10:01am
Patricia B. Suarez, MA
Director of Development
West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging
Tampa
Ms. Patricia Suarez is the Director of Development for the West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging, a not-for-profit agency that serves the needs of the older residents of Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Highlands and Hardee Counties with information and referral services. The agency also funds various direct service programs for older citizens with the goal of allowing people to live in their homes with dignity and independence for as long as possible. Ms. Suarez primary responsibilities are to familiarize the community with the services the agency provides and to generate new funding sources so the agency can expand its services.
Ms. Suarez received a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling from Rider University in New Jersey and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Bethany College in West Virginia.
Ms. Suarez's career has included several areas of work within the not-for-profit sector including work with the State of Florida's HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing program as both a counselor and district trainer. She facilitated several support groups both for people living with HIV-AIDS as well as for their families and friends. She also worked for PAR in Pinellas County developing training programs, creating grass roots substance abuse prevention coalitions, and providing Drug Free Workplace consultation to employers. Most recently, before coming to the Area Agency, Patty was the Director of Education and Outreach for PBS station WEDU in Tampa, where she created community education events and activities that complemented public television programs on such topics as End of Life, Substance Abuse, Women's Health, Literacy, Learning Disabilities, Racism, Adoption and Foster Care.
Ms. Suarez lives on a small farm in Dover, Florida with her husband and two sons (and about 40 interesting and amusing but totally useless animals ranging from horses and goats to llamas and a skunk.)
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