Meet our board of directors

Laura led a technology services business running 10+ rural U.S. delivery centers for Fortune 2000 clients, supporting brands including Chick-fil-A, Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Cava and Cencora. As Chair of The Classical Academy of Sarasota, now entering her fourth year, she has overseen growth from 400 to more than 1,000 students and a $40M bond for a new campus.

She studied Education at the University of Michigan, adding Math and English majors, and earned her master's at Central Michigan University.

• Scaling a service business: the model SGO Direct uses to run many SGOs at once.
• Growth and partnerships: leads outreach to schools, networks, donors and partners.
• Rooted in the community: knows what families and school leaders need from a local scholarship fund.

Joe's firm provides accounting, tax, small-business financial planning and nonprofit reporting, and manages full financial audits for almost 200 schools. He served in the Florida House from 2016 to 2018, was RNC Treasurer in 2025, and was elected RNC Chairman in August 2025.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.

• Controls for the new rules: separate state accounts, the 90% spending test, income checks.
• Audit-ready records: each SGO hands its independent auditor a complete file.
• Fiscal oversight: following every dollar from source to use.

Joe has personally represented more than $400 million in commercial sales and leases and developed more than $50 million in commercial space, including public-private partnerships, and has brokered about $70 million for non-profit organizations and schools.

A Sarasota native and U.S. Naval Academy graduate (BS, Economics), Joe is a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Surface Warfare Officer with more than 20 years of service, including a 14-month mobilization as a planner for Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa. He has chaired the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and the Sarasota County EDC, served on the board of The Classical Academy of Sarasota and the C.A.R.E. Board at Cardinal Mooney High School, and served as a deacon and trustee of First Baptist Church of Sarasota.

• Strategy and planning: Navy operations planner and trained economist; sets where and how SGO Direct grows.
• Deal-making: $400M+ in transactions and $50M+ in development, including public-private partnerships.
• Business and civic network: past Chamber and County EDC chair; connects SGO Direct with business leaders, donors and civic networks.
• Church and school boards: church trustee and school board vice chair; knows the hurdles churches and schools must clear.