Board of Trustees

Officers

              Paul F. Roth                        Patti Jurney-Sousa                           Linda Uhler                                Don Rice  
                President                             Vice President                               Secretary                                 Treasurer

Members of the Board

                Bill Burch                        Claude C. Crawford, Ph.D.              Doris Holzheimer                   Donald (Chip) Lesch



           Philip Puschel                         Robbie Roepstorff                         Martha Siders                   Ed Wheeler, MD, FACR



            Carol Ann Zell

Board Biographies

Paul F. Roth, President

Returning to the SCCF board, Paul is looking forward to continuing his long association with the Foundation as a trustee. Paul and Lucy first came to Sanibel with their children in 1972. They have lived here a total of 13 years, interrupted by a five-year stint in Santa Fe, NM. Paul graduated from the University of Missouri and attended graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis. His thirty-five-year career was with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (now AT&T); he retired in 1991 as president of the company’s Texas Division. He has served on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards, including the Sanibel Public Library, and remains active in the Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ.

Patti Jurney-Sousa, Vice President

Patti Sousa is a native Floridian, and she has a B.S. in Recreation from the University of Florida. Her career and passions led her to various non-profit organizations -- including the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., YWCA, and the Girls Club -- in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan and New Jersey, where her sundry positions included those of assistant executive director, troop leader, board member, resident camp director, and an instructor-of-trainers. In 1983, she and George honeymooned in Sanibel but they lived in Michigan and then New Jersey, where they owned and operated their own business. For her extensive volunteer contributions to Girl Scouting, Patti was awarded the “Thanks Badge” which is the highest adult volunteer honor. Patti and George made Sanibel their permanent home in 2001. On Sanibel, Patti has been a substitute teacher, and a poll worker and trainer but many know her through the indelible mark she has made with and for the Sanibel Bicycle Club, including sitting as the club’s president for two years. Patti is an active member of Sanibel’s Congregational United Church of Christ, and is Treasurer of the Butterknife POA.

Linda Uhler, Secretary

Returning for a second term on the SCCF board, Linda Uhler has been a full-time resident of Sanibel since 1977. She has been an elementary school teacher, managed and owned retail businesses and served as district deputy for Congressman Porter Goss. Her community involvement includes chairing major fundraisers, such as the United Way of Lee County campaign, American Heart Association Heart Ball and BRAVO!Ballet for Gulfshore Ballet. She is currently serving on the Sanibel Public Library Commission and the board of Hope Hospice. She has also been the president of the Junior League of Fort Myers and the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva. Linda and her husband, Tom, are permittees for the sea turtle program, life members and members of the Legacy Society. They created and co-ordinate the popular Wines in the Wild fundraiser.

Don Rice, Treasurer

Don Rice and his wife Joyce have owned property on Sanibel since 2001 and since 2004 have spent the majority of their time on the island. Don served as a senior vice president of the Ingersoll-Rand Company before his retirement from the firm in 2004. His career included assignments in human resources, leadership of the company’s Asia Pacific and Latin America operations, global business services and corporate communication and public affairs. Don began his business career at General Electric following service in the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon where he received a BA in Economics and an MS in Industrial and Labor Relations. Don has served on SCCF's Finance Committee since 2009. He is a member of the Captiva Island Yacht Club, serves on the human resources committee of BIG ARTS, has held leadership positions with the Power Squadron and is a member of Kiwanis. Don and his wife also own a summer home on Lake George in upstate New York, where he just completed a five-year term as Chair of the FUND for Lake George, chairs the West Brook Conservation Initiative (a $15 million public/private partnership restoring the wetlands in the South Basin of Lake George) and serves on the advisory board of the Lake George Land Conservancy.

Bill Burch

Soon after Bill Burch and his wife Tory moved to Sanibel in December 1996, they became involved with SCCF’s sea turtle program. From 1999 to 2008, they oversaw Sanibel’s East End beaches; they are still permittees. For the past six years Bill has been a naturalist and boat captain with Tarpon Bay Explorers. He is an active member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, a Qualified Crewman for the Coast Guard Station at Fort Myers Beach and he holds a U. S. Merchant Marine 100 Ton Master’s License. Bill is a retired lawyer, with both his B.B.A. and J.D. from Loyola University in New Orleans. From 1982 until his retirement, Bill was the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudon County, Virginia.

Claude C. Crawford, Ph.D

Claude received his Ph.D. from N. C. State University and during his graduate studies and subsequent post-doctoral posts at The University of Georgia and Johns Hopkins University, he was involved with the startups of two small marine research labs. He worked in the medical device field, managing research and development of many innovative and successful diagnostic and therapeutic devices, including immuno-diagnostics, neonatal intensive care devices, cryosurgical units, and cardiac resuscitation devices. In 2000 Claude joined his wife Marsha to form a successful real estate team in Annapolis, Maryland. They first visited Sanibel in the fall of 2001, and moved here full-time in 2007. Claude and Marsha have been members of SCCF for several years and Claude has been a volunteer member of the Marine Lab committee for the last two years.

Doris Holzheimer

Doris and her husband, Gordon Hullar, have owned a house on Captiva since 1984. Doris is a Commissioner and Vice Chairman of the Captiva Erosion Prevention District and has led the Captiva Hurricane Preparation and Response Committee. She is the past president of the board of Women Helping Women of Hamilton County, Ohio and is on the Advisory Board to the Dean of her alma mater, the College of Arts & Science at Miami University. Doris and Gordon own a wine distribution company headquartered in Mason, Ohio. She worked for Procter & Gamble for 20 years, leading strategic planning, organization design and change management for the worldwide manufacturing and sales organizations. As an on-loan executive, she assisted the Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent.

