Goodwill Manasota is pleased to announce its 2025-2026 Board of Directors. Former Manatee County Commissioner and longtime planner Elizabeth “Betsy” Benac is now in her second year as Chair and new director Jon Kaupla has joined the volunteer leadership body. The 2025-2026 directors are: Xtavia Bailey, Steve Boone (Past Chair), Rich Cautero, returning director Debbie Douglas, Kaupla, Eric Kaplan, James McClure, Rob Morris, Laurie O’Loughlin, Laura Ritchey, and Allen Weinstein.

Goodwill is grateful to dedicated leaders Rod Hollingsworth and Brad West, whose terms ended this past year.

Kaupla, who has served as the President/Executive Director for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Professional & Executive Development since 2017, has extensive and diversified experience in organizations ranging from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies. In his current role, he leads all aspects of the not-for-profit, including strategic planning, product/program development and delivery, marketing, business development, and sales. Previous positions included Chief Human Resources Officer for Corelogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider; Senior Vice President – Human Capital Business Partner for Robert W. Baird & Company, an employee-owned, international wealth management, capital markets, private equity and asset management firm with offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia; and Senior Manager – Learning and Development for Kohl’s Corporation where, among other duties, he was responsible for creating Kohl’s University, offering world-class training for corporate leaders and changing the company culture to a learning organization.  

In the coming year, some of the top priorities to be addressed with the board’s input and guidance will include continuing support for the nearly 64% of its team members who face barriers to employment or have documented disabilities, which may make it challenging for them to maintain employment in other environments. The organization will continue to bolster its internal and external mission programs, which are designed to provide the necessary support to ensure that those who want to work can develop the skills to do so. It will also focus on strengthening its execution of the thrift store operations in the Palm Beaches & Treasure Coast territory, which it took over in 2024. In its first year, thrift store revenues exceeded $43,000,000. 

“Our volunteer board members have diverse professional and life experiences to help guide Goodwill – expertly and compassionately – on a wide range of operational needs and priorities,” said Donn Githens, President and CEO of Goodwill Manasota. “This year, the Board's primary focus is to invest in organizational strengthening to ensure we continue to provide essential services to those in need within our community. Our commitment to this mission is unwavering: we are dedicated to creating a supportive environment for all our team members as well as community members who wish to better the life and career prospects for themselves and their families.”

In 2024, Goodwill Manasota served over 7,000 individuals, placed more than 1,560 individuals in jobs, assisted 463 veterans, provided more than $30,000 in gift cards and vouchers following the 2024 hurricanes, collected nearly 235,000 pounds of food for local food banks, provided over 118,000 hours of education and training, and diverted more than 98M pounds from area landfills.

For more about Goodwill, visit experiencegoodwill.org or call 941-355-2721.

About Goodwill Manasota
Goodwill Manasota is an industry-leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that changes lives through the power of work. With philanthropic donations and revenue generated by the sales of donated goods, Goodwill assists people with disabilities, veterans, seniors, and those with other barriers to employment by providing jobs, job skills training, and free career services. In 2024, Goodwill served over 7,000 individuals, placed 1,563 in jobs, assisted 463 veterans, collected over 234,600 pounds of food for area food banks, and diverted 98.4 million pounds from landfills. For more information or for a listing of locations, visit experiencegoodwill.org or call 941-355-2721.