Our Board
Board of Trustees
Dennis McGillicuddy
Richard Hopkins
Patricia Courtois
Gaele Barthold
Neil M. Comber
Georgia Court
Robert Israeloff
Patrick Mulva
Judge Charles E. Williams
DENNIS MCGILLICUDDY retired from the cable television business in 1999. He currently serves on the board of Franklin Street Properties, a publicly traded REIT. His charitable activities include serving as a Co-Chair of Embracing Our Differences, an annual 2 month long Art Exhibit promoting the values of diversity and inclusion. He also serves on the board of The National Anti-Bullying Project, a premiere concert-based program dedicated to empowering students, teachers and other school personnel to eliminate physical and emotional bullying. Mr. McGillicuddy also sits on the advisory board of The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Healthcare & Society.
RICHARD HOPKINS is the Producing Artistic Director of Florida Studio Theatre. Founder and Producing Director of Palisades Theatre Company, renamed American Stage in St. Petersburg, Florida. Past President of the Florida Professional Theatre Association. Past Board Member of Florida Cultural Action Alliance. Has served on the theatre panel for the Florida Arts Council.
PATRICIA COURTOIS President, CEO & Principal/ C-Suite Communications, a brand communications firm located in Sarasota, FL. Patricia’s experience includes brand strategy and development, media relations, special events, community relations and corporate philanthropy for companies and brands including Beatrice Foods, ClosetMaid, Remington, Sara Lee, Tropicana, Sweet ’N Low, Butter Buds, Sugar in the Raw, and Mary Kay. She serves on the boards of the EDC of Sarasota County, Senior Friendship Centers, Doctors Hospital and Florida Studio Theatre. She also chairs the Sarasota Development Council of Southeastern Guide Dogs and sits on the Marketing Committee of All Faiths Food Bank. Her past board and leadership positions include: board member of the Community Foundation of Sarasota, member of the Sarasota County Tourism and Economic Development Board, past chair of the Leadership Council of the United Way Women’s Initiative, former board member of the Sarasota County Arts Council, the Literacy Council of Sarasota and past president of the Sarasota Sunrise Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association.
GAELE BARTHOLD is a retired attorney whose practice specialization was appellate argument and appellate litigation. As the Philadelphia Deputy District Attorney for Law, a Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney and a member of Cozen O’Connor, she argued and litigated many cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and numerous federal and state appellate courts. Her law related activities included, chairing the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Appellate Courts Procedural Rules Committee, serving on various other Supreme and Superior Court Advisory Committees, sitting on the Philadelphia Bar Association Board of Governors, and serving as a Pennsylvania Deputy Insurance Commissioner. Mrs. Barthold was the recipient of the National District Attorney’s award for outstanding legislative work during the 101st Congress. Currently she is Chair and a longtime member of the Longboat Key Zoning Board of Adjustment. She has also served as a board member and co-chair of the former Longboat Key Public Interest Committee and as President of the Longboat Key Estates Homeowners’ Association.
NEIL COMBER has focused his career over the last 15+ years in the non profit sector in a wide variety of roles, including volunteer, staff, board member, adviser and consultant. Since moving to the Sarasota area almost 9 years ago, he has become increasingly involved in local nonprofit work, as a Score Mentor and as a consultant with the Invest In Incredible program at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Prior to that he was heavily vested in the Cincinnati community where he started a nonprofit and created a fundraising committee for scholarships. He also was on numerous Boards including on the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, private school, and United Way advisory council, among others. Professionally he was a consultant and trainer for small to very large consumer packaged companies and retailers. He began his career in marketing at Procter & Gamble in Mexico and over 30 years held a number of senior marketing and general management positions with P&G in the U.S., Latin America and Europe.
GEORGIA COURT, Owner of Bookstore1Sarasota. General partner, Court Investment Company LTD. Retired instructor of English Composition at the University of Cincinnati. In 1990’s wrote regular columns on healthcare for the daily Cincinnati Post and published a weekly newspaper for healthcare professionals. In 1980’s ran a small public relations firm that specialized in production and satellite distribution of corporate events. In 1970’s worked for IBM as a systems engineer. Past member of advisory board, Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati. Former board member and president of Chautauqua Institution’s (New York) Writers’ Center and its advisory group. Founder of PoetryLife annual festival in Sarasota.
ROBERT ISRAELOFF Retired CEO of Israeloff, Trattner & Co., CPAs, P.C. Served as Chairman of the Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and as President of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He was awarded the AICPA Gold Medal for Distinguished Service and inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame of the New York State Society of CPAs. Mr. Israeloff was past President of the Foundation for Accounting Education and international President of the HIAS (International Jewish Rescue and Migration Agency) from 1984 to 1988, dedicated to rescuing and helping refugees and immigrants. Over the years, he served in many capacities with ORT, Five Towns United Fund, AICPA, Red Cross, NY UJA/Federation, The American Heart Association, Hofstra University, Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota County Arts Council and many others. Mr. Israeloff currently serves as Treasurer of the Perlman Music Program/Suncoast and as Chairman of the Audit Committee of Sarasota-Manatee Jewish Federation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Aviva Housing Council and the Jewish Housing Council Foundation.
PATRICK MULVA was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from the University of Texas - San Antonio. He served three years in the U.S. Air Force prior to joining Exxon Mobil Corporation in 1976. During his 38 year career with ExxonMobil, Mr. Mulva served in a variety of positions with increasing financial and managerial responsibilities. He was named Finance Director of the Exxon companies in Malaysia in 1991. In 1996, he moved to Canada and was appointed Controller of Imperial Oil Limited, an ExxonMobil Company. In 1998, he was appointed Senior Vice-President, Finance and Administration, and a Director of Imperial Oil Limited. In 2002, he was named Vice President-Investor Relations and Secretary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. In 2004, Mr. Mulva was named Vice President, Controller and Officer of the Corporation. He retired from Exxon Mobil Corporation in 2014. Mr. Mulva has served as the chairman of the American Petroleum Institute's Finance Committee. He was a member of the Financial Executives International, has been a Trustee of the Financial Executives Research Foundation, and a member of the University of Texas San Antonio Business School Advisory Council. He has also served on the Boards of the Toronto and the Dallas United Way organizations. While living in Emonds, Washington from 2015 to mid-2018, Mr. Mulva was on the Board of The Institute of Flight and the Edmonds Center for the Arts. Pat and his wife, Mary, moved to Sarasota in July, 2018. He currently serves on the Board of the Homeowner’s Association at The Vue.
Judge Charles E. Williams was born in North Carolina, raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and graduated from Howard University in Washington D.C.; He earned his law degree from the University of Florida. He is the Chief Judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit which includes Sarasota, Manatee and Desoto Counties, Florida. His past awards include the Community Service Award from the Manatee County Bar Association, and the Manatee County NAACP Public Service Award. He is a recipient of the Sarasota County NAACP 2014 Public Service Award and also the recipient of the Sarasota County Branch NAACP’s 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the recipient of the C.L. McKaig Award, presented by the Sarasota County Bar Association in recognition and appreciation of his tireless dedication to promoting the ideals of equality, justice, and professionalism. In 2017, he joined the board of Embracing Our Differences. Judge Williams was elected by his fellow judges to serve as Chief Judge for two consecutive terms commencing in 2015 and 2017.