Sherry Barrat is the new chair of the board of directors for the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties (CFPBMC).
Sherry Barrat is the new chair of the board of directors for the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties (CFPBMC). Julie Fisher Cummings and Timothy Burke are new board members. The Foundation’s board approved these appointments at its summer meeting, effective July 1, 2017.
CFPBMC’s board of directors is elected by the organization’s membership. Election to the board reflects a respect among community peers and an acknowledgment that these individuals can be trusted to make decisions that benefit the entire community. Members serve three-year terms.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome these three outstanding business leaders to our board,” said Bradley Hurlburt, president and CEO at the Community Foundation. “They represent the growing diversity of the Palm Beach and Martin County area and will be tremendous assets to the Foundation to guide and ensure the continued growth of our vibrant community through meaningful philanthropy. We look forward to the next three years under Sherry’s leadership.”
Sherry S. Barrat is the Lead Non-Executive Director of NextEra Energy, Inc., which is the parent company of Florida Power & Light and NextEra Energy Resources, and is the largest generator of wind and solar power in North America. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, the world’s fourth-largest insurance broker, and of the Prudential Insurance Funds, which oversees $160 billion of client investments.
Barrat retired in 2012 as Vice Chairman of The Northern Trust Company. She has been engaged in the non-profit sector in each of the communities in which she has lived: Miami, Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Chicago. Currently, she also serves on the Board of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Sherry and her husband, Tom, returned to Florida in 2013 and live on Singer Island.
Tim Burke is publisher of The Palm Beach Post, for Palm Beach Newspapers Inc., which includes The Post, the Palm Beach Daily News and La Palma. In his 16 years at The Post, Burke was also an award-winning sports editor, assistant managing editor for sports, and deputy managing editor.
Prior to joining The Post, Burke was assistant sports editor at the Miami Herald for six years and also worked as a sports editor and reporter at the Dallas Times-Herald and Springfield (Mo) News-Leader. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and live in Jupiter.
Julie Fisher Cummings is a philanthropist leader who was born in Detroit and is dedicated to giving back to the communities where she has lived. Continued learning and service have been the hallmarks of her career. She recently returned to school and received a graduate degree in Social Policy from Columbia University in New York. Currently, she is teaching a graduate course on Child Policy at the University of Miami in Florida.
She is dedicated to serving her community both local and national. She has served on numerous boards. Most recently, she joined the board of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. For the last five years, Julie has served as the managing trustee of her family’s foundation, the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation.
For more information on the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, please visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION: The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties is one of Florida’s largest community foundations, an organization created with gifts from generous people committed to local causes. The nonprofit organization has provided nearly $139 million in grants and scholarships over its 45-year history. For donors, the Foundation serves as a philanthropic advisor and ensures the charitable dollars entrusted to it are available to the community – forever. For the community, the Foundation serves as a grant maker and a civic leader. Through the support of its donors and fund holders, the Foundation has been able to address some of the community’s most pressing needs, including hunger, housing and education. For more information, please visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org or call (561) 659-6800.
