Susan Whitesides Padfield, M. Ed., Is a native of Sarasota, Florida who retired from elementary education after teaching second grade at Ashton Elementary School for 30 years.  During her tenure at Ashton, Susan served as chairperson for the Student Advisory Committee and was team leader for more than a decade.   A TeamUP Volunteer & Partnership member for several years, Susan steps into the role of President for 2020.

Christopher is the Creative Director for Strategic Marketing Resources, Inc., a Sarasota based marketing firm serving Nonprofit Organizations, For-profit Businesses and Individuals and Families. Christopher has served on the board of TeamUP Volunteer & Partnership Council since 2012.

Prior to joining Strategic Marketing Resources, Inc., Christopher was a Multimedia Journalist/Reporter/Bureau Chief for WWSB ABC  7 where he gathered, wrote, edited and presented stories on multiple platforms including morning and evening newscasts. He also created and presented stories to air in long form “60 Minutes” style and wrote stories for web content, Facebook and Twitter.

From an embedded feature at Parris Island to Hurricanes and their aftermath, Christopher always delivers the story. His relationships with leaders in businesses, government, entertainment and philanthropy are noteworthy and for a man in his mid-twenties, he has accomplished quite a bit.

Christopher is a charismatic and talented director, reporter, storyteller dedicated to meticulous fact checking and thorough research. He has a remarkable ability to transform complex topics into accessible and engaging news, branding and life stories. An accomplished interviewer, Christopher is able to connect with the subject, all the while gathering relevant information. A digital native and professional, he easily leverages social media tools and technology to bring stories to a broader audience. 

He did get an early start by attending Suncoast Polytechnical High School and Suncoast Technical College simultaneously and graduating from both in 2012 with Certification in Television Production.  

Katherine O. (KITTY) Heusner, PhD is a retired educator and a product of Sarasota County Schools.  In 1980 she became the director of the PALS Program (today’s TEAM UP) and guided its growth in those early years. She served in District Instructional Leadership in three Florida Counties (Sarasota, Desoto and Collier) before taking an early retirement to continue in volunteer service with her husband Henry. Kitty is the founder of Florida Creativity Alliance, Inc. (a 501c3 focusing on sharing creative thinking and problem solving skills).  It is her joy to continue serving in Sarasota County Schools on the TEAM UP Advisory Council and to support the incredible growth of volunteer and community involvement…a wonderful full circle from her earlier role in beginning PALS.

Diane worked as an executive secretary having majored in this field at a college in Boston. French and Spanish languages were the focus of her studies. She later received a BA from the University of Hartford in Secondary Education majoring in English. Subsequently, she taught Language Training classes at a private school in Connecticut. After her move to Florida in 2005, she volunteered at Sarasota County Technical Institute (now known as Sarasota Technical College) in the English Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) program and teaches English to foreign-speaking adults. She was awarded Outstanding Adult Volunteer in 2007 which eventually led to her membership on the PALS Community Advisory Board from 2008-2014. In 2015, she renewed her membership on the Volunteer and Partnership Council (formerly the CAB). She is currently elected to the position of recording secretary for the Council. She continues her thirteenth year of volunteer work in ESOL at Suncoast Technical College.

Candice served as program director of Take Stock in Children for nine years. Her commitment to the continued elevation of services to meet the needs of TSIC students resulted in the development of new higher education readiness programs, life skills workshops, college success curricula and the creation of a yearlong series of educational workshops to specifically prepare TSIC seniors for college and applying for financial aid. Candice is married to her husband Byron and they have two daughters that attend Riverview High School.

Tanice Y Knopp, PhD – After 37 years dedicated to Florida public school education, Dr. Knopp has volunteered for the past three years for the Council, with particular focus on helping Kindergarten and PreK students learn to love reading and improve literacy skills through school-based volunteer read-aloud and family engagement programs and the Starfish initiative model that supports organized volunteering in schools. In the seven years prior to her retirement, Dr. Knopp served as the Coordinator of the Sarasota County School District Volunteer & Partnership Program and co-coordinator for the district’s Restorative Strategies program. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) teaching special education teacher preparation courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and supervising student interns. Her research included the study of teacher beliefs and dispositions on practice, beginning teacher-mentor teacher relationships, collaborative education programming for students with severe and complex needs, and emergent evaluation of educational programs. During her 18 years with USF, she helped secure more than $2 million in grants. Dr. Knopp graduated from Millersville State Teachers College with dual degrees in elementary education and special education. She received her Master’s degree in special education from USF-Tampa and her PhD from the University of Florida. She has taught students with disabilities in Manatee County Schools, served as a special education resource teacher and staffing specialist with Hillsborough County Schools, and was a coordinator networking services for students with severe emotional disabilities (SED Network) for a five-county area. She also served as the EBD and autism program specialist for the State of Florida Department of Education in Tallahassee. Tanice spent a year establishing a nonprofit volunteer driver network for senior citizens and individuals with visual impairments (ITNSarasota). The boat Moondance upon which she makes her home is her happy oasis with her husband, Ken Marsh, and their two cats Chloe and Finn.

