- Derrick Chubbs | President & CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
- Ed Durkee |President & CEO, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida
- Catherine Steck McManus | President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity, Greater Orlando & Osceola County
- Jeff Hayward | President & CEO, Heart of Florida United Way
- Mark And Josie NeJame | Founders, Runway to Hope
- Caroline Schumacher | President and CEO, Give Kids The World Village
1. Derrick Chubbs | President & CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
Derrick Chubbs is confronting hunger at both ends of the problem: providing immediate assistance to Central Floridians while helping families achieve greater financial stability.
As president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Chubbs leads the region’s largest emergency food provider. The organization distributes enough food for approximately 300,000 meals each day through more than 800 nonprofit feeding partners across Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard, Volusia and Marion counties.
But Chubbs knows food insecurity cannot be solved through food distribution alone. Second Harvest is expanding Career Pathways, an enhanced workforce training program that prepares job seekers for in-demand careers and connects them with prospective employers. By helping participants gain marketable skills and secure stable, better-paying jobs, the program addresses one of the root causes of hunger and can reduce a family’s long-term need for food assistance.
The mission has become increasingly urgent as Central Florida families contend with climbing grocery prices, punishing summer temperatures and higher air-conditioning bills. For many households, Chubbs says, the rising cost of living creates difficult decisions about “whether to pay those rising expenses or buy food.”
Those pressures can be particularly severe for working families whose earnings have not kept pace with increases in housing, food, utilities, transportation and other necessities. Chubbs believes Central Florida must devote greater attention to the cumulative financial strain on households that may be only one unexpected expense away from needing assistance.
He also believes meaningful progress will require the entire community.
“No single organization can make the impact necessary to resolve a major problem like hunger,” Chubbs says. “It will take a collaborative effort from corporations, government, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and individuals.”
Over the next five years, Chubbs hopes to see those groups working more closely together, with Second Harvest playing a vital role in uniting resources, partners and ideas around the fight against hunger.
His motivation comes from the people Second Harvest serves: neighbors who remain hopeful and resilient despite the uncertainty of not knowing where their next meal will come from.
“They are my heroes,” Chubbs says.
2. Ed Durkee | President & CEO, Goodwill Industries of Central Florida
Ed Durkee believes Central Florida’s next great economic challenge is not simply creating more jobs. It is creating better ones.
As president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Florida, Durkee has focused on job quality as both a workforce issue and a pathway to economic mobility. Despite the region’s success in attracting employers and creating positions, he said too many residents work full time while struggling with unpredictable schedules, limited advancement opportunities, and wages that fail to provide financial stability.
“Creating jobs is not the same as creating economic mobility,” Durkee said.
Goodwill has spent several years redesigning work within its own organization, emphasizing better pay, predictable full-time schedules, workplace safety, training, and advancement opportunities. It also began treating employees as participants in Goodwill’s mission, rather than simply the people carrying it out.
“The more important the mission, the greater the obligation to be disciplined about how we pursue it.”
The organization measured the results and found that the benefits extended well beyond its workforce. As job quality improved, so did employee retention, productivity, and operating performance.
“Investing in workers does not have to be an act of generosity,” Durkee said. “It is good management.”
That experience has shaped Durkee’s vision for Central Florida. Five years from now, he hopes the region remains one of the nation’s great growth stories but measures its success by more than jobs created or businesses recruited. He wants Central Florida to become known as a place where employers compete for workers based on the quality of the opportunities they provide.
Goodwill is also adapting its mission through partnerships, including a collaboration with Cristo Rey Orlando High School. Working with students’ parents has helped the organization better understand Central Florida’s changing population and reconsider employment practices and support systems that may no longer fit workers’ lives.
Inspired by his mother’s example of service, Durkee brings discipline and accountability to Goodwill’s mission of “Building Lives That Work” by helping create work that works for people.
3. Catherine Steck McManus | President & CEO, Habitat for Humanity, Greater Orlando & Osceola County
For Catherine Steck McManus, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County, Central Florida’s housing affordability crisis is about far more than the price of a home. It is about the region’s economic future.
“If the people who teach our children, care for us, work in our hotels and restaurants, and keep our businesses running can’t afford to live here, that affects all of us,” McManus said.
As Central Florida continues its rapid growth, she believes business, government and nonprofit leaders must work together on solutions that match the scale of the challenge. That collaborative approach is central to Habitat Orlando & Osceola, where partnerships help families build not simply houses, but stability and financial security.
“The best partnerships are the ones where we’re honest about what each of us brings to the table and then ask, ‘What can we do together that we couldn’t do on our own?’” she said.
