FRIENDS THAT #SPEAKUP
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

Upon graduating from Cornell University in 1980, Kathy Leone began a career in the hotel resort industry. In 1985 she moved to Florida from Chicago to join The Breakers Palm Beach as Director of Incentive Sales. In 1988, she joined the Boca Raton Resort & Club as Vice President of Sales, where she worked until 1994 when she retired to raise a family. She is the proud mother of four sons with her husband, Paul, who is CEO of Flagler System, Inc. and The Breakers. Kathy has been actively involved in our community for over 30 years and her current interests include the YMCA, Alliance for Eating Disorders, St. Juliana Education Youth Ministry and, most especially, advocating for reform of the Foster Care System in Palm Beach County and the State of Florida.

Ken Thomas has dedicated his life to serving others, initially for 36 years in the Federal Aviation Administration, and since then in service to the most vulnerable populations in our county; child victims of abuse and the elderly.

In 2003, Ken joined a premier corps of volunteers, the Guardian ad Litem, dedicated to ensuring that children involved in dependency cases and foster care had a voice in the court system. He was determined that no child face a fate determined solely by others and pledged to serve as a bridge to empower children to not just survive, but to thrive.

By 2008, he, accompanied by a fierce group of other Guardians ad Litem, identified financial shortfalls that impeded their ability to be as impactful as they knew they could be. As a founding member and the first Board President of Speak Up for Kids of Palm Beach County, Ken wrote the bylaws, completed and submitted all necessary documentation to the Internal Revenue Service, secured nonprofit status and laid the foundation of the well-regarded, well-oiled, completely child-centered, exclusive support of the local Guardian ad Litem Program.

Ken also currently serves as the President of the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, the Regional Volunteer Director for AARP, as well as the Treasurer for the Miami Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. What remains clear is although Ken stepped away from the Speak Up for Kids Board of Directors in 2012, he has never forgotten his roots of service. In addition to all the roles to which he dedicates time, he continues to work cases as a volunteer child advocate and trains new volunteer child advocates.

Celeste Jackson is a fundraising phenom whose flair for generating donations was a product of fate. While serving as a Jupiter Women's Club member, Jackson missed a meeting where the committee discussed designations and, in her absence, other members unanimously named her Fundraising Chair. Though she had never previously undertaken any fundraising duties, she not only welcomed and embraced the challenge, Jackson realized her affinity for galvanizing donors and has continued to fundraise for various causes throughout Palm Beach County.

Jackson was impacted by the fact that foster children's placements get uprooted with little notice, their belongings stuffed and transported in either trash or grocery bags. Seeing that scenario struck her as particularly sad and avoidable and she knew something needed to be done. She began with luggage drives but the more she was engaged with the system the more she discovered that needed to be done. She has become an intrical part of meeting the needs of “our kids”. Her efforts on behalf of Speak Up for Kids bring a significant change for local victims of abuse, abandonment, and neglect.

Mr. Leone serves as Chief Executive Officer of the 121-year old privately-held Breakers Palm Beach, Inc. and its parent company, Flagler System, Inc. Among its businesses and real estate holdings, the company owns and operates The Breakers, a 140-acre, 538-room resort located in Palm Beach, Florida. The Breakers is the only large, historic luxury resort in the country still in the hands of its original owners, and the longest continuously operating business in Florida. Leone was exposed to the hospitality industry at a young age, working in his family’s motels and restaurants. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Kentucky, and became a licensed CPA. He practiced public accounting for four years with the Big Eight accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand. In 1985 he joined The Breakers as Hotel Controller, and rose to the position of President in 1994, at age 36. In 2016, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer, the first non-family member in the history of the company to hold that post. Leone is actively involved and widely recognized for his work with numerous civic and professional organizations. He was recently honored with the World Leaders Group Servant Leadership Award and HOTELS Magazine Independent Hotelier of the World. He and his wife Kathy have four sons.

Commissioner Gregg Weiss was elected to the District 2 seat of the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners in November 2018. Prior to his election, he served as vice chair on the West Palm Beach Planning Board and numerous other boards of area organizations and nonprofits. Currently, Gregg serves on the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, the Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the 15th Judicial Circuit Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Ever since, Gregg has been active in the community as a volunteer and board member. He has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the West Palm Beach Police Foundation and was a founding member of Speak Up for Kids, among the dozens of causes Gregg has assisted. Gregg still regularly patrols his neighborhood and serves as its citizen observer patrol captain, while Rebecca foster parents kittens for the Peggy Adams Rescue League. Gregg is a member of Temple Israel.

Stan Klett Jr. follows the blueprint of advocacy left by his father, Stanley Klett Sr., whose 2009 passing was felt deeply across the child advocacy community. Klett, Jr., continues his father's legacy by serving as a voice for those unable to Speak Up, exemplifying a character of service, and providing his children opportunities to both recognize and engage in giving back.

Stanley Klett, Sr., was a force for child advocacy in Palm Beach County. He ended his 30-year career as an engineer for Xerox in New York. He then retired to South Florida and became involved in child advocacy, as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem advocate.

In addition, Klett Sr. started the tradition of a holiday party now in its 20th year. The event evolved from a skating party for 100 kids to Winterfest Carnival with an annual attendance of nearly 500 children in care. Klett Jr.'s mission is to ensure participation remains complimentary in honor of his father's vision.

Over 20 years ago Robert Donohoo began on a journey to help foster children, he heard about the needs and wanted to be part of the solution. From that point on he decided he would invite his friends and loved ones to eat, share in the season's merriment, and donate gifts, money, or gift cards to children in the foster system. Michelle joined forces with Robert in 2015 and the party grew. By 2019, participation had grown exponentially, and the pair realized they could no longer host this at home and needed a space to accommodate more people. They partnered with a local restaurant. The result was beyond their expectations, the community coming together to support foster children.

While we see Robert and Michelle as heroes for foster kids, they humbly decline the title saying those doing the work are the true heroes. To date they have helped put smiles on the faces of more than 20,000 foster children. Heroes!