Board of Directors
The Alliance is governed by a Board of Directors of prominent local business and community leaders.
The Board of Directors is comprised of the following members currently:
Officers & Executive Committee
- Russell P. Schropp
Chair
Vice President
Attorney At Law
Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. - Gary Griffin
Chair-Elect
President
B & I - Alan D. Reynolds
Past Chair
Regional Business Leader
Stantec - Richard Grant
Secretary
Founding Partner
Grant, Fridkin, Pearson, P.A. - Michael Wynn
Treasurer
President
Sunshine Ace Hardware - Laura Holquist
Vice President
President
LAH Group Advisors, LLC - Susan Pareigis
President & CEO
Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance
Board Members
- Roger Desjarlais
County Manager
Lee County - Dr. Robert Jones
Regional VP Economic and Community Development
Florida SouthWestern State College - Jason Korn
Managing Director
Cohen & Grigsby P.C. - John Manning
Commissioner – District 1
Lee County Board of Commissioners - Michael V. Martin, Ph.D.
President
Florida Gulf Coast University - John D. Meyer
President
Hodges University - Leo Ochs
County Manager
Collier County - Sarah Owen
President and Chief Executive Officer
SWFL Community Foundation - Fred Pezeshkan
Chairman
Summit Management Group, LLC - Christopher T. Spiro
Chief Creative Officer
Spiro & Associates - John Talmage
Director
Lee County Economic Development - Penny Taylor
Commissioner – District 4
Collier County Board of County Commissioners - Christopher Westley, Ph.D.
Director, Regional Economic Research Institute
Florida Gulf Coast University
The organization structure also includes two sub-committees reporting to the Executive Committee:
- The Marketing Advisory Committee comprised of participating local EDO directors.
- The Investor Advisory Committee includes cornerstone investors who wish to participate.

Susan Pareigis, Alliance President
The organization structure also includes four sub-committees reporting to the Executive Committee:
- The Budget / Finance
- Investor / Communications
- Marketing / Lead Generation
- Nominating