Directors

Dale Hoffa, Chairman

Dale has been on the Board of Directors of CER since 1982 and has served as President of CER since 1994. He has also been the golf tournament chairman since its inception. Dale has always been very active in Martin County. He served on the administrative board and board of trustees of the First United Methodist Church/Stuart, he was executive producer on the Republican Club Television Show and more recently announcer on the Treasure Coast Forum radio show, president of the Republican Club of Martin County as well as a past executive director and vice chairman, treasurer of the Acacia Lodge, and has held memberships in many organizations. Dale has owned his own swimming pool maintenance and repair business in Martin County, and he has most recently retired from the administrative offices of the Martin County Sheriff's office. He has five children and nine grandchildren.

Dr. Sandra J. McNeal, President

Dr. Sandra J. McNeal, EdD, has over 25 years experience in business and academics. Dr. McNeal holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership, and focuses on early childhood/ exceptional education. She also serves as certified International Professional Coach. Sandra is a member of the Junior League, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, and Autism Society. She supports Disabled Vets and Wounded Warriors. Sandra enjoys family time with her son and daughter, and her 6 grandchildren.

Al Horsting, Vice President

Al began serving on the Board for CER in 2005. After being with the Scotiabank for 25 years and the Provincial Head Eastern Ontario and Country Head, Greece, for over a decade, Al established Tri-County Mobile Home Supplies in 2004 in Stuart. Al has his MBA. Al and his wife Rhonda, a nurse, live in Palm City.

Jim Hart, Co-Treasurer

Jim started on the Board with CER in 1999. He was born and raised in Blairsville, PA (near Pittsburgh). He attended Grove City College where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Mathematics. After college Jim worked for five years as a District Manager with Buick Division of General Motors and lived in Manchester, NH. He then went to Aetna Life & Casualty Insurance Co. in Connecticut starting as a computer programmer through various supervisory positions and ending as Director (officer of the company) of Management Information Systems. He and his wife Jan, have been married since 1964. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Cheryl Hendrix, Co-Treasurer

Judge Cheryl is retired from the Superior Court of Maricopa County, AZ, where she served for 19 years. She holds a Juris Doctor and a bachelor of science degree from Arizona State University. In addition to her CER board membership, Cheryl is a member of the Board of Directors and Secretary for the Hope Center, a not-for-profit charter school. Cheryl lives in Port St. Lucie and is a "critter caretaker" who enjoys golf, bridge, astrology, trivia, and travel.

Jennifer Bracken, Secretary

Jennifer has been a resident of Martin County since 1981. She is an RN and a Nationally Certified School Health Nurse who has worked for the Martin County Health Department since 1997. She currently provides school health services to JD Parker, Bessey Creek and Pinewood Elementary schools. In the past she also worked in the Comprehensive School Health Program serving students at South Fork High School, acted as the Health Services Manager for the Martin County School District Head Start Program and as a medical/surgical nurse at Shands Hospital. She received her BS in Nursing from the University of Florida and her Masters of Public Health from the University of South Florida. She is also a Parish School of Religion teacher to pre-school children at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Jennifer lives in Stuart with her husband and their twin daughters.

Alicia Hohsfield, Program Director

Alicia was born and raised in Peru, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Translations from Ricardo Palma University. She moved to New York 18 years ago, where she worked for the South Huntington School District for eleven years. With the school district, she was responsible for translations and began working in the social work field. Alicia moved to Florida five years ago with her two children, Kenneth and Julissa, and began working at the Port Salerno Elementary Family Learning Center. In April of 2006 she became a Whole Child Advisor and is now the Senior Whole Child Advisor for Whole Child Connection. As Senior Whole Child Advisor, Alicia is responsible for maintaining the Whole Child Connection System, providing support to providers and advisors, conducting presentations to Martin County families, and managing client service requests.

Dr. Miriam Wheeler

Dr. Miriam Wheeler is a retired educator from Martin County School District where she worked with family literacy and wrote local, state, and national grants. She graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, has a masters in counseling awarded by the University of Calif. in Los Angeles, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale. She is actively involved with her husband, Russ, in the Gideon bible ministry and the First Baptist Church in Jensen Beach. They have five adult children, eight grand children and two great grand children.

