Members of Habitat’s Board of Directors bring a wealth of experience and skills to the organization. As a nonprofit committed to building homes, communities, and hope for local families in need of affordable housing, we depend on the dedicated support of our Board of Directors. Serving for a minimum of four years, board members advocate for affordable housing, advise our senior leadership team, and provide annual financial support to further Habitat’s mission.
We are excited to welcome Ashleigh Droz, Ivette Galarza, and Suzanne Post as new board members!
Ashleigh Droz has 16 years of experience in higher education, with a focus on career development. She has taught close to 100 classes on career development, student success, and public speaking as an adjunct faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University. Ashleigh is also a founding team member of the FGCU PAGES Program, which focuses on career exploration and preparation for Liberal Arts majors. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and is the founder of a private career coaching practice. Ashleigh has been advising the FGCU Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter for eight years. She believes a home is more than a structure or a roof over your head; it is safety and security for families.
Ivette Galarza has been advocating for vulnerable children, families, and communities for 27 years, a passion ignited by her mother’s activism in Brooklyn. After moving to Florida from New York at 16, she eventually earned her master’s degree in social work from Florida Gulf Coast University. Ivette then committed to advancing the interests of vulnerable populations across Southwest Florida and gained national recognition when she was nominated and elected as Board Chair of the National Head Start Association—one of the largest early education advocacy associations in the nation. In 2018, she became a licensed general contractor and helped grow her family’s construction company into a multi-million-dollar business. They have been building communities in SWFL and established a nonprofit to support and shelter children aging out of the foster care system. She looks forward to contributing to generational wealth for families through homeownership.
Reverand Suzanne M. Post has dedicated her career to pastoral ministry and community service. She graduated from Yale Divinity School and was ordained as a Priest in the Diocese of New York in 1991. Since moving to the area in 2002, she has been active in various capacities within the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida. Suzanne has been deeply involved in the community, particularly by working with local food pantries, Lee Interfaith for Empowerment, and blessing new Habitat for Humanity homes. She believes a home is a sanctuary. “It’s the place we go to each day to feel safe, peaceful, cared for, fed and loved,” she said. “That kind of home, if we all had that, would impact our community, country and world in a positive, peaceful, loving way – that is how we truly love each other as God intended.”
