Partying for a cause, Robin Schwartz, executive director of the Aqua Foundation for Women, which is the beneficiary of the famed Aqua Girl, the all-girl party in Miami’s South Beach is stepping down.
Aqua Girl celebrated 15 years May 2014.
The foundation arm of the annual event serves the South Florida community through awarding grants, scholarships and leading initiatives.
The board announced Robin’s resignation heading the foundation August 18, according to a new release issued by AFW.
Robin was appointed to lead the organization in 2010 after being one of the founding members and serving more than seven years on the board.
“My goals when becoming Executive Director four years ago were to diversify and grow Aqua’s income, increase awareness of its programming, develop internal processes, improve external communications, but more importantly, assure Aqua’s work addresses the needs of LBT women in South Florida,” says Robin.
During her four year tenure leading the foundation Robin increased the foundation’s visibility and doubled its fundraising efforts from $285,000 to $485,000, beyond the annual Aqua Girl party. With the increased budget, she enabled to foundation to significantly increase the foundation’s scholarship awards from $28,000 to $60,000.
Robin also created new community events and programs and high impact initiatives, providing an LBT health directory and LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Initiative and Aqua Ally Awards and the LBT Emerging Leadership Conference while strengthening the foundation’s relationships with local community organizations. She also crossed genders encouraging men’s involvement and support with Aqua Men group, according to the release.
Nicole Waters, chair of the Aqua Foundation for Women, praised Robin for her “dedication, passion, and hard work” in the LBT community and for elevating the foundation and putting it into a position “for continued growth and positive impact for those who need it most for years to come,” she says.
“We are extremely proud of where Aqua is today and know the foundation is poised to continue to flourish, grow and have a positive impact on the LGBTQ community,” adds Nicole.
“We wish her all the best and remain forever grateful for her work,” says Nicole.
The foundation’s board is actively searching for a new executive director.
To book your Aqua Girl vacation to South Beach, contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at Travel Advisors of Los Gatos at 408-354-6531at or .
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