Demetrius K. Jifunza-Chairman
Demetrius Jifunza serves as N.A.A.C.P. Vice President of the Sarasota branch, and Sr. Pastor at Mt. Olive CME Church in Arcadia, FL. As a member of Sarasota United for Responsibility and Equity (S.U.R.E.), Demetrius works with community leaders and public officials to correct inequities in the Sarasota community that affect the poor, under-served and disadvantaged. This faith based, social justice organization, combines approxima... read more

Jackie Rogers-Vice Chairwoman
Jackie Rogers has been a Co-Chair of CAN’s gala CANDance for over 10 years and is actively involved in the Sarasota community, working professionally as a producer and marketing consultant nationwide.... read more

Robert D. Nosal-Secretary
Bob Nosal of Longboat Key is thrilled to be on the board for CAN. He has been involved with their fundraising campaigns especially CANDance for the past fourteen years. He has worked on numerous shows over the years with his husband Bob Trisolini. Their work consisted of creating The West Bank Creative, a Business Theater Agency in the NYC area. Bob worked on major projects for Walt Disney Entertainment, Celebrity Cruise Lines and B... read more

Anthony J. Becich-Treasurer
Anthony J. Becich has been an accounting and management professional for over 25 years. He is currently the Finance and General Manager for the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and has been employed there since 2008. Anthony is originally from Chicago and has lived in the Sarasota area since 1998.... read more

Dr. Stephen Covert-Assistant Treasurer
Dr. Stephen Covert proudly serves as the principal at Pine View School, as is an adjunct faculty member at the University of South Florida.  He and his wife, Cara, a teacher with Sarasota County Schools, are parents to four wonderful Pine View students.  As an educator for over 24 years, Dr. Covert is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his students, and in the community he serves.... read more

Reinaldo Arroyo, M.D.-Assistant Secretary
Dr. Reinaldo Arroyo is an internist in Sarasota, Florida and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Doctors Hospital of Sarasota and Sarasota Memorial Healthcare System. He received his medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 25 years.... read more

Thomas A. D’Eletto, MD
Thomas A. D’Eletto is a medical and business professional with experience in clinical medicine, pharmaceutical drug development and medical affairs. Dr. D’Eletto is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases; he has also maintained a hospital-based inpatient and outpatient practice in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases and critical medicine. He has held the position of assistant professor of medicine and was ... read more

Bob Trisolini
Bob Trisolini, resides on Longboat Key and has worked with CAN for the past 16 years. He was the founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative, a Business Theater Agency in the NYC area, with his husband Bob Nosal. Bob has had the privilege of working with Sammy Davis Jr., Howie Mandell, Rita Rudner, David Brenner, Beth Fowler, and the cast of many Broadway shows, while directing and producing corporate events. He was Associate Producer... read more

Meadow Walker
Meadow Walker has worked with community agencies and faith communities with the purpose to educate and help meet the needs of the community since a young adult. Meadow has fourteen years of counseling experience working with co-occurring clients to help them explore and process their disease of addiction and mental health issues holistically.   She is currently an intern for mental health at Centerstone of Florida working toward ... read more

Derrick DeSilva, MD
Dr. Derrick DeSilva has been seeing patients for the past 31 years as a Dr. of Internal Medicine.  His focus has always been in bring together Eastern and Western medicine and giving his patients “The Best of Both Worlds”. For the past 15+ years his passion has been in the field of Anti-Aging or Optimal Aging medicine as he like to call it. His five points of wellness includes, the food we eat, bio-identical hormones, our activ... read more

Richard E. Carlisle
A devoted friend of CAN, Richard E. Carlisle became the not-for-profit’s third President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2015. Rick was born in Columbus, Georgia and graduated with a degree in Building Science from Auburn University, where he was awarded “Most Outstanding Senior” in the School of Building Science. Rick came to Sarasota more than 35 years ago and... read more

Rishi Patel
Dr. Rishi Patel is a highly academically prepared pharmaceutical professional holding a Doctorate of Pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University, a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University, and a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology from University of Florida. Dr. Patel has over 14 years of experience and expertise in pharmac... read more

Dr. Laura Armas-Kolostroubis
Dr. Laura Armas-Kolostroubis is a General Internal Medicine specialist who has devoted her career to providing care, educating providers, and conducting research on HIV. She brings to CAN over 20 years of experience in the public, private, and academic settings. She is passionate about patient-centered care and outcomes and firmly believ... read more

Rogelio Capote
Roger brings to CAN 15 years of experience of award-winning philanthropic experiential marketing and community development, as well as operational oversight and business development. He previously served as Senior Director of Special Projects at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, overseeing the organization’s daily operations and ear... read more

Deborah Hawkes
Dr. Deborah Hawkes is a Behaviorist who has devoted her career to evolving the culture and people within organizations. She brings to CAN over 20 years of experience in the healthcare, government, and technology sectors. She is dedicated to creating, managing, and executing the strategy and processes related to retaining an exceptional ... read more

Mary Lifland
Prior to joining CAN Community Health, Lifland was an associate with Cavanaugh & Co. Certified Public Accountants for over 10 years specializing in audits of Nonprofit Organizations and Common Interest Realty Associations. She acquired her CPA license in 2014 and joined CAN soon after as Director of Accounting, she was promoted to Controller... read more

Leslie A. Lind
Leslie comes by way of the Midwest, born and raised in Indiana. Soon after graduation she moved to Chicago and started her career in Audit/Accounting where she traveled opening/auditing new Hotels across the Country. That’s where the love of travel started and eventually landed her permanently in Sarasota at a local CPA firm auditing ... read more

Katy Wendel
Katy Wendel is a Registered Nurse with 15 years of clinical, leadership, and project management experience. Much of this practice has been working with non-profit organizations in the areas of emergency medicine and behavioral health prior to joining CAN Community Health in November of 2014 when she and her family relocated to from Kansa... read more

John T. Acevedo
With over 20 years’ experience in HIV prevention work, John brings both a personal passion and professional expertise to CAN. Fueled by witnessing family members overtaken by HIV, John set out to make a difference in the community fighting both stigma and disparities among those living with HIV. As the VP of Education and Program Services at CAN Community ... read more

Shannon DiPalmo
Shannon DiPalmo originates from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts and beholds her Masters in Social Enterprise Administration (MSW) with specializations in international studies and global health from Columbia University. She has always been passionate about the difference that community-based grassroots partnerships and project management can make in communities. Sh... read more

Hemali Joshi
Hemali is a healthcare professional that holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (from Toledo University) and a Bachelor’s of Science in Geographical Information Systems (from The Ohio State University) studying population health. She brings to CAN approximately 10 years of experience working with large hospital systems, vari... read more

M. Maximillion Wilson
A native of Florida, Dr. M. Maximillion Wilson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Florida in 1990. He was awarded a graduate assistantship in sociology at Western Illinois University, were he received his Master of Arts degree in 1992. He returned to UF in 1994 to begin work on his Ph.D. in Sociology (2000). While at UF he held teach... read more