McManus applies a similar philosophy to leadership. With limited resources and no shortage of community needs, she has learned that effective leaders must focus on where they can make the greatest impact — and recognize they do not always need to have the answer.
Ultimately, McManus measures success not simply in houses built, but in what those homes make possible.
“You’re celebrating stability, opportunity, and a family’s chance to build something for the next generation,” she said.
4. Jeff Hayward |President & CEO, Heart of Florida United Way
As president of Heart of Florida United Way, Jeff Hayward sees a Central Florida filled with opportunity — but also a region where too many working families remain one unexpected expense away from crisis.
An estimated 47 percent of area households live below the ALICE threshold — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — meaning they struggle to afford necessities such as housing, child care and transportation.
“These are our teachers, healthcare workers, hospitality employees, and first responders who keep our community running every day,” Hayward said.
Heart of Florida United Way is addressing those challenges through partnerships. Recent efforts include the Raider C.A.R.E. Village with Seminole State College, the United Learning Lab with Wells Fargo and new Community Schools in Osceola and Seminole counties.
The Raider C.A.R.E. Village builds on more than a decade of collaboration with Seminole State, connecting students and families with resources designed to remove barriers to completing their education.
For Hayward, collaboration is also central to effective leadership.
“Leadership is not about having all the answers,” he said. “It is about asking the right questions, empowering others to contribute their expertise, and staying focused on the outcomes that matter most for our community.”
Looking five years ahead, Hayward hopes to see more Community Schools and an expanded United Learning Lab bringing technology, workforce development and career-connected learning into underserved areas.
His goal is a Central Florida where geography and income no longer determine access to opportunity — and every family has the chance to thrive.
5. Mark And Josie NeJame | Founders, Runway to Hope
Josie and Mark NeJame have transformed their professional success into a powerful platform for supporting Central Florida families affected by pediatric cancer.
Together, the 2026 50 Most Powerful People honorees co-founded Runway to Hope, which has raised millions of dollars for family assistance programs and pediatric cancer initiatives. Their work is rooted in the belief that a diagnosis affects far more than a child’s health, often disrupting a family’s finances, emotional well-being and daily life.
Josie brings an entrepreneurial and creative perspective to that mission. An author, Emmy Award-winning producer and magazine contributor, she founded WTF, Josie!!!, a lifestyle platform focused on wellness, travel and fashion. Through storytelling and curated experiences, she connects audiences with designers, wellness leaders and changemakers while promoting more intentional living.
Mark, founder and senior partner of NeJame Law, has built one of Central Florida’s most recognizable legal practices while making philanthropy central to his leadership.
That shared commitment has guided Runway to Hope for more than 15 years. Its Family Assistance Program has evolved into a Family Wellness Program offering financial help, wellness resources, holistic support and experiences that allow families to enjoy life together.
“How do we make sure no family in our community has to face pediatric cancer alone?” the NeJames said.
The nonprofit is also partnering with Nemours Children’s Health to establish a fertility preservation program for young cancer patients. The initiative reflects the couple’s belief that hope means helping children survive treatment while protecting the possibilities of their future.
Inspired by Mark’s mother, who worked for Orlando’s only pediatric oncologist during his childhood, and motivated by their daughters, Valentina and Alessandra, the NeJames envision Central Florida as a model for collaboration among businesses, hospitals, nonprofits and philanthropists
6. Caroline Schumacher | President and CEO, Give Kids The World Village
Caroline Schumacher has returned to Give Kids The World Village to lead one of Central Florida’s most cherished nonprofit organizations.
Schumacher brings decades of nonprofit experience, including nearly 20 years in volunteer management, fundraising, guest services and operations during her earlier tenure at the Village. She most recently served as president and CEO of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, supporting exceptional college students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Her return gives Schumacher a rare combination of institutional knowledge and executive experience. She understands both the emotional importance of the Village’s mission and the complex operation required to deliver a memorable experience for families navigating a child’s critical illness.
Her mission-driven leadership and hospitality expertise now guide the 89-acre Kissimmee resort, which provides weeklong, cost-free vacations to children with critical illnesses and their families. The experience depends on extensive collaboration among employees, volunteers, donors, wish-granting organizations and Central Florida’s tourism community.
Schumacher’s challenge is to protect the personal touches that make each visit special while strengthening the fundraising, partnerships and operational resources needed to serve families for years to come.
Her return also represents a homecoming to an organization that helped shape her career. By pairing a first-class hospitality mindset with decades of nonprofit leadership, Schumacher is positioned to deepen the Village’s community relationships and ensure more families can experience a week centered on joy, connection and lasting memories.
