Board of Directors

Juan Awad brings more than 20 years of health care experience to Florida Blue. He most recently served as a hospital CEO for Ochsner Health, a leading integrated healthcare system in Louisiana. He spent most of his leadership and professional career at Baptist Health South Florida where he held several leadership roles. He began his career there as an Administrative Fellow. He holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in health services administration from Florida International University. He also completed Executive Education – Dynamic Management training at Fuqua School of Business of Duke University. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and served for many years as a board member of the South Florida Healthcare Executive Forum, a local chapter of ACHE.

Rikki Lober Bagatell is a Partner in Shutts & Bowen’s Corporate and Real Estate Practice Groups in the West Palm Beach Office.  In her corporate practice, she represents domestic and foreign clients in connection with the purchase and sale of businesses through asset transfer, stock transfer, merger, and other structures; the formation of business entities and joint ventures; strategic planning and compliance matters; private offerings of securities and venture capital transactions; contracts, including commercial agreements, sales agreements, license agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, employment agreements and non-competition agreements; split-ups; and general corporate matters.  Her healthcare practice includes structuring of new healthcare-related ventures, purchase and sale of provider and healthcare businesses, shareholder agreements, employment agreements, governance issues, and general corporate advice. She has extensive experience in the area of sophisticated commercial real estate transactions, including all phases of real estate acquisitions, development, financing, including tax credit financing, leasing and dispositions.

Seth Behn’s practice focuses on land use, environmental law and governmental affairs. With a background in Urban Planning, his work often focuses on zoning entitlements, riparian rights, and real estate. His practice also includes acting as general or special counsel to several Special District governments. Seth is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in City, County and Local Government Law, a designation that is earned by less than half of one percent of all lawyers admitted to the Florida Bar. He also serves as Vice Chair of the firm’s Governmental Law Practice Group.

Seth was a member of Leadership Palm Beach County’s 2016 class. He is a Board Member of the Palm Beach County Planning Congress, a local professional planning education and advocacy group. He also serves on the Advisory Board to the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy at Florida Atlantic University. Seth earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida Atlantic University, and his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University.

Nickeshia Bullock is a visionary higher education executive and accomplished enrollment strategist, currently serving as Campus Director and Dean of Academic Affairs and Operations at South University, West Palm Beach. With more than a decade of leadership experience across diverse institutional settings, she has a proven track record of optimizing organizational performance, driving sustainable growth, and leading cross-functional teams through transformation.

Her core expertise includes strategic planning, student enrollment management, organizational development, and operational oversight. She is especially skilled in aligning institutional goals with data-informed strategies, budgetary discipline, and talent development to enhance both student and institutional outcomes.

A dedicated advocate for ethical leadership, inclusive excellence, and student-centered innovation, Nickeshia brings a collaborative spirit, governance awareness, and a deep understanding of mission-driven operations. She is deeply committed to advancing women in leadership and creating equitable pathways to education and career success.

Nickeshia holds a Master of Science in Leadership and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Counseling.

As the president and founder, Chad oversees the vision and direction that is responsible for acquiring, expanding and retaining the employee benefits portfolio of customers. From enhancing sales growth and client value across all segments of employee benefit markets to advancing the company forward through the insurance landscape of constant change and progress.

Chad excels at identifying opportunities in maximizing employee benefit programs for employers and bridging the gap between driving operational efficiencies and cultural growth.

By garnering his relationships within the community, he can continually enhance Guarantee Insurance Partners brand, expertise and capabilities they deliver to customers.

Chad also plays an active role within the local chambers of commerce, human resource management associations and economic business development boards.

Prior to Guarantee Insurance Partners, Chad served as the A.V.P. of Lincoln Financial Group overseeing all financial, operational and strategic activities for the State of Florida. Under his leadership, his region was consistently a flagship office in assisting employers with direction for maximizing employee benefit programs and specializing in communication campaigns and overall positive cultural growth. In addition to overseeing Florida, he also recruited, mentored, and trained the state’s most successful marketing representatives. That spirit of development and partnership continued when he founded Guarantee Insurance Partners as an extension of his commitment to customer service excellence and positive work-place culture.

