crisis.
By providing needed programs and services – such as adoption and foster care, youth prevention and diversion services, and a Youth Shelter for displaced teens who are on their own – the organization serves as a much-needed safety net for thousands of children and families throughout the region.In recent years – particularly given challenges due to the pandemic, the resulting economic fallout, and Hurricane Ian – the number of children coming into care has grown significantly. SCC has responded to the increased need by adding several case managers, increasing case manager salaries, and through a program department reorganization, recently promoting several team members to leadership roles that has allowed them to reduce caseloads and better divide the workload.Robin Jensen, who has dedicated her career to protecting children, was hired by SCC six months ago as a vice president of child welfare case management; she has been promoted to chief operating officer.
Stacey Schaeffer has 19 years of experience in the field of mental health and child welfare prevention services and has worked with SCC since 2011. She was promoted from senior director of prevention and diversion services to vice president of prevention and diversion services.
Tonia Hutchinson has been helping children and families for her entire career and has worked at SCC since 1997, earning the milestone award “Champion for Children” in 2022. She was promoted from program director of case management to vice president, case management.
Jill Steiner has been working in child welfare for 26 years and at SCC since 2012. She was promoted from senior director of SCC’s out-of-home care to vice president, out-of-home care.
Furthering its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Shumaker law firm has appointed six lawyers as Diversity and Inclusion Partners. They are partners in six of the firm’s offices.
One, from the Sarasota office, is Ashley S. Hodson.
The D&I partners will work with all firm members, including the Management Committee, Hiring Partners, Service Line Leaders and Sector Leaders, to continue to advance the firm’s goal of strengthening its diversity and embracing a culture of inclusion.
Shumaker is a team of more than 300 lawyers and advisers that provides legal and legislative solutions.
All Star Children’s Foundation has added a new member to its board of directors: Byron Shinn. Shinn is a partner with Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, a nationally acclaimed accounting and advisory firm. He has 42 years of public accounting experience.
At Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors (CRI), Shinn provides services in the areas of internal audits, accounting, taxation and business consulting. He merged his own firm, Shinn & Co., with CRI in 2018.
He serves on the boards of the EDC Sarasota, the Bradenton Area EDC and the Florida Maritime Museum.
The other members of All Star’s board of directors are Graci McGillicuddy, chair; Dennis McGillicuddy, vice chair; and Ashley Coone, Elaine Crouse, Dean Hautamaki and Noah Riner.
All Star Children’s Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to interrupting the intergenerational cycle of abuse and neglect with children and families in foster care.
Neil Unruh has been named Chief Deputy of Finance for the Office of Angelina “Angel” Colonneso, Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller for Manatee County.
In this role, Unruh is responsible for effectively and efficiently operating all finance divisions in the clerk’s Finance Department.
He has an abundance of financial experience. Before joining the clerk’s office, Unruh was the comptroller for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for seven years. Before that, he was an audit partner for Shinn & Company, now known as Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CPAs and Advisors.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in accounting from Wichita State University. He is a certified public accountant and is the 2022-2023 president of the Bradenton Kiwanis.
Forbes has named Matthew J. Otto, managing director and partner of the Otto Group, as a 2023 Best-In-State Wealth Advisor Florida (Tampa Area). Otto was honored for the sixth consecutive year (2018-2023).
The Otto Group, of Sarasota, is a wealth management firm that provides holistic and advanced planning solutions to a select group of families, individuals and business owners.
Otto holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary and Certified Financial Planner designations. In addition, he holds the Series 7, 26, 31, 63, 66 and Florida Life, Health, and Variable licenses.
The Forbes rankings were developed by SHOOK Research, which used an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data to rate thousands of advisers with a minimum of seven years of experience in the wealth management industry.
The rankings were compiled through analysis of several key factors, including revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records, and industry experience of more than 34,000 nominees. Just over 7,300 made the final list.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Promotions at Safe Children Coalition; diversity partners at law firm
