Our Team
The Patterson Foundation is largely a virtual organization, contracting with consultants who carry out our work and bring expertise to partnering opportunities. The foundation’s Designation Committee serves as its board and is chaired by John T. Berteau, along with Ric Gregoria and Dan Bailey. The Designation Committee members are entrusted as the "keepers of the legacy."
The Patterson Foundation has three full-time, paid employees, including Debra Jacobs, president and CEO, and two support staff members.
Governing - Designation Committee
John T. Berteau, Chairman, Designation Committee
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John T. Berteau is of counsel to the law firm of Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen, a law firm that has served the Sarasota, Fla. area for more than 40 years. Mr. Berteau focuses his practice in the area of wills, trusts, estate planning and administration. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University.
Mr. Berteau has served on committees of the American Bar Association and the Florida Bar Association involving estate planning and taxation. He has been a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel since 1994.
Mr. Berteau has served as chairman of the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation; chairman of Southwest Florida Hospice Foundation; chairman of the Friends of Selby Library and as vice-chairman of Siesta Key Utilities Authority. He has also served as a director and legal counsel to the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. He is a past Commodore of the Field Club; past president of Sarasota Girl's Inc. Foundation; past president of Sarasota Bay Rotary Club. He is a Paul Harris Fellow. He has also served several terms as Senior Warden (chief layman) of St. Boniface Episcopal Church.
Mr. Berteau has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2009-2012. He was named by Florida Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Florida for 2006-2011. Mr. Berteau was also listed in Florida Trend's Legal Elite in 2008.
Ric Gregoria, Designation Committee
Ric Gregoria is board certified in wills, trusts and estates. His practice concentrates on these areas and estate business planning and succession.
Mr. Gregoria graduated first in his class in the accounting program at the Florida State University College of Business where he was Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. He was the 1983 recipient of the DuPont Scholarship for academic excellence and the 1984 recipient of the John E. Champion Scholarship for accounting excellence. Mr. Gregoria graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law where he served as managing editor of the Tax Review. He is a Certified Public Accountant and previously practiced with the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse and the law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P.
In July 2002, Mr. Gregoria was named a "Trendsetter" by Florida Trend Magazine. Mr. Gregoria was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2009.
Charles (Dan) D. Bailey, Jr., Designation Committee
Charles (Dan) D. Bailey Jr., a sixth-generation Floridian, was born in 1946 in Jacksonville and raised in Sarasota. He received his BA degree in 1968 and JD degree in 1971 from Mercer University and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1971.
Mr. Bailey is general counsel to the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority. He served for five years as principal attorney for the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board. He also practices in the area of land use planning and zoning. He previously served as general counsel to the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Sarasota County. Mr. Bailey was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2006-2012; the 2006 and 2011 Florida Super Lawyer®; and Florida Trend magazine's 2007 and 2008 Legal Elite.
His prior civic activities include service as president of the Sarasota Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Sarasota County Civic League, the Sarasota County Bar Association; the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club; and service as and Lt. Governor of Kiwanis, Division 21. He previously served as chairman of the United Way of Sarasota County, and chaired the William G. & Marie Selby Foundation for nine years. He was the founding chair of Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence (SCOPE). He has received the Jaycee’s Distinguished Service Award; the United Way “New” Volunteer of the Year Award; the Sarasota County Bar Association's Distinguished Service Award; the Kiwanis Club of Friendship’s Second Annual Citizen’s Roast Award; the Volunteer Connections Heart of the Community Award; and the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota's Outstanding Citizen Award; the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota Outstanding Citizen Award; The West Coast Center for Human Development Flames of Distinction Award; the SCOPE Boundary Crosser Award, and the 2010 Clyde Nixon Business Leadership Award from the Sarasota County Economic Development Corporation.
Staff
Debra M. Jacobs, President and CEO
In January 2009, Debra Jacobs became President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. The focus and work of The Patterson Foundation revolves around building connective tissue through strategic initiatives to create new realities.
