Carole has lived in Lakeland since 1996. She served for 15 years as a Vice President at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. During that time she  had executive responsibility for master planning and overseeing construction and opening of the laundry building, the Cancer Center and its first expansion and the B wing and the parking garage.

She also oversaw many other clinical departments and support functions at the hospital as well as the behavioral health inpatient units and outpatient behavioral health clinic.

She also was responsible for renovation of the M wing,the behavioral health unit, pharmacy,the laboratory as well as many others areas.

She oversaw the master planning and negotiating with the city to obtain the adjoining land South of the hospital for construction of the East Tower( now the Carol Barnett wing).

For the past 5 years Carole has been a Vice President in a similar capacity with Adventist Health System at Florida Hospital Carrollwood. There she was also responsible for Human Resources, their Occupational Health Clinic and their Wound  Care Centers.

Carole is a graduate of Leadership Lakeland and Leadership Polk. She has served on the Midtown CRA board as well as Central Florida Healthcare board. She also served on the Board of All Saints Academy in Winter Haven.

She was a Campus Board member of USF Lakeland and USF Poly and was involved in the master planning, site selection and construction management of the campus now known as Florida Polytechnic. She served on the last Polk County Efficiency Commission.

Carole currently serves on the Boards of the USF Foundation, Goodwill Suncoast and the Lakeland Police Pension Fund . She is also on the board of the newly formed USF alumnae Polk county chapter and the regional advisory council of GiveWell.

She is a certified public Pension trustee and a Lifetime Fellow in the American College of Healthcare  Executives. She is also approved as a FINRA arbitrator.

Other information- born in Miami. Graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology from Tulane and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from the Tulane School of Public Health.

She is married to Lyle. They have 4 grown sons.

Amy Wiggins is a public relations and communications professional who recently learned the meaning of the word proscenium.

After finishing her BA at Florida Southern College, Amy worked as the YMCA of West Central Florida’s first Teen Development Director before beginning a career in communications and economic development at the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce.

In 2015, Amy joined the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, a dynamic cultural arts organization with a 50-year history of educating, entertaining and inspiring audiences. Knowing that arts and cultural opportunities help to stimulate innovation and drive the economy, Amy is committed to making high quality live music accessible to everyone.

When she’s not attending a concert or supporting a fellow arts organization, Amy enjoys honing her gluten-free baking skills and rehabilitating orchids from the clearance rack.

Jason Willey is the Business Development and Special Projects Manager for the City of Lakeland. He is responsible for the City’s internal economic and business development activities. Working closely with developers, contractors, engineers, architects and realtors, much of Jason’s time is spent navigating processes and solving problems. He has a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from Florida State University and Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Jason is a graduate of Leadership Lakeland Class XXX and Leadership Polk Class IX. He serves on a number of volunteer advisory boards and committees and has worked for the City of Lakeland since 2000.

Jason lives in Lakeland with his wife and two children. He enjoys spending time with family, running, soccer and traveling.

Pat Steed is the Executive Director of the Central Florida Regional Planning Council which covers the counties of Polk, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, and Okeechobee and the twenty-five cities located within them. She has lived in Lakeland since 1982. Pat has 35 years of management and professional planning experience including serving as Planning Director for Polk County, Planning Manager for the City of Lakeland, Director of the Polk County Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Project Director for a national consulting firm. She has served on many local non-profit boards and committees including Lakeland Vision, Polk Vision and myregion.com and leads the Heartland 2060 regional visioning initiative. She currently serves on the Board of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and has served on many state and national transportation committees.