He joined Lincoln Financial Group in 2006 where he earned several accolades throughout his tenure, including Rookie of the Year & Office of the Year.

With his industry knowledge and owner-level focus, he and his team are now dedicated to advocating for employers and their employees and helping them provide creative and wholistic solutions for Employee Benefit Plans, Employee Engagement and Communication, H.R. Solutions and Wellness Initiatives.

Chad was born and raised in Miami, FL where he attended and graduated from Dade Christian High in 1995. He then went on to the University of Central Florida (Go Knights) and earned his master's degree in public administration in 2002.

When Chad is not consulting with his clients, he enjoys mountain biking, golfing, and spending time with his family and friends as part of the local community that has encouraged him and led him to want to foster similar profession relationships.

Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Canada, Dr. Jennifer Illes now resides in Southern Florida. Dr. Illes serves as the Vice President of the College of Chiropractic Medicine at Keiser University, and has been instrumental in the development and growth of the chiropractic program. In addition, she served as the immediate past President of the Faculty American Chiropractic Association (FACA). Dr. Illes holds a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine (DC) degree from New York Chiropractic College, a Master of Science degree in Advanced Clinical Practice (MS ACP) from the National University of Health Sciences, a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Brock University, and both an Associate of Science degree in Nursing, and Master of Nursing degree (family nursing practice) from International College of Health Sciences. She continues to educate health professionals in a variety of areas from health management strategies to chiropractic manipulation. She is a mom of 2 amazing boys that keep her busy outside of the working environment.

Chadi Irani serves as the Senior Director of Sales Strategy at The Palm Beach Post. He has developed a team of experts who execute high-level campaigns and strategic accounts, handling all aspects of media strategy, planning, media placement, digital optimization, and reporting. Chadi plays a pivotal role as liaison between vendors and partners, leveraging relationships with digital leaders through The Post’s parent company Gannett as a part of USA Today Network to bring best practices and the latest technologies to Palm Beach County businesses. Chadi has led client seminars with representatives from top digital media agencies, such as Google and Facebook.
Irani is a graduate of Leadership Palm Beach, class of 2009, and currently resides with his family in West Palm Beach.

Zulema Ledesma is Director of Sustainability of VEYER. In this role, Zulema is responsible for setting the direction of environmental policies, defining sustainability metrics, and integrating a wide range of sustainability programs into all major functional areas of the organization, including Office Depot, LLC; ODP Business Solutions, LLC; Veyer, LLC; and Varis, Inc.

Zulema in an active member of the community and non-profit organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Central Palm Beach County, is a member of the HISPA Florida Advisory Council, D&I Captain at The ODP Corporation, and is co-lead of SOMOS, The ODP Corporation’s Latino and Hispanic Associate Resource Group with over 200 members.

Most recently Zulema was recognized as a as a distinguished finalist for the 2023 LATINA Executive of the Year award by LATINA Style Magazine.

Zulema received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Marketing and International Business and Trade from Florida Atlantic University. She currently resides in Boynton Beach, FL with her husband and two daughters.

David Leland is the co-founder and CEO of Print It Plus, a commercial printing company that he and his wife, Kimberly Leland, started in Royal Palm Beach in 1988. David has worked to improve the western communities where he has lived and owned his business for nearly 30 years. As an active member of the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce since 1989, serving on the board from 1990 to 2000 and most notably serving as Vice President of Operations in 1993 and President in 1995. In his 28 year tenure as a member of the chamber, David has given his time to assisting in the staging and production of the Central Palm Beach County Chamber Holiday Parade nearly every year. In addition to his dedication to the chamber, David sits on the Planning and Zoning board of the Village of Royal Palm Beach and has also been involved in the Crestwood Middle School SAC Committee, the Royal Palm Beach Jaycees, the Royal Palm Beach High School Parental Debate Committee, and was a youth football coach for over 30 years. David and his wife have three children. Their oldest daughter Kathryn Leland Napier works for E.J. Gallo Winery. Their middle child, Kayla Leland Pragid works as an attorney at the Law Firm of Akerman. Their youngest child, Dallas Leland is in College at UCF.