In 1998, Debra joined the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation in Sarasota, Florida. As President of the Selby Foundation, Ms. Jacobs was responsible for working with the community and trustees of the foundation to enhance quality of life in arts, education, human services, natural sciences and environment. By investing in local capital projects and working with both public and private entities, the Selby Foundation was able to look beyond what is and enable change for what could be. In addition to the Selby Foundation, Debra was responsible for the administration of eight other foundations. Annually the nine foundations granted a total of more than $8 million.
Prior to joining the Selby Foundation, Debra was the Vice President for Institutional Advancement for Ringling College of Art and Design. In the fifteen months she was at the college, Debra was responsible for admissions, alumni relations, career services, the design center, development, financial aid and marketing. Debra came to this position after 11 years as Executive Vice President for SunTrust Bank, Gulf Coast. Prior to joining SunTrust in December 1985, she was Senior Vice President and Retail Division Administrator of Central Trust Company in Rochester, New York.
Debra received her undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1971 and earned her MBA in 1981 from the University of Rochester. In 1986 she graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
Debra is one of the founders of SCOPE (Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence) and works behind the scenes to help the community achieve its potential. She was the coach for Citizens for Better Schools passing a millage in property tax for the Sarasota County School District in 2002. She is past chairman of the Board of Directors for the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Sarasota County Committee of 100 and the Community Housing Corporation. She has served on the boards of the Sarasota Family YMCA, Sarasota University Club, and the School to Work Consortium. She has also served on the boards of the Sarasota Opera Association and REAL (Responsible and Enlightened Advocacy through Leadership). By the Sarasota County Commission’s appointment, she served on the County’s Economic Development Board. By the Governor’s appointment, Debra served as a lay member of the Judicial Nominating Committee, Second Appellate District Court of Appeal. She was president/chairman of the 1997 PennyWise Committee, Florida Symphonic Band and Sarasota/Manatee Chapter of the National Society to Prevent Blindness. She is a 1992 graduate of Leadership Florida and a 1987 graduate of Leadership Sarasota. Debra co-chaired Decision 2008, the Florida Presidential Primary debate.
Debra was an instructor at the American Bankers Association’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking and was a member of the Advisory Board. She was Co-Dean and an instructor at SunTrust University’s Branch Management Academy. She is a past faculty member of the Florida Bankers Association’s School of Banking. Debra has assisted groups as diverse as the Sarasota County Bar Association to the Manatee Community Foundation in developing their strategic plans. She was co-chair of the Program Committee for the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF) and is Past Chair of the SECF board. Debra has been of Vice Chair of The ELCA Foundation and served on the executive committee of the Augsburg Fortress Publishing House and the church-wide reorganization LIFT task force of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Carol Lipp, Initiative Support - clipp@thepattersonfoundation.org
Nancy Henry, Office Manager - nhenry@thepattersonfoundation.org
Independent Consultants
Kathy Baylis, Harwood Exploratory Initiative Advisor
kbaylis@thepattersonfoundation.org
Sandra Beckley, Sarasota National Cemetery Enhancement Initiative Consultant
sbeckley@thepattersonfoundation.org
Alicia Chalmers, Consultant, Legacy of Valor
aliciac0831@gmail.com
Janet Coats, New Media Journalism Initiative Consultant
jcoats@thepattersonfoundation.org
Michael Corley, Senior Consultant - Administration
mcorley@thepattersonfoundation.org
Linda Gould, Consultant, Legacy of Valor Liaison
Llgouldsrq@gmail.com
Valarie Law, CPA - Accounting
vlaw@thepattersonfoundation.org
Judy Sedgeman, Ed.D. - Ringling Collaboratory Initiative Consultant
jsedgeman@mac.com
Laurey Stryker, Ed.D. - EdExplore Initiative Consultant
lstryker@thepattersonfoundation.org
Pamela G. Truitt, Collaborative Restructuring and Student Emergency Fund Initiative Consultant
ptruitt@thepattersonfoundation.org
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Rusty Coats is President and Founder of Coats2Coats, a consultancy that focuses on a media future that is participatory, profitable and mobile. Rusty brings a wealth of experience to The Patterson Foundation as its technology lens consultant. Coats has worked in interactive media since 1993, driving audience and revenue for news companies, including McClatchy, Media General and E.W. Scripps.
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