Janie Howland

After moving to Sanibel in late 1982, Janie Howland's first job was at SCCF. In 1986, she started Island Homewatch, Inc., and in 1998, she started her real estate career and is currently affiliated with Re/Max of the Islands. Over the years, she has volunteered at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the International Osprey Foundation. She has been a member of the board and Treasurer of Community Housing and Resources, Inc. and has served previously on the SCCF board.

Donald (Chip) Lesch

Donald (Chip) Lesch, as Co-Chairman of the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company, serves as the company's Chairman of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining the Trust Company, he served as Chairman of Indiana Federal Bank and Vice Chairman of Pinnacle Banks of Michigan from 1990 to 1997, serving as a member of the investment committee and Chairman of the asset and liability committee. Prior to his banking career, he was founder and managing partner of Gough and Lesch Inc., a leading real estate management, investment, and development company in Indiana. Mr. Lesch has served on more than 25 corporate, civic, and charitable boards. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash, Indiana’s highest civic honor. He is on the boards of Lee Memorial Health System Foundation, BIG Arts, and the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society and served as Chairman of Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation. Mr. Lesch holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University and an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School.

Philip Puschel

Philip and his wife Roberta bought their current home on Sanibel in 1996 and retired there in 2000. Philip has a Bachelors degree from Hamilton College and an MBA from Stanford University. After spending three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy’s Pacific fleet, he returned east to New York City, where he joined the home furnishings company, F. Schumacher & Co. His entire career of 34 years was spent at Schumacher, the last 19 years as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for the last 27 years. Philip was a founding member of the Kent (CT) Land Trust and he served on its Board and Advisory Committee for ten years. He has also been involved with land conservation in Vermont where he spends part of the summer. Philip led the fundraising campaign for his 50th Hamilton reunion, reaching record highs. He and his wife have been active on Sanibel with SCCF, CROW, and BIG ARTS fundraising efforts and they are SCCF Life Members.
 

Robbie Roepstorff

Robbie is the President, Director and Co-founder of Edison National Bank and Bank of the Islands. The bank was founded by Robbie and her husband, Geoffrey Roepstorff in 1997. Robbie is known in Southwest Florida as an accomplished business leader and an active member of the community, serving in many professional and community organizations that benefit the citizens of Southwest Florida including the Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees, The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, The Sanibel School Advisory Council, Uncommon Friends Foundation, Edison-Ford Winter Estates Foundation, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation and its Good Neighbor Fund, American Heart Association, Lee County’s Industrial Development Authority and Horizon Council. She has served on Sanibel Community Association, Hope Hospice of Southwest Florida, and the Lee Memorial Health System Foundation. Robbie has received various awards for her leadership. Most notable and meaningful to her is the 2008 Paulette Burton Lee County Citizen of the Year Award, named in honor of a former Sanibel resident. Most recently, she and Geoff received the statewide honor of being named the “Bankers of the Year” by the Florida Bankers Association. The Roepstorffs are longstanding Sanibel resident and their son is now a third year law student at Florida Coastal School of Law. Robbie and Geoff are longstanding supporters of SCCF. Through Bank of the Islands, they have sponsored publication of SCCF’s Annual Report, past Earth Day celebrations, and the Wines in the Wild fundraising event. They have served as Turtle Walkers, and work on the Coastal Clean-Up with their entire Bank of the Islands staff.

Martha Siders

Martha, her husband Rick and family first came to Sanibel in 1975, and they purchased a residence in 1990. Martha holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Michigan, as well as an M.A. from the University of Toledo where she was an Instructor in Geography. She has been a board member of the AAUW, League of Women Voters and the Auxiliary to the Academy of Medicine in Toledo. She was president of the board of Toledo’s Mobile Meals and Mobile Market. Most recently Martha served on the board of Gulfside Place Condominium Association, dealing with the issues involved in the rebuilding of the complex after Hurricane Charley. Martha has volunteered at SCCF for over 10 years.

Edward C. Wheeler, MD, FACR

Dr. Wheeler, a native Hoosier, earned his AB and MD degrees from Indiana University and interned at Marion County General Hospital in Indianapolis. He served his residency and fellowship in radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Ed returned to Indianapolis to begin an active radiology practice and remained there for the remainder of his 33-year career, except for two years spent at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN, practicing the subspecialty areas of vascular and interventional radiology. Ed served on the Boards of the Indiana State Medical Association, the Indianapolis Medical Society, the Indiana Roentgen Society (president 1991-92). He became a Fellow in the American College of Radiology in 1992. Ed and his wife Jane were active in many non-profit organizations throughout their marriage. They first purchased a home on Captiva in 1978, then moved to Sanibel in 1984. After Ed’s wife Jane passed in 1992, he retired from the active practice of medicine in 1997 and became a Florida resident in 2001. He and his partner Anne Haslem have been active in environmental causes for several years and are members of the Colorado Land Trust.

Carol Ann Zell

Carol Ann Zell had spent most of her life in Southern California before moving to Sanibel with her husband, Peter, in late 2005. With a B.S. Degree in Communications, she was a television news writer, reporter, producer and anchor in Los Angeles before switching to public relations, advertising and marketing. Carol held a variety of managerial positions in the private and public sectors encompassing community and media relations, public education and fund development.