She will take over for the retiring Barbara Zdravecky
Stephanie Kight has been named the new president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, effective Feb. 1, the organization has announced.
Kight “is an experienced health care leader and a lifelong champion for equity,” a Planned Parenthood news release says. “Stephanie has held senior leadership roles at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and at Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio and California,” the release adds. “Most recently, at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she initiated and implemented many of Planned Parenthood’s new national marketing and communications approaches. She has refined Planned Parenthood’s brand nationwide and launched the federation’s first sex education text messaging program,” the release points out.
As CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, Kight “led a successful merger of two large Ohio affiliates that resulted in a $20 million health care and education organization,” the release continues. The 300-person staff of that Ohio affiliate operated 17 health care centers serving an average of 65,000 patients a year and covering 66 of the state’s 88 counties, the release notes.
“During her time in Ohio, she also spearheaded the fight against policies considered to be the most hostile to reproductive health in modern American history,” the release says. Earlier, as senior vice president for community affairs at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties in California, Kight was responsible for public affairs, development, marketing and product/service development, the release adds.
Kight will replace Barbara Zdravecky, who announced her pending retirement in July 2017 after serving 24 years with Planned Parenthood. During Zdravecky’s tenure, she helped facilitate the merger of Planned Parenthood of Central and Southwest Florida with the Orlando and Collier County affiliates, expanding the regional organization to serve more than 45,000 patients in 22 counties, Planned Parenthood has pointed out.
Zdravecky agreed to remain in her role through January to ensure a smooth transition for the organization, the Fall 2017 Planned Parenthood newsletter noted.