Leadership

Megan Howell, MS
Executive Director, Founder

Megan Howell founded this organization in 2019 by helping a severely mentally ill man off the street who had been homeless for 25 years. All while attending college and working at the local Sarasota favorite restaurant, Patrick’s 1481.

She holds a Master’s degree in Science in Psychology. Her background experience is with serving those experiencing developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, mental illness and homelessness. She has completed extensive comparative work in the way of multi-cultural issues surrounding homelessness in Japan and actually lived on the streets of Tokyo for a study.

Megan serves on the leadership council for the SunCoast Partnership to End Homelessness Council members are tasked with guiding and coordinating the Sarasota-Manatee community’s policies, strategies and activities toward ending homelessness.

Megan takes her life cue from the Japanese philosophy of “Ikigai,” which means “find joy in life through purpose.”

Megan was named Sarasota Magazine 2023 Unity Award Winner.

Athyna Smith

Athyna Smith, BA
Director of Operations

Athyna Smith has an impressive track record of serving those most in need in her community. Her extensive experience includes working with veteran and non-veteran individuals and families experiencing homelessness, families with school-age children that are at risk of becoming homeless, troubled youth and neglected children.

Prior to joining Second Heart Homes, Athyna served as Director of Rapid Rehousing for the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast. She also previously served as a member of the Continuum of Care Leadership Council for the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from the University of Southern Florida.

Board of Directors

David Lyons, MBA

David Lyons, MBA
Chairman of the Board

Since retiring as president of the Cola-Cola Company’s Philippines and South Africa divisions, David Lyons has been a champion of helping others achieve maximum mental well being. David is principal partner at David Lyons Coaching, a personal coaching service that helps people optimize their career and life. He also is a supporter and volunteer at the Salvation Army, First Step and the Sarasota county correctional system, helping individuals with addiction, trauma and mental health issues. David believes mental illness is the leading contributor to most societal issues, including homelessness. He is excited about working to expand Second Heart Homes’ model of developing independence through housing, clinical support and loving care.

David Welle, MBA Chairman of the Board

Photo by Sarasota Ballet & Matt Holler.

David Welle, MBA
Director

David currently operates an investment firm that invests in and manages commercial properties. Prior to this, he co-founded CSL International, a boutique management consulting firm that provides market, financial, and operating consulting services to owners and managers of sports-related developments. He also is a former partner with Coopers and Lybrand, one of the two firms that merged to form PricewaterhouseCoopers. David holds an MBA from the University of Denver and a Bachelors degree from Moorhead State University.

Erika Quartermaine

Erika Quartermaine, JD
Director

Sarasota County Court Judge Erika Quartermaine is a Sarasota native and serves in Florida’s 12th Judicial Circuit. She is passionate about the use of problem-solving court programs in appropriate circumstances – with the goal of increasing public safety and improving lives by treating the underlying causes of criminality. She was instrumental in creating the Comprehensive Treatment Court, a mental-health court for non-violent offenders who are seriously mentally ill and unable to meet their basic needs. She also helped establish the Turn Your Life Around Court, a diversion program for individuals charged with prostitution-related crimes and who are victims of human trafficking.

Jim Doyle, Director

Jim Doyle
Director, Treasurer

Jim has been active in finding solutions to the issue of the chronic homeless population in Sarasota since 2015. In 2021, Jim was named as business community representative to the Continuum of Care Leadership Council for the SunCoast Partnership to End Homelessness. Council members guide and coordinate the Sarasota-Manatee community’s policies, strategies and activities toward ending homelessness.

He’s the Founder and retired CEO of JDA.media, a Sarasota based company that provides sales training and revenue development services to media companies throughout the United States. He was also a partner in Gocom Media which owned TV stations in Illinois and California. Jim holds a BA in Business Administration and Management from Rutgers University. He is the author of Selling with a Servant Heart.