Tracey Flood

Tracey has been on the CERI Board since 2007. She is a native resident of Martin County with two children. She attended high school at MCHS and college at PBCC. Tracey is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Diabetes Educator at the Martin County Health Department with School Health and as a Certified Insulin Pump Trainer with Metronic MiniMed. She previously worked in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the St. Mary's Children's Hospital and with Dr. Mary Vaccarello-Cruz, Pediatric Diabetes Endocrinologist.

David Cardno, Grant Committee Chair

David joined the Board of CER in 2002. He is a native of Scotland where he grew up and received his education. After graduating with a Master's degree in French and International Relations he set off to see the world, working as an international marketing manager and subsequently consultant. Over 15 years he visited or lived in just about every corner of the globe before marriage finally brought him to Florida. After several years of working as a marketing consultant, he became the Director of the Father & Child Resource Center in 2000 when it became part of the Martin County Healthy Start Coalition. David and his wife Sandra, live in Stuart and have two teenage children.

Robert Fowler

Bob has been on the CERI Board since 2002. He has served as co-chairman of the golf tournament since 2006. Bob attended Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Il, where he received his B.S. degree and Barry University, Miami, Fl where he received his M.S. in School Administration. Bob's prior experience included Miami Dade County Public Schools; Principal, North Miami Beach Senior High, Principal, Miami Norland Senior High, Principal, Miami Carol City Junior High, Principal, Parkway Junior High, Assistant Principal, Miami Edison Middle School, School Case Worker, North Central Office, Physical Education Teacher, Hialeah Middle School, and Physical Education Teacher, Palm Springs Junior High. Bob Fowler is married to his wife, Teri, and has three children and four grandchildren

Laura McBride

Laura started with the CER Board in 2005 when she became a registered nurse for the Martin County Health Department School Health Program. She oversees Stuart Middle School and Spectrum Jr/Sr High. Previous experience includes Pediatric office nurse, Cardiology Coordinator, Cardio-pulmonary Rehab, MICU, and Emergency Room nursing. Laura moved to Florida from Michigan in 1981 and lives in Stuart with her 2 children.

Nedra Velasco

Nedra is a registered Dental Hygienist who has served on the board of Children Emergency Resources for the past 14 years. She is married to Ernesto, a Civil Engineer, and they have two sons, Marco and Alex. Since moving to Martin County in 1978, she was involved in the volunteer program at both Palm City and Warfield Elementary Schools and served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as being a big sister to a local girl during her formative years. Most recently she has volunteered for the newly formed Martin County Oral Health Coalition.

Stephen L. Karr

Steve is Senior Vice President and Wealth Advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's offices in Stuart. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Steve moved to Florida in 1975 and has been a resident of Stuart since 1985. He and his wife Suzy have two sons. Outside of the office, Steve enjoys fishing, boating, traveling, and spending time with his family. He is actively involved with the Masonic Lodge, Scottish and York Rites, and the Shriners.

Betty Ward

Betty has been a Board member since mid 2009. She is a registered nurse, and part of the School Health Team at the Martin County Health Department. Her school is South Fork High School. She is a Florida native, and received her Bachelor's degree from Florida State University and her Master's degree from the University of Florida. Betty has worked in a variety of health care settings and lives in Stuart. This is her third year working with the School Health Team. She loves working with children of all ages and believes that Children's Emergency Resources provides an invaluable service to the families and community of Martin County.

Greg Thogerson

Greg is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's Stuart offices. Greg is involved with the community as the President of The Kiwanis of Okeechobee, a Board member of the Okeechobee Chamber of Commerce, and Hospice of Okeechobee. He is a member of MainStreet of Okeechobee, the Okeechobee Battle Field Friends, and the St. Lucie Chamber of Commerce. When Greg is not at work, he enjoys time with his family, his wife, Sheryll, and their children, Austen, Cristin, Jared, and William. Greg also enjoys sports, music, and traveling.