Media Contact:
Neily Braren, Promotion & Marketing Associate
904.318.2633 • nbraren@wjct.org
WJCT Announces New Additions to Board of Trustees
Daniel Foley, David S. Loeb, M.D., Patricia McElroy and Jerry S. Wilson elected at the annual meeting.
Bill Hendrich elected board chair
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – October 2, 2024 – WJCT Public Media today announced four new additions to its Board of Trustees and the promotion of a current member for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The community-owned and operated public media organization officially confirmed approval for Daniel Foley, David S. Loeb, M.D., Patricia McElroy and Jerry S. Wilson to begin 3-year terms at its September annual meeting.
The trustees in attendance also voted to install trustee member Bill Hendrich as the new board chair, succeeding Farley Kern, whose two-year term is expiring During Ms. Kern’s time as chair WJCT Public Media significantly expanded its services in local news and information, early childhood education, and local music services, while seeing continued growth in revenue.
“WJCT Public Media’s sole purpose is to serve our community. Local radio, NPR, PBS, JAX Today, Jacksonville Music Experience, political debates and discussions, and a strong commitment to improving early childhood education are just a few ways that WJCT serves us all every day,” said Hendrich. “It’s an honor to be the Board Chair of this organization and to work with the WJCT team in support of making these services available for the benefit of everyone in our region.”
Daniel Foley, EdD, serves as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Planning for City Year, Inc. Over the last 15 years, Foley has led City Year in various capacities at their New York, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville locations. As leader of City Year, Inc.’s planning function, Foley and his team facilitate enterprise-wide strategic planning initiatives in addition to supporting annual performance management practices related to goal setting, progress monitoring, budgeting, and strategy implementation. He’s served the Jacksonville community as a member of Leadership Jacksonville, Leadership Florida, the Weaver Philanthropic Initiative, Jacksonville’s Urban Education Symposium, WJCT’s Community Advisory Board and as a Big Brother through BBBS of Northeast Florida. Foley earned a B.S. in Biology from Seton Hall University, an Executive Master’s in Public Administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctor of Education from the Organizational Change and Leadership program at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.
David S. Loeb, M.D. began his career at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and worked with Mayo for 36 years, where he is currently Emeritus Consultant. Loeb volunteered with several non-profits over the past 30 years including serving as a trustee at The Bolles School and the Brown University Sports Foundation. He was Chair of the Board of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and of Jewish Family and Community Services. He currently serves as a board member of the Anti-Defamation League and is President-Elect of BEAM. Loeb’s interest in local investigative journalism and recognition of both the importance of this in the community is what drew him to serving on WJCT’s Board of Trustees. Loeb completed his residency at Oschner Medical Foundation in Internal Medicine and his fellowship at Mayo Foundation in gastroenterology. He was a Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude from Brown University. Loeb has presented at numerous international and national meetings as well as authored many articles and peer reviewed abstracts on topics related to gastroenterology.
Patricia McElroy serves as President of the VyStar Foundation and Senior Vice President VyStar Credit Union, leading the philanthropic and community engagement efforts in each of the regions that VyStar serves. Throughout her career, McElroy has worked to support non-profit organizations and communities across the country and was previously a commercial litigator with a special focus in securities and banking. She is passionate about diverse and inclusive learning environments, journalism, the arts and community revitalization. McElroy currently sits on the Boards of Directors of Thrive Scholars and MOCA Jacksonville, and she is on the advisory board of the Jacksonville Symphony. She is a former Board of Director member of LiftJax and OneJax, a 2021 Jacksonville Women with Heart Honoree, and a 2024 Peace in the Pages, Read to Lead Honoree through Read USA. McElroy graduated from Temple University School of Law and Yale University Divinity School.
Jerry S. Wilson is a collaborative business executive, strategic marketer, independent advisor, and mentor. During his twenty-four years with The Coca-Cola Company, he rose from account executive to board elected Senior Vice President as the global Chief Customer and Commercial Officer. Previously, he held managerial positions at Volkswagen of America including USA Brand Manager. In 2014, Wilson returned to the First Coast where he lived as a teenager and graduated from Fletcher High School. Today, Wilson is President of Friends of Ponte Vedra Concert Hall and has been instrumental in gaining support for the concert hall enhancement project that is currently underway. In 2022, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners appointed him to the Amphitheatre & Concert Hall Advisory Committee to provide new ideas, suggest changes, and maximize economic advantages of cultural events. For several months, Wilson chaired the process of understanding and assessing all aspects of this governmental department within St. Johns County. The final recommendation to transition the people and processes of this unique governmental department into a private nonprofit to free up county resources and be more agile was unanimously approved. This led to the first public private partnership between SJC government and private enterprise. Wilson is also a two-term Trustee of Mercer University. He earned his M.B.A. in Marketing at Mercer University and B.A. in Economics at University of Georgia. As an individual, husband and father, he values the importance of public media.
“Our newest trustees’ contributions to education, public service and community engagement have improved our region’s quality of life in many different ways,” said David McGowan, President and CEO of WJCT Public Media. I’m really looking forward to working with them as we continue our work of expanding the impact of WJCT Public Media across our region.
For more information about WJCT Public Media, visit wjct.org/about.
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About WJCT Public Media:WJCT is the community-owned and operated public media organization serving Jacksonville and the First Coast since 1958, using television, radio, digital media, and live events to help community members learn, share, and grow. For more information on WJCT’s in-depth programming content, log on to WJCT Online at wjct.org. Like WJCT on Facebook (facebook.com/wjctjax) and follow WJCT on X (@WJCTJax) and Instagram (@WJCTJax).