Scott Ferguson has been a Rockin’ Reader at Fruitville Elementary School since 2022. He became a member of the TeamUP Volunteer & Partnership Council the following year. Scott has worked in various media throughout his career. At the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcasting (1975), Scott appeared on stage in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. In the 1980s, he worked as a magazine writer and voice-over talent in Atlanta and was a staff producer/writer at Turner Broadcasting. As a volunteer, Scott read the New York Times Book Review weekly for the Georgia Radio Reading Service for the vision-impaired. He and his wife, Cady, founded Bissell Ferguson Communications, producing videos for corporate and museum clients in Atlanta and Sarasota from 1983 to 2004. Scott was a member of the communications team for Sarasota County Government from 2004 to 2007 (he especially enjoyed working with libraries) and was the voice of Scrappy the Recycling Clown in an animated video. He served as communications specialist for Sarasota County Schools from 2007 to 2018. After a four-year stint as marketing and communications director of Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Scott retired from full-time employment in 2022. As a contributing writer for Sarasota Scene magazine, he writes stories about local arts organizations and their productions. Scott loves reading and enjoys sharing his excitement about the power of words and stories each week with kindergarten students! 

After retiring from a 45 year nursing career, Rita, decided she wanted to volunteer outside of the nursing realm. She was introduced by friends to the Starfish initiative and the Rockin Reader program. 

She has been volunteering with this program approximately 5 years and loves the time she spends with the kindergarten children reading to them weekly.Prior to this she volunteered at the History Center in Sarasota. 

Originally from Dayton, Ohio she  moved to Sarasota with her mom,dad,and sisters in 1956, attended local schools and graduated from Sarasota High School and Manatee Junior College Nursing program. 

She worked at Sarasota Memorial and Doctors Hospitals in Sarasota after living in Tampa,while husband working on his masters,and Orlando. 

Married with 2 adult children and 5 grandchildren,whom she loves spending time with,Sarasota holds a special place in her heart. 

Dr. Suzanne Naiman has been supporting the TeamUp Council, formerly known as the PALS Council, associated with the Sarasota County Schools, since 1998. As the District Curriculum Specialist for Literacy and by request of the Council, she created and developed literacy programs to serve schools. Valuing the role of volunteers in the effort to support classroom teachers and students, Suzanne trained hundreds of literacy volunteers to prepare them for effective work with students. After retirement, she became a TeamUP Council member herself and is focused primarily on the Rockin’ Reader program.

Her professional experiences include classroom teacher, reading specialist, editorial board reviewer for international literacy journals, curriculum writer, creator of countless workshops addressing reading and literacy kindergarten through 12^th grade, FLDOE committee member for Reading standards development, and Literacy Conference presenter at the State, regional, and national level.

Dr. Naiman has been married to her college sweetheart for 50 years and is the mom of two wonderful daughters, and one exceptional granddaughter.

Susan Nations is the Principal of Wilkinson Elementary School in Sarasota.  She is also an author, national literacy consultant and former Reading Specialist with more than 30 years of experience. She is the co-author of Intermediate Literacy Stations, Primary Literacy Centers: Making Reading and Writing STICK!, More Primary Literacy Centers:  Making Reading and Writing STICK!  and So Much Stuff, So Little Space: Creating and Managing the Learner Centered Classroom all published by Maupin House.  Susan has also written over 250 teacher’s guides for the Weekly Reader Early Learning Library.

Over the years, she has worked as an Intervention Teacher and Reading Specialist in Hillsborough and Sarasota County School Systems in both Title I and non-Title I schools.  Susan received National Board Certification in Early to Middle Childhood Literacy in 2005. Also in that year, Susan was selected as Sarasota County’s District Teacher of the Year. In 2009, Susan represented her school as Literacy Teacher of the Year. 

In addition to her site-based job, Susan has served as a presenter to community groups on shifts in education and literacy acquisition for young children. Over her career, she has presented at many local, state, and national conferences including the North Carolina Regional ASCD Conference, Florida Reading Association Conference, The International Reading Association National Conference and the Staff Development for Educators (SDE) National Conferences She has also provided customized literacy training for schools and districts around the United States.

Susan lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband Don.  They have five adult children who keep them very active! And now they have three grandchildren as well who are pure joy!  Susan and her family have a variety of interests including traveling, reading, community service and the arts. 

Mary Ann White just joined the TeamUP Council this year, starting out as a Rockin’ Reader at Wilkinson Elementary for the past three years.  Mary Ann has always had a love of books, starting as a young girl who would walk to the Public Library every summer to be part of the Summer Reading Program.  She had to read at least 10 books and then give an oral report on them to the Children’s Librarian.  Her very first job as a teenager was being a student page in the Children’s of the library in her neighborhood.    Mary Ann did this until she left for college at the University of Dayton.  Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology, in her career as a Med Tech, she worked in departments like Medical Genetics, Microbiology and Hematology.  A few years after the birth of her son, Mary Ann took a part-time job at Selby Public Library in the Youth Department.  Once again working with children’s books, as the Assistant Youth Librarian, she found her niche in creating Pre-School Story Time, choosing the books and the activities that went along with the weekly theme.  Mary Ann even got to meet her favorite children’s author, Tomie dePaola, when he visited Sarasota for a Reading Conference!

As the job situation changed, Mary Ann went to work for Sarasota County Schools.  She started out as a secretary to the Supervisor of Testing.  Doing this job, Mary Ann learned to enjoy working with computers.  This evolved into learning about Networking and eventually lead to working with the GIS (geographic information system) used by the school district to create school boundaries.  She left this department to work in Information Services, supporting district-wide software applications for over 24 years, when she retired in March 2017.

Mary Ann has been married to her husband for 49 years.  They have a daughter and a son and two grandchildren, with whom Mary Ann shares her love of books!