Ana Machado-Rosacker joined Bethesda Hospital in 2012 as the Director of Nursing for Bethesda Hospital West, with the responsibility of assisting with the opening of Bethesda Hospital West and, in 2016, she advanced her career within Bethesda to the position of Assistant Vice President, Patient Care Services.   In May of 2020, Ana was promoted to Vice President of Administration for Bethesda Hospital West.  Prior to her employment with Bethesda, Ana worked for 18 years at the Palm Beach County, Health Care District.  During her 18 years with the Health Care District, she held many different clinical positions and was an integral part of opening the replacement hospital, Lakeside Medical Center, where she was the Director, Critical Care, Telemetry and Medical Surgical.  Ana consecutively held clinical positions at Palm West Hospital, for 7 years.

Ms. Rosacker received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Florida Atlantic University, and later her Master of Science in Nursing with a dual in Nursing Administrative Leadership and Healthcare Management.  She has continued her education through the University of Berkley, Executive Education, for Leading Innovate Change.  Ana is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, belongs to the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society and holds certifications for Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) and FEMA Emergency Management Institute.

Ana was born in Miami, Florida and raised in Clewiston, Florida.  She has one son, Brenton, that graduated from Florida State University and is currently attending The University of Denver Law school.

Adam McCarthy is a Principal at PROforma Turnkey Marketing and is responsible for the overall oversight of the company’s sales growth and business development initiatives. PROforma is a full-service marketing company that specializes in cutting-edge services and products to meet clients’ needs and challenges across all industries. PROforma’s key offerings are Promotional Products, Commercial Print, Direct Mail, Digital Media, Smart Communications, Online Company Stores and Corporate Apparel.

When approaching a new opportunity, McCarthy concentrates on designing and implementing programs to help clients achieve their marketing goals. His breadth of product knowledge and decades of experience have styled him into something of an expert at connecting clients with different products and practices to help round out their strategy. This very approach has lent itself to countless sales achievement and excellence awards within his own industry year after year.

While not a native of Florida, McCarthy moved to the Sunshine State in 1985 to Wellington, and has spent the better part of his life here. He attended Florida State University and has been an active member of the Palm Beach County business community for the last 20 years. He is a former Trustee Member of the Central Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce.

Adam and his wife, Denise, live in Lake Worth and are the proud parents of son, Parker, and daughter, Ella.

Michael Morgan currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Bone and Joint Surgery of the Palm Beaches, PA.  Michael has been in the healthcare industry for six years, demonstrating a commitment to providing the citizens of Palm Beach County accessible, quality orthopedic care in the midst of a vastly changing industry.  Michael graduated with honors, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance at the University of Kentucky and is currently finishing his MBA at Florida Atlantic University.

David O’Brien, who has spent the past decade as an Executive administrator for operations and nursing at hospitals in South Florida and other parts of the South, was recently named the Market Chief Executive Officer for Kindred Hospitals of South Florida. In his new role, O’Brien oversees all strategic planning, finances, operations and personnel for Kindred’s four specialty hospitals in the South Florida market.

As Market CEO for Kindred Hospitals of South Florida, O’Brien is responsible for leading four long-term acute care hospitals with a combined 265 beds that specialize in treating medically complex patients recovering from serious injury or illness. In addition, Kindred Hospital the Palm Beaches and Kindred Hospital South Florida – Fort Lauderdale each feature an 11-bed inpatient acute rehabilitation unit.

O’Brien brings significant experience as a Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer to his new CEO role. O’Brien had stints as COO at Broward Health Medical Center and Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, St. Mary’s Medical Center and Palm Beach Children’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, and Hilton Health (South Carolina) Regional Hospital.  While in Hilton Head he was Market COO for Tenet Healthcare for a group of six hospitals in South Carolina and Massachusetts.  O’Brien also served as CNO for Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and Coral Gables Hospital.