Thomas Tryon, BS

Thomas Tryon, BS
Director

Journalist and Florida son Tom Tryon is a former opinion editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he examined homelessness issues for more than 15 years. Tom also served as board chairman for the former nonprofit, Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence (SCOPE), where he focused on connecting Sarasota citizens to create a better community through dialogue, data and public policy. Sarasota Magazine named Tom one of “The 100 New Most Powerful People in Sarasota Today,” noting he is “one who gets things done.” Tom looks forward to putting his words into action as a Second Heart Homes board member focused on reducing homelessness while revitalizing Sarasota’s vulnerable residents and neighborhoods.

Claudia Barnett

Claudia Barnett, BA
Director

With 40 years of experience as a Washington, D.C. real-estate broker, developer, and general contractor, Claudia Barnett is no stranger to the politics of housing and homelessness.

A native New Yorker, Claudia earned her BA in International Relations at American University in Washington, D.C., and later became a successful D.C. real estate developer. She went on to co-found three homeless organizations there.

After a decade as snowbirds, Claudia and her husband Jack became full-time Sarasotans in 2012. Today, Claudia is a sales associate for Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. She has served on the Sarasota City Historic Preservation Advisory Board and enjoys raising money and volunteering for several nonprofit organizations. She views homelessness as a quality-of-life issue for homeless and home-blessed alike and is committed to helping crystalize Second Heart Homes’ role in the community.

Robert W Rosinsky

Robert W. Rosinsky
Board Member

Bob Rosinsky retired from Goodwill after 50 years in June, 2022. He began his career at Goodwill Industries of Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and moved to the Racine Goodwill as the associate director in 1978. He has been the CEO for the Zanesville Ohio Welfare Organization and Goodwill Industries (OH), Goodwill Heart of Florida, and the President and CEO of Goodwill Manasota (Sarasota). He owned a consulting business from 1991-1996 that worked with Goodwill agencies across North America, along with private-sector clients.

Rosinsky has published articles in professional journals and presented papers at national and international conferences. He has received several national and local awards, including the Watkins Award for Mission Advancement and PJ Trevethan Award for Education/Training from Goodwill Industries International and the Humanitarian of the Year award from the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation.

Rosinsky received his bachelor’s degree from Carroll College in Waukesha, WI, and completed graduate work in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is an avid scuba diver, hiker, tennis player and fisherman. He lives with his wife, Ruth, in Bradenton, FL.

Jim Cox

James Cox
Board Member

Jim currently manages South Creek Capital, LLC, a family office. Jim’s support of Second Heart Homes is driven by a belief that a strong community respects the dignity of all its members. Until retiring in 2021 Jim was an Executive Vice President of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE: FI), a global leader in payments and financial technology. Prior to Fiserv Jim was President of Trewit, Inc., a healthcare administrator; and Managing Partner of Lund Koehler Cox & Arkema (now Baker Tilly), a Minneapolis-based CPA firm.

Jim has a Bachelors degree from the University of Minnesota. He lives in Nokomis, FL with his wife, Wendy, and enjoys fly-fishing and many outdoor activities.

Cheri Coryea

Cheri Coryea
Board Member

The founder of Coryea Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, non-profit organization leadership development, economic development, healthcare initiatives, government, and private sector project management. Cheri also has a 30+ year career with Manatee County Government with the last 14 years in senior management positions including County Administrator and Deputy County Administrator.

As a consultant she also leads the Digital Access for All and Aspirations to Action Initiatives with The Patterson Foundation, Sarasota, Florida. Her over 30 years of public sector experience affords her the ability to understand, explain and bring together the various government sectors to seek newly implemented Federal funds. Her experience in human services and neighborhoods includes 20 years overseeing the Affordable Housing Program and Community Development Block Grant for Manatee County. This has allowed her to develop trusted relationships with communities and people across the region that strengthen connective tissue through active engagement of conversations with the community, all in an effort to move their issues to possibilities and their aspirations to action.

“It is an honor to be serving on the Board of Second Heart Homes, Inc. The unique opportunity where clients come to the program based on their own commitment to address their mental and physical health, remain sober and achieve personal goals through self-sufficiency attracted me to the board, But, the commitment of the board to provide housing and services through private grants and donations, rather than state or federal dollars is what locked me in”.