Hudson of Northern Trust to serve as new board chair
Paul Hudson, a senior vice president and managing director at Northern Trust, is the new chair of the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for the 2025-26 fiscal year, while Circuit Judge Charles Williams has taken on the role of vice chair, the Foundation has announced.
Additionally, three new board members have been appointed, a news release notes: Erik Arroyo, Renée James Gilmore and Jeff McCurdy.
“Rounding out the board’s new slate of officers, Mercedes Soler, the co-owner and president of Solmart Media, will serve as secretary and Laura Mattia,” a senior vice president and financial adviser with Wealth Enhancement, will serve as treasurer, the release adds.
Each of the new board members will serve a three-year term, the release points out.
“The Community Foundation board of directors is honored to welcome Erik, Renée, and Jeff as members,” said Hudson in the release. “All three have devoted significant portions of their lives to giving back and serving others, and each is deeply committed to the place they call home,” he continued in the release. “Their knowledge and experience will help guide the foundation as we work together to create a community where everyone can thrive.”
Arroyo is a former mayor of Sarasota, the release points out. When he was sworn into office in November 2021, it notes, he became the city’s youngest mayor ever. “A managing partner at the law firm Arroyo McArdle,” the release continues, “Arroyo specializes in business and corporate law, as well as estate planning, with a particular focus on family foundations.
“Raised by a single mother in the Dominican Republic, Arroyo was the first person in his family to graduate from high school,” the release adds. He later earned an associate’s degree from State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota; a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from the University of Florida; and a juris doctor degree from Florida A&M University’s College of Law, the release says. He was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the board of CareerSource Florida in 2022, the release notes.
“Gilmore is a longtime business and community development advocate who has served in leadership roles for multibillion-dollar agencies and initiatives,” the release points out. “A fourth-generation Sarasota native, she started her career at ABC7/WWSB (formerly channel 40/WXLT)” before earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Clark Atlanta University. “The 30-year career that followed earned her a reputation as an innovator and thought leader,” the release says.
She has won recognition from “the U.S. Department of Labor and the White House for her expertise in workforce development public policy and programming efficiencies,” the release continues. “Today, she operates the Saja Group, a consulting firm she founded to guide businesses through the strategic planning process, using data to inspire innovation and outreach to untapped consumer populations,” it adds. “She is also the host of ABC7’s Empowering Voices, a show that explores people and topics of interest in underrepresented communities.”
“McCurdy is the founder and principal of Guardsman Private Capital Management, a boutique investment consulting firm,” the release adds. “With more than 30 years of experience in investment and wealth management, he advises ultra-high-net-worth families and nonprofits across all aspects of their investment portfolios,” it says.
“In addition to his advisory work, he serves on the boards of several private companies,” it notes. “Before beginning his career in finance, McCurdy earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania” and an MBA from Duke University. “He also served as a U.S. Army officer and aviator,” seeing service in the Gulf War, the release points out. He co-chairs the Community Foundation’s investment committee and impact investment committee, having previously served on its board of directors from 2012 to 2021.
Continuing their duties as Community Foundation board members are Andrew Stultz, Dan Denton, Erin Duggan, Dr. Karen Hamad, Mitzie Henson, David Joyner, Patricia Mathews, Jeff Troiano, Dr. Janet Taylor, and Terri Vitale, the release notes.
“The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community,” the release explains. “With assets of $544 million in nearly 1,600 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $56 million last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare, and the environment.”
For more information, visit cfsrasota.org or call 941-955-3000.