Prior to relocating to South Florida, O’Brien began his healthcare career in New York, where he spent eight years in executive nursing leadership roles at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center.

Nursing was a second career for O’Brien who previously was an entrepreneur and owned several small businesses.  He also was a Member of the Pearl River Fire Department in New York where he was a Fire Fighter / Paramedic rising to the rank of Chief of the Department from 2008-2013.

Personally, he is married to Diane and together they have two adult children, John and Jessica.  Fun family fact, they are all nurses.

O’Brien earned the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Health Administration from Phoenix University. He also holds the credential of Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified (NEA-BC).

With 20-plus years in the financial services industry, Carol O’Neil founded CEO Financial Services about five years ago to help people get their “financial house in order” – and keep it that way for the rest of their lives. Her idea was simple: create a comprehensive financial plan for each client and then manage this plan toward each goal. This allows clients more time to concentrate on things they cannot delegate. The business has expanded and now offers far more comprehensive financial services. “After many years in this business, the financial issues have become the easy part; what motivates me now is empowering our clients to make the most intelligent choices with their money, fulfill their aspirations and seeing them experience genuine happiness and security in their lives,” O’Neil said. “This gives us a sense that we are making a difference helping coach people.” She holds degrees in economics and communications from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and is a certified financial divorce analyst. She is pursuing her certified financial planner designation and a master’s in taxation. O’Neil and her husband, Jim, live in Lake Worth. Most of their free time is spent with their immediate family or involved with the community.

PBSC President Ava L. Parker leads with a strategic approach emphasizing innovation, student success, and business and community collaboration. Parker is the first female president in the history of the institution, which opened in 1933 as Florida’s first public community college. Growing with the county, the College now offers more than 130 programs of study, including bachelor’s and associate degrees, professional certificates and career training. Palm Beach State has earned national distinction as an Aspen Prize Top 150 U.S. Community College.

Under President Parker’s stewardship, the college opened its 5^th campus in Loxahatchee Groves in 2016 and reached its highest enrollment in the institution’s history. She has served as Chamber Board of Director since September of 2015.

Phillip “Tad” Rowe, P.E. is Vice President of Simmons & White, Inc., a comprehensive civil and traffic engineering firm established in West Palm Beach in 1982. Tad’s areas of expertise over the past 28 years includes commercial, residential, and equestrian land development for public and private sector clients largely based in central and western Palm Beach County.

A native Floridian, he is a proud graduate of Forest Hill High School (’85) and the University of Florida (’94) where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He currently resides in Jupiter with his wife and two children, and enjoys spending time outdoors, on the water, and watching the Gators in the fall.

Asad Sadiq has served as General Manager of The Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington, Florida since July 2021. The 1.2 million-square-foot, two-level, regional shopping destination features more than 160 retail stores, dining destinations, and entertainment outlets, and is anchored by Macy’s, Dillard’s, JC Penney, City/Ashley Furniture, and CMX Cinemas. The mall is managed by New York-based Spinoso Real Estate Group, which oversees operations of more than 74.9 million square feet of enclosed malls throughout the U.S.

With over 15 years of C-Suite-level accounting experience in both the public and private sectors, Sadiq provides a global vision and proven financial expertise to the sprawling retail center. He is an expert in cross-cultural business negotiation protocols and skilled in leading management teams to achieve leasing and NOI goals through the use of innovation and technology. Asad has been instrumental in brining more experiential and entertainment options to the Mall at Wellington Green.

Previously, Sadiq served as property accountant for Starwood Retail Partners, a division of Starwood Capital Group, then transitioned into property management, serving as General Manager of Southlake Mall in Merrillville, IN., and Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, MI. Starwood was the previous owner of The Mall at Wellington Green.

Sadiq received his bachelor’s degree in commerce and finance from DePaul University in Chicago, IL., where he was raised. Now a proud resident of Wellington, FL, Sadiq enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and pursuing altruistic endeavors – most recently on a humanitarian aid trip to Cuba and Kenya, working with Gateway of Hope. He also leads ‘Switch,’ a weekly mentoring program for high school boys at LifeChurch in Wellington.

