FGCU Board of Trustees

Trustee Blake Gable is Chief Executive Officer and President of Barron Collier Companies, and brings to his role in-depth knowledge of the Naples area, the Collier family, the development business, and the political process.

A native Neapolitan, Mr. Gable graduated from Naples High School prior to attending Tulane University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a History major.  More recently, he received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Executive MBA program of Florida Gulf Coast University.

Commitment to his community remains a priority for Mr. Gable, who has graduated from both the Leadership Collier and Leadership Florida programs; he serves on the Leadership Council of Advisors for the latter.  In addition, he is a former Trustee of the area YMCA; the area American Heart Association; United Way and also currently sits on the Boards of The Immokalee Foundation; Enterprise Florida; and The Florida Sports Foundation, as well as the Randy Roberts Foundation. He also was the 2012 Chair for the Farm City Barbeque.

For five years after having received his undergraduate degree, he was Legislative Director of United States Representative Ed Pastor (AZ) in Washington.  After a half year of worldwide travel, Mr. Gable joined the Barron Collier Companies in 1999.  Since that time, he has served in various capacities of increasing responsibility throughout the firm, including as project manager for the town of Ave Maria.

Current Appointment Term: January 6, 2018 – January 6, 2023 

Mr. Blake Gable (Chair)
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Robbie Roepstorff is a founder and President of Edison National Bank and Bank of the Islands in Fort Myers/Sanibel Island. She is the principal representative and spokesperson of the institution and is a member of the bank’s board of directors and holding company.

In addition to her community involvement, Ms. Roepstorff has received numerous awards for her community service, including the 2014 Horizon Council Lifetime Achievement Award; 2012 Lifetime Award by the Uncommon Friends Foundation; 2010 Florida Bankers Association Banker of the Year; 2008 Paulette Burton Lee County Citizen of the Year Award presented by the Board of County Commissioners; 2004 University of North Alabama Alumnus of the Year Award; and the 2002 ATHENA Award.

Ms. Roepstorff earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology/Political Science from the University of North Alabama. 

Current Appointment Term: March 19, 2015 – January 6, 2020 

Ms. Robbie Roepstorff (Vice Chair)
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Josh Ballin serves as the 22 President of the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Student Government. He is a junior studying Resort and Hospitality Management and is a founding father of the Alpha Tau Omega Lambda, Alpha Chapter fraternity on campus.

Previously, Mr. Ballin served on FGCU Student Government as a Senator representing the Lutgert College of Business.

Mr. Ballin graduated from West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina. He chose to attend FGCU because of the faculty/student ratio, the competitive business college, and the beautiful amenities that make the campus feel like a home away from home.

The top priority for Mr. Ballin and his team is representing every student and advocating for their needs.  Mr. Ballin and his team hope to implement a variety of platforms and initiatives on campus during their term.

Current Appointment Term: April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2020

Mr. Josh Ballin
President, FGCU Student Government
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd. South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

As Founder and President of ASC Consulting & Marketing, Ashley Coone works as a connector and strategist for nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals. 

Trustee Coone is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Management and Leadership from Webster University. She began her career in politics serving in the office of Congressman Connie Mack IV and has worked with numerous candidates. In June 2016, she was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve as DeSoto County Clerk of the Circuit Court. 

Ms. Coone has served on the Florida Commission on Ethics, the Early Learning Coalition of Florida’s Heartland and the FGCU Alumni Association board. She is the co-founder of Links2Success and successfully spearheaded the efforts to open the first Boys & Girls Club in her hometown of Arcadia, Florida. 

Prior to launching her consulting firm, Ms. Coone served as Executive Director of the DeSoto County Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida Connect, Leadership Lee County, Gulf Coast Leadership Institute and Leadership DeSoto.

Current Appointment Term: September 25, 2018 - January 6, 2021

Ms. Ashley Coone
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Darleen Cors is the president of the Naples Community Church Board of Trustees.

