Our Board Members
Poinsettia Heights Civic Association wants you to become a Board Member, our community is what we make it, consider making a difference.
President
Alex Collazo
Alex moved to Poinsettia Heights in 2001. He grew up in the neighborhood attending Sunrise Middle and Fort Lauderdale High. He became involved with PHCA because of the traffic issues in the neighborhood. He has been volunteering on the PHCA Board since 2006 and Alex stepped in as President in the spring of 2006. Alex is active in his community, working on building a strong bond and solid communication between the neighborhood, the schools, and the City of Fort Lauderdale.
Vice President
James Labrie
James (Jim) Labrie has been a resident of Poinsettia Heights for 20 years, moving here from Boston Massachusetts in 2002. While in Boston, he earned his MBA from Boston University. Jim retired in 2017 following a successful professional career in the Healthcare field where he worked in various areas.
In addition to his volunteer work for Poinsettia Heights Civic Association, Jim serves on the City of Fort Lauderdale's Infrastructure Task Force Advisory Committee (ITFAC). Jim is also the Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the OUTshine Film Festival for Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
In 2019 he started a small company called "Swimming Fundamentals" where he provides swim lessons to adults who have never learned to swim. Jim enjoyed working in his yard, walking his dog, and swimming.
Treasurer
Robert Spagnola
Robert (Bob) lives in Poinsettia Heights and has functioned as the treasurer for several years. In his free time, he loves working on his classic cars.
Board Member
Thomas W. Mabey II
Thomas was born and raised in New Jersey and became a resident of Fort Lauderdale in 2016.
Board Member
Michele Keesee
Michele moved to Poinsettia Heights from New York City in 2016 after 30 years working in Human Resources at large law firms. Before law firms, she taught school for several years and owned a dog grooming shop in Austin. Having grown up in Corpus Christi, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, Michele loves being back to the tropical plants, the beach, and yes, even the heat and humidity. She enjoys yard work and cooking, particularly baking, and loves dogs. She shares her life with her partner, George, and her Havanese, Lucy.
Board Member
Jonna Tuukkanen Baerga
Jonna was born and raised in Finland and has lived abroad several times. While in Washington D.C. in 2010 she met her husband. They lived in Chicago together for 6 years and while there, she earned her MBA in Customer Experience Management. She owns her own company providing customer experience and marketing services, as well as content and writing in English and Finnish.
During Covid, they moved to Florida to be closer to her husband's family and initially lived in Victoria Park. Poinsettia Heights felt like home when they decided to purchase a house and they've lived here since June 2023. Jonna is a twin mom and she loves baking banana cakes from their own bananas.
Previous Board Members
We thank all of our previous Poinsettia Heights Civic Association Board Members for their time, commitment, and dedicated service to our neighborhood and our community. Your vision, service, and contributions to the Association & Poinsettia Heights is appreciated by us all.
Jennifer Spillane
Jennifer is our former Board VP. She attended the University of Hawaii @ Manoa and Missouri State University and served in the US Navy for 6 years. She then worked in corporate America for 25 years, first in Pharma and then in title insurance, advancing to senior vice president and area manager before "retiring" to consultant work in 2017. Ms. Spillane has sat on the board of numerous non-profits including CREW and Orlando City Soccer's Foundation. Ms. Spillane has been a Guardian ad Litem since 2017 and joined the League of Women Voters of Broward County & she is now Chair of the Speaker's Bureau.
Ron Weinbaum
Ron is our former Treasurer and is the previous President of our Civic Association. He is a CPA by profession and an avid volunteer in his community!
Jackson Boren
Jackson is our former Treasurer. He bought his Poinsettia Heights home in 1990. While making many trips to Chicago, he observed the numerous positive changes in our neighborhood. His permanent move to Fort Lauderdale didn't occur until 2005. Currently, Jackson divides his time between the Studio3 Design office in Chicago and volunteer work in Fort Lauderdale. Jackson served as the 2nd VP on the board of the Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations (CFLCA) and volunteers for Green Your Routine (GYR). Additionally, he was on the Board of PHCA and coordinated the CFLCA and GYR efforts for PHCA. "The only way to make your voice heard is to get involved."