Stephanie Slater Goldfuss is the director of communications at Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel, PLLC, a third-generation personal injury law firm in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Prior to joining the firm in June 2022, Stephanie spent 15 years as the Public Information Officer at the Boynton Beach Police Department, serving as the agency's spokesperson and community engagement liaison, as well as a strategic communications advisor to the Chief of Police.

Stephanie is a sought-after law enforcement media training consultant and has been teaching strategic messaging, crisis communication, and public relations best practices nationwide for more than a decade.

Stephanie serves on the Board of Governors of Leadership Palm Beach County and the Board of Directors of the Andrea C. Cameron Foundation, where she co-chairs their Education Taskforce. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Women United Steering Committee for the United Way of Palm Beach County. Stephanie is a graduate of the Leadership Palm Beach County Engage Class of 2024, and a member of the Gold Coast Public Relations Council and Public Relations Society of America. She is a two-time Past President of the National Information Officers Association and was honored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police with a 40 Under 40 award.

Stephanie is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she majored in print journalism. She previously worked as a breaking news and crime reporter for The Boca News and The Palm Beach Post.

Brannan is the Director of Community Relations for U.S. Sugar. In this role, Thomas manages the company’s community support and engagement initiatives, serving the Glades and coastal communities where the people of U.S. Sugar live and work. Thomas is responsible for overseeing U.S. Sugar’s generous community outreach efforts in the towns, groups, and organizations the company supports.

Previously, Thomas served as Director of Business Development for Transworld M & A, a corporate sales and advisory firm based in Fort Lauderdale. He spent nearly 5 years working in the franchise and business sales industry and served as the Southeastern Vice President for United Franchise Group in West Palm Beach.  Part of Brannan’s Community Relations outreach involves sitting on a number of boards. The impressive list includes the Glades Area Boys & Girls Club, Clewiston Chamber of Commerce, Hendry County Economic Development Council, Clewiston Sugar Festival. He is also Board of Director with the Central Palm Beach County Chamber. And he serves on the Sugar Industry Labor Management Committee.

Brannan is a native of the Glades region - born in Pahokee and raised in Belle Glade. He is a proud product of the local school systems where he attended Rosenwald Elementary, Lakeshore Middle, Glades Central and graduated from Glades Day School. Thomas excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He played football at Lehigh University and graduated with a degree in environmental science.

Thomas’ community involvement also includes extensive coaching experience working with athletes in Palm Beach County. For three years, Thomas coached varsity football and middle school baseball at the King’s Academy in Royal Palm Beach. He also coached defensive backs at Cheyney University, the nation’s first historically black college and university (HBCU) located in Pennsylvania.

Thomas resides in Clewiston with his wife and two children.

Matt Wallsmith was named president & CEO of the South Florida Fair on July 1, 2024. He has served as vice president and chief financial officer of the organization since 1998.

He earned his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida and began his career in public accounting at Ernst & Young LLP. He is currently a licensed CPA in Florida.

As CFO, Wallsmith handled accounting duties and then expanded his role to oversee the gates, midway, concessions, information technology and maintenance operations at the fair. As chief financial officer of the South Florida Fair, he was instrumental in creating Fright Nights, the South Florida Fair’s largest event outside of the annual fair in January.

In his current role as president & CEO, he is responsible for overseeing a staff of 55 people and managing the production of the annual 17-day fair. He works closely with the board, leadership team and all employees to drive the organization’s mission and deliver exceptional experiences to fairgoers.

His focus is on improving parking and enhancing the overall experience and value for fairgoers and leading the fair into its next chapter, emphasizing innovation, sustainability, and excellence.

A graduate of the Institute of Fair Management (International Association of Fairs & Expositions), Wallsmith has served on the Board of the Chamber of the Palm Beaches, and he is a Leadership Palm Beach County Alumni.

A longtime resident of Palm Beach County, Wallsmith lives with his wife of 25 years and their two children, who currently attend the University of Central Florida. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, boating and biking, which help him maintain a balanced and fulfilling life.