She currently serves as a member of the League Club Inc. Ms. Cors previously served as the vice president for development of Capital Caring and as president of the Junior League of Northern Virginia.

She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from the University of Cincinnati.

Current Appointment Term: March 24, 2016 – January 6, 2021

Ms. Darleen Cors
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Richard P. Eide, Jr. was born in Cleveland OH in 1947, educated at Williams College (BA in American History, 1968), and served in the United States Marine Corps.

In 34 years at J.P. Morgan and Co., Inc., New York NY, he managed the Municipal Bond Department, managed trading and underwriting for the U.S. Treasury, Federal Agency, Fixed-income Futures, and Derivatives markets, and worked in Institutional Sales, primarily with hedge funds. He retired from Morgan in 2003. In 2009, he helped the principals to found Pierpont Securities, Stamford CT (today called Amherst Pierpont Securities) where he worked until 2013.

Mr. Eide married Lulie Simmons Pierpont of Worcester MA in 1969. They lived in Short Hills NJ until 2002 when they moved to Naples. Their four children and nine grandchildren are regular visitors to SW Florida. Mrs. Eide was a fifth-grade teacher at Peck School, Morristown NJ and the Board Chair at Kent Place School, Summit NJ and Miss Porter’s School, Farmington CT.

The Eides remain residents of Naples and spend summers in Harbor Springs, MI. Mr. Eide currently serves as Treasurer of the Port Royal Club in Naples.

Current Appointment Term: January 6, 2018 – January 6, 2023

Mr. Richard Eide, Jr.
340 Little Harbour Lane
Naples, FL 34102

Joseph G. Fogg III is the retired Chairman and CEO of Westbury Capital Partners L.L.C., a Long Island based late stage venture capital firm.  Trustee Fogg founded Westbury in 1990. Mr. Fogg began his career on Wall Street at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. following his graduation from Harvard Business School in 1970. He retired as a Senior Managing Director and member of the Management Committee at Morgan Stanley in 1994. While at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Fogg served in various capacities, including founding member and head of the Mergers and Acquisitions Department; the Corporate Finance Department; and ultimately as head of Morgan Stanley’s worldwide investment banking operations. As head of Morgan Stanley’s 1,000-person Investment Banking Division, he oversaw the operations of 16 offices on four continents.

In 1990, Mr. Fogg founded Princes Gate Investors L.P., a $750 million private equity investment partnership managed by Morgan Stanley. He currently serves as an Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Fogg serves as a Director and Vice President of The Forum Club of Naples, a director of The Yale Club of Southwest Florida and is a member of the Yale Development Board.  He is Vice Chairman of the City of Naples Citizens’ Police Review Board. He was a director of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Trust for the National Mall (DC) for many years. He is a graduate of the Greater Naples Leadership Masters Class XX.

Long active in Republican politics, Mr. Fogg served as National Finance Chairman of Robert Dole for President in 1988, National Vice Chairman of Phil Gramm for President in 1994, and Finance Chairman of the New York State Republican Party and Florida Finance Chairman for Rudy Giuliani for President and Newt Gingrich for President.  He was also actively involved in the Florida campaign of Marco Rubio for President.

Mr. Fogg earned his B.A. in Economics from Yale College in 1968 where he was a member of the Fence Club and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1970, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar. 

He presently resides in Naples, FL and Seal Harbor, ME with his wife Leslie Kirk Solbert Fogg. He has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Current Appointment Term: March 17, 2016 – January 6, 2021

Mr. Joseph Fogg III
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Michael McDonald is the president of the Florida Gulf Coast University Faculty Senate.  He is a Professor of Anthropology and a founding member of the FGCU faculty. Prior to joining FGCU, he served on the faculty of Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and  St. Patrick’s College in Maynooth, Ireland.   In his career at FGCU, Professor McDonald has authored two books and received several awards for teaching, service and scholarship including a Fulbright Fellowship to Croatia in 2012.   He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida and a Master’s and Doctoral degree in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh.

