The Children’s Trust of Alachua County (CTAC) Board of Directors welcomed a new member, approved the trust’s 2027-2030 strategic plan and supported the hiring of a staff accountant position at a meeting on Monday. 

New board member  

During the Chair’s Report portion of the meeting, Chair Mary Chance administered the oath of office to the newest member of the CTAC board, Melissa Walker. Walker will serve as the new Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) representative on the board after Cheryl Twombly retired in December 2025.  

Consistent with Ordinance 18-08, which established the CTAC, five of the board’s 10 members are appointed by the governor. The other five are considered designated members. This includes the superintendent of schools, a school board member (selected by most of the School Board of Alachua County), one member of the Alachua County Commission – also chosen by most of the county commissioners – a judge assigned to juvenile cases “and the district administrator from District III” of the DCF “or his or her designee who is a member of the Senior Management Service or of the Selected Exempt Service,” according to the ordinance.  

Currently, the board comprises nine members, with one vacancy. This vacancy is a gubernatorial appointee position, according to the CTAC website, which the governor fills. 

Strategic plan  

The CTAC approved its strategic plan in June 2023 following the completion of a 10-month listening project that began in 2022. As part of that project, the trust heard from roughly 1,400 people across Alachua County through surveys, interviews, focus groups and community meetings. 

The plan was originally approved for three years (2023-26), with the board scheduled to review it and make revisions if needed.  

In 2025, the CTAC began a strategic planning update “intended to reaffirm its commitment to delivering measurable, community-centered impact for children, youth, and families across Alachua County,” according to the meeting agenda. 

The CTAC brought on C Robinson Associates Inc. (CRA), a comprehensive management consulting firm based in Atlanta, to support the plan update. This process consisted of interviews with board members, board retreats, workshops and working sessions, as well as CTAC staff research, engagement and recommendations. 

An updated draft plan was presented to the board in a workshop prior to its regular meeting on Monday. The 2027-2030 plan included four goals and focus areas for each. 

The goals, along with the focus areas for each, are listed below and reflect the workshop revisions. 

• Goal 1: Children and youth are healthy and have nurturing caregivers and relationships.  

Focus areas: Pre- and postpartum family health, infant and early childhood health, comprehensive health, and children and youth with special needs. 

• Goal 2: Children and youth can learn what they need to be successful.  

Focus areas: Early learning and academic success.  

• Goal 3: Children and youth live in a safe community.  

Focus areas: Safe spaces and prevention.  

• Goal 4: Empower and equip our provider community and build sustainable structures for CTAC.  

Focus areas: CTAC capacity building and agency capacity building. 

The board unanimously approved the 2027-2030 strategic plan, incorporating changes from the workshop, at its regular meeting. Vice Chair Susanne Wilson Bullard and members Kamela Patton and Ken Cornell were absent. 

Rather than saying the traditional “I” with their vote, board members instead gave their approval by blowing noisemakers. CTAC staff also joined in with noisemakers, expressing their excitement about the vote. 

While the plan has been approved, representatives from C Robinson Associates are expected to remain engaged with CTAC going forward. 

“… We will remain engaged with the [CTAC] team during some stakeholder interviews and focus groups to gather additional insight, especially for areas that are new to the plan or where more community and provider input will strengthen that strategy…” Conchita Robinson, president of C Robinson Associates, said during the meeting via Zoom. “We’ve also been asked to support the [CTAC] staff with a mid-year and annual update.” 

Staff accountant role 

During the Executive Director’s Report portion of the meeting, the board also unanimously approved the hiring of a staff accountant position.  

CTAC Executive Director Marsha Kiner explained to the board that the staff accountant role was a recommendation by the trust’s new chief financial officer (CFO), Molly Greenwald, after assessing all the CTAC staff and their capabilities.  

“I thought we might wait until the upcoming year’s budget to do it [hire a staff accountant], but with audit and all of the things that we have been doing in preparation for next year’s budget, we really feel we need to bring someone on now,” Kiner said. 

According to the meeting agenda, the staff accountant will report to Greenwald and “support the Finance department by maintaining accurate financial records, ensuring compliance with governmental and nonprofit accounting standards, and promoting transparency and accountability.”   

The starting pay for the position ranges from $52,784 to $66,935 annually, according to the agenda. 

Greenwald said the CTAC has the “funds to support the addition” of the staff accountant role. 

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.