Jacksonville’s Kids Hope Alliance is hunting for a new boss, and just about everyone seems to want the job. More than 200 applicants, 235 in total, have thrown their hats in the ring to run the agency that oversees tens of millions in city youth-program dollars. On that crowded list are two names local education watchers know well: Dr. Diana Greene and former Duval County School Board chair Lori Hershey. The decision comes after a year of leadership turmoil and will help determine how summer programs are run, which grants get approved, and whether the board can rebuild trust with families and providers.
According to Action News Jax, two hundred and thirty-five candidates have applied for the permanent CEO role, including Greene and Hershey. The station notes that Greene left the Duval County district amid criticism in 2023 and that Hershey’s past financial disclosures drew scrutiny in earlier campaigns. Their presence has turned what might have been a quiet executive search into a high-profile showdown between familiar education insiders and lesser-known candidates.
Board materials show compliance problems and summer contracts
The Kids Hope Alliance’s March board packet does not exactly paint a picture of smooth sailing. The documents list multiple provider issues, including Boys & Girls Club sites placed on corrective action plans after attendance and reimbursement discrepancies. The same materials also spell out summer program contracts that have start dates locked in but signatures still missing. According to Kids Hope Alliance board materials, at least one agreement lists a June 1 start date and is marked “contract execution pending CEO signature.” That mix of unresolved compliance reviews and summer contracts waiting on a leader’s pen helps explain why the board is in a hurry to fill the top job.
Recent shakeups and earlier investigations
The search follows the October firing of former CEO Saralyn Grass after board members raised concerns about outside consulting ties and transparency. Local coverage put her salary at about $216,000, and WOKV reported that the board voted 6 to 1 to remove her. The agency is also still dealing with the shadow of a 2020 Office of Inspector General probe that found mismanagement and an inappropriate workplace relationship under an earlier CEO, along with a list of recommended oversight changes. The full findings are laid out in the Office of Inspector General report.
Who applied, and who has not
The current applicant pool includes Greene, who once led Duval County Public Schools, and Hershey, a former school board chair. That is according to the local reporting by Action News Jax. The station also notes that interim CEO Dr. Dana Kriznar is not seeking the permanent role. That leaves the board weighing whether to tap someone already inside the Kids Hope orbit or bring in an outsider who can dive quickly into contract execution and compliance fixes.
Next steps and why timing matters
The board has several options for running the search, from working with city Employee Services to hiring a national executive recruiter. Timing is tight because several program contracts are scheduled to start this summer and require a CEO’s sign-off. The Kids Hope Alliance board packet highlights at least one vendor contract with a June 1 term that is still listed as “pending CEO signature.” The City calendar shows the KHA CEO search committee meeting publicly, signaling that the choice of a new leader is likely to be visible and possibly contentious.
Bottom line
For Jacksonville parents and nonprofit partners, the next Kids Hope Alliance CEO will decide which programs get funded, how they are monitored, and how the agency responds to earlier oversight failures. The board will have to balance speed with scrutiny: summer programs need a steady hand in place soon, but trust that has been shaken over several years is not going to be repaired overnight. Expect the process to play out in public as board filings land and search-committee meetings move from a long applicant list to a short slate of finalists.