Current Appointment Term: August 7, 2018 – August 6, 2019

Dr. Mike McDonald
President, FGCU Faculty Senate
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Blvd. South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Leo Montgomery spent more than 39 years as a senior partner with Ernst & Young LLP.  Mr. Montgomery has served in several leadership roles at Ernst & Young, one of those being the Southeast Area Industry Leader for the Technology, Communications and Entertainment Group and serving on the International Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He has significant experience serving publicly held companies with merger and acquisition transactions as well as structuring financing arrangements.  Trustee Montgomery has assisted companies with more than 100 Securities and Exchange Commission filings including 20 initial public offering registration statements. At Ernst & Young, he served clients of all sizes from entrepreneurial enterprises to professionally managed companies including: Cingular Wireless, Bellsouth Corporation and AT&T Latin America (formerly FirstCom Corporation). Upon retirement, he was an Advisory Director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and served as a director on corporate boards. Mr. Montgomery holds a B.A. degree from Harding University and is also currently a member of the Board of Artis Naples.

Current Appointment Term: September 22, 2016 – January 6, 2021

Mr. J. Leo Montgomery
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Kevin Price is a Managing Vice President at Gartner, a technology-related research and advisory firm where he has worked in various capacities across Sales, HR and Research.

Mr. Price received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Florida Gulf Coast University. He has served on the FGCU Alumni Association Board of Directors and is the first undergraduate alumnus to be appointed to the FGCU Board of Trustees.

Current Appointment Term: January 16, 2015 – January 6, 2020

Mr. Kevin Price
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Ken Smith is a partner/owner in the Tarpon Blue family of companies where he serves as the President & CEO. Tarpon Blue owns companies involved in real estate, land & resource management, and insurance. The company also oversees the 70,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve in Charlotte County with operations involving cattle ranching, land management, vegetable farming, sod, and Eco-tourism. Previously, Dr. Smith served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Alico, Inc.; as the Vice President of Agricultural Operations for the Atlantic Blue Group, Inc., and in numerous management positions for Purina Mills.

Dr. Smith also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy. He has BS and MS degrees from West Texas State University in Animal Science and a Ph.D. from Texas Tech University.

Current Appointment Term: January 16, 2015 – January 6, 2020

Dr. Ken Smith
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Stephen Smith is a retired partner of Accenture where he spent 30 years and was admitted to the partnership of Arthur Andersen & Company, that later became Accenture, in 1984. Mr. Smith served in numerous U.S. and global leadership roles at Accenture in a variety of industries including Consumer Goods, Financial Services and Government. During his career Mr. Smith focused on helping the firm’s clients develop strategies to deal with changing markets and apply new technologies to enhance operations and gain competitive advantage.

At the time of his retirement, Mr. Smith was serving on the Board of Accenture. More recently, Mr. Smith has served on the Board of a number of emerging companies, including Procurian, Gestalt and Adondo.

Mr. Smith received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Lafayette College and a Master of Science in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Current Appointment Term: January 26, 2018 – January 6, 2021

Mr. Stephen Smith
c/o Office of Vice President and Chief of Staff
Florida Gulf Coast University
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565

Trustee Christian Spilker serves as Vice President of Land Management for Collier Enterprises and Senior Vice President of Collier Resources Company.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Marine Fisheries from Texas A&M University, and a Master’s in Environmental Science from the University of Houston.

Mr. Spilker is a member of the Collier County IFAS Advisory Committee, National Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Board, Florida Land Council Board, and the United States Chamber of Commerce Environmental Committee. He also serves as director of the Friends of Foster Children of Southwest Florida.  

Current Appointment Term: March 19, 2015 – January 6, 2020

Mr. Christian Spilker
2550 Goodlette Road N., #100
Naples, FL 34103