CARLA MARIE REID, Ph.D. – Tallahassee, Acting Chair

Dr. Reid has been owner and manager of the Black Dog Cafe, a community coffee house, since 1997. She is one of the founding members of the Independent Business Association and Community Alliance (IBACA), an organization dedicated to promoting locally owned businesses. Dr. Reid, a resident of Tallahassee, holds a doctorate in the Humanities and teaches ethics courses at Florida State University.

DAWN STEWARD – Orlando, Secretary/Treasurer

Dawn Steward is the Legislative Chairperson and was formerly the Resource Development Chairperson for the Florida PTA (Parent Teacher Association). She is employed with the Healthy Start Coalition in Orange County as Operations Manager and Orange County Florida KidCare Outreach Coordinator. She is also responsible for the Coalition’s donor base and fund development. She is a certified contract manager with the Florida Department of Health. She has extensive training in Board Development and she is responsible for resource development of the Florida PTA. Dawn has also held a Series 7 Stock and Bond Securities License and formally worked as Margin Bookkeeper and Sales Assistant with Dean Witter, Merrill Lynch.

CAROLYN FORD – Gretna, Member

Carolyn Ford is the founder and Executive Director of the North Florida Educational Development Corporation, based in Gretna, the chairperson of Florida Black Chambers of Commerce and the former mayor of Quincy, Florida. She is a former teacher in Gadsden County and a former instructor at Florida State University. In addition, she has served as program supervisor at Apalachee Community Mental Health Service, Inc.

At the North Florida Educational Development Corporation, Ms. Ford manages several community-based programs: the Jericho Organizing Project; the Retro-Fix Program, which employs youth and low-income workers while providing repair services to low-income homeowners, especially senior citizens; the Entrepreneurial Program for middle- and high-school students at W.S. Stevens School; and Home Buyers Clubs offering counseling and support for low-income residents seeking mortgages.

North Florida Educational Corporation also is involved in housing programs through SouthSprings, the Rural Home Loan Partnership, Hamilton Places and the WellSpring Initiative.

Ms. Ford earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Florida A&M University and a specialist degree in Counseling and Human Systems at Florida State University.

FELY CURVA, Ph.D. – Tallahassee, Member

Fely Curva, Ph.D. is principal partner at Curva and Associates, a private consulting firm, located in Tallahassee. She currently serves as the Coordinator of the Budd Bell Clearinghouse on Human Services (an advocacy organization that brings to bear some 150 health, human services, and educational organizations on current legislative issues). Her areas of technical expertise include research and evaluation, lobbying and advocacy, grant writing, staff development and training. Dr. Curva served as a Legislative Analyst with the Florida House of Representatives for five years with responsibilities for legislation relating to aging, adult services, mental health and substance abuse. She has authored numerous publications and reports.

Curva and Associates has also been conducting research and evaluation activities in the field of prevention and school-based health education programs for the past 13 years.

Dr. Curva received her Ph.D. from the Florida State University, Department in Reading and Multilingual/Multicultural Education; a Masters of Science degree in Education and Research and Evaluation; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Valdosta State College.

JULIA BLANKENSHIP – Tallahassee, Member

Julia Blankenship is president of the Justice Research Center, a research and consulting firm in Tallahassee. JRC conducts research, develops curricula and provides training in juvenile justice, criminal justice, child welfare, education, law enforcement and other justice-related areas. Clients have included the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, National Center for Juvenile Justice, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Connecticut Judicial Branch, the ARISE Foundation, Eckerd Youth Alternatives and AMIkids, Florida State University, Harvard University, and Yale University Law Center.

Ms. Blankenship is a former analyst at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. She has written dozens of articles in justice-related publications.

She is a graduate of Southwest Missouri State University and earned an MSW degree at Florida State University.

RUTH MELTON – Tallahassee, Member

Ruth Melton has been Director of Legislative Relations for the Florida School Boards Association since 2000. She has served as vice president of the Florida PTA and is an honorary life member of both the Florida PTA and the National PTA. Ms. Melton recorded more than a decade of community and volunteer service to Miami-Dade County public schools, serving on school and district advisory councils, the National Science Foundation Urban Systemic Initiative Planning Committee and the school board/county commission Joint Task Force on School Overcrowding.

Ms. Melton is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

LYNDA RUSSELL – Tallahassee, Member

Lynda Russell is a Public Policy Advocate for the Florida Education Association, which represents more than 250,000 teachers and education staff professionals statewide. For 20 years, she has used in-depth knowledge of public policy and communications skills on behalf of numerous associations, governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations in Florida.

Ms. Russell is a member of the board of the First Amendment Foundation. She has served on the state board of the Florida League of Women Voters and on the board of Capital City Youth Services, a nonprofit foundation serving runaways and troubled youth.

She is a graduate of the University of Maryland.

KAREN WOODALL -Tallahassee, Member

Karen Woodall has over 30 years’ experience in supporting, developing and advocating for programs to improve the conditions of working families, children, seniors, people with disabilities, rural families, migrant and seasonal farm workers, immigrants and other vulnerable populations.  She has strong ties to labor and social advocacy groups throughout the state and has been noted in the past as one of the few voices advocating a broad and fair system of state taxes and against the continued use of tax breaks for narrow corporate gains.  She was appointed by the Senate President to serve on the Services Tax Commission in 1987, where she learned first-hand of the inequities of Florida’s tax structure.  She is a recognized expert in the area of health care, especially for children.  She has been a member of the Kidcare Coordinating Council since its inception. She has worked with the Children's Defense Fund for years and was the recipient of the Lawton Chiles Award for child advocacy in 2007. 
 
Karen co-founded the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy.  She served until recently as Director of Outreach and Education.  She now serves on the Board and coordinates the Coalition for Fair and Comprehensive Tax Reform.   She is the president and co-founder of the People's Advocacy Center for Training and is a co-founder of Florida CHAIN.  Karen is a native of Florida, born in Miami.  She is a graduate of Florida State University with degrees in Psychology, Social Work and Government.  

Email Karen Woodall at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .