Experienced leaders join Naples Senior Center board

Dr. Jaclynn Faffer, President/ CEO

Naples Senior Center is excited to announced that it has further broadened its experienced leadership with the appointment of supporters Thomas P. Felke, Ph.D., MSW and Karen Heithoff to its Board of Trustees.

The addition of these two dedicated individuals to the board adds to the depth of professional expertise and community support on it. Their service and guidance will help ensure that Naples Senior Center remains the leading advocate for seniors in our community.

Felke is associate dean for academics in the Marieb College of Health & Human Services at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). He has research interests in health disparities among minority populations, food instability and insecurity issues and international social welfare, among many others. He has been with FGCU since 2014, focusing on social work research and ethics and social welfare policy and planning.

Felke earned both his Doctor of Philosophy and his master’s in social work from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in West Hartford, Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary and special education from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. Felke has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions, including, most recently, the FGCU Chair Excellence Award in 2021.

Heithoff is an active community leader and a strong arts advocate in Naples and Minneapolis. A seasonal resident of Minneapolis, Heithoff was the owner of a fashion design store there for 25 years. She and her husband, Ken, have been avid collectors of contemporary art for three decades. Among the other community organization boards on which Heithoff actively serves are Artis—Naples, the Walker Art Center, Midway Contemporary Art and the human services agency, Perspectives. She also has supported the Telluride Film Festival and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.

Thomas P. Felke

Karen Heithoff