Community Advisory Board

Peter serves as a Senior Advisor for Woodard & Curran, a national environmental consulting firm www.woodardcurran.com.  As a former consultant for a Fortune 500 company, large, medium, and small companies and corporations, Peter understands the complexities of different business and grassroots activities.

As Deputy Chief of Staff in the United States Congress, Chief of Staff in the State Senate and Director of the Office of Public Affairs for a Secretary of State, Peter has extensive experience in staff management, budget oversight, legislative affairs, press relations, public outreach, and community relations. 

Peter was honored to be elected to the Bonita Springs City Council in 2012, as Mayor in 2016, and has been an outspoken fiscal conservative.  Peter served and remains active on the Board of Directors with the Florida League of Mayors and the Florida League of Cities.

He has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, FOX, CNN, CNBC and has been quoted in the New York Times, and Miami Herald providing on the ground coverage of Hurricane Irma. He was a Division 1 athlete on the University of New Hampshire crew team in college.  He is a leader and environmental advocate of the Florida Everglades, proud to call himself a “Teddy Roosevelt Conservative Conservationist” and was honored to win the 2022 Governor Bob Graham Award from the Florida Lake Management Society.  He is a native of the New Hampshire Seacoast, and proud to call Florida home since 2009 along with his wife, SueZahn, and two children, Elizabeth (Ellie), a recent graduate of Florida State University and Peter (Petey) who in entering his junior year at the University of Michigan, is a member of the Wolverines football team, and just received his second BIG 10 Championship Ring in the past two years. 

Trustee Leo Montgomery spend 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 Enterainment Group and serving on the internatinal Telecommunications Advisory Committee. 

Eric Rieseberg is an author,  senior health care executive and entrepreneur with C-Suite experience in Fortune 500 Companies as well as CEO of four significant hospitals in the United States. He serves our Board with a B.S. in Health Services Administration from Ithaca College, a M.P.H in Epidemiology from The University of Pittsburgh and post graduate education in advanced financial management from Harvard Business School. He is a scuba diver and has a significant background and family heritage in marine science and underwater exploration and ecology.

Rowan Samuel is a Naples area realtor with the Samuel Team at John R. Wood Properties Christie's International Real Estate, a top performing real estate team with over $375 million in sales to date, specializing in waterfront, beachfront, estate and luxury golf communities throughout Southwest Florida.  An "idea guy" and serial entrepreneur, Rowan spent over 20 years in sales and marketing working on behalf of Fortune 50 clients, advertising agencies, media firms and high net worth individuals in multiple business verticals including automotive, banking, cable, health care, political, sports franchising, restaurants and real estate, specializing in direct response, digital and event marketing. He founded and launched several ventures along the way, including Alias Design Group, a graphic design and branding company, Six Degrees Exhibitions, a wine bar & art gallery, Kildonan Investments, an oil investment company, Beep Automotive and Ivy Pixel, online banner ad networks and in 2009, the Naples International Film Festival (one of 3 original founders), a local Southwest Florida film festival not-for-profit.   Rowan has served on multiple Boards of Directors, including:  The Naples International Film Festival, The Park Shore Association, The United Arts Council and currently on the Vester Community Advisory Board and the Penn State Alumni of Naples chapter board. Rowan is also a part-time musician, a supporter of the arts and enjoys everything cultural that Southwest Florida has to offer. 

Jay and his wife Toshiko live in Naples, Florida and own the Naples Academy of Ballet, a classical ballet studio. After graduation from Williams, Jay served 3 ½ years in the Navy on the USS Witek ( DD 848) . He graduated from Columbia Business School in June 1967 where he was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and joined the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley. He was promoted to Managing Director in December 1975   and served in various capacities in the New Business Department, Mergers and Acquisitions and the International Department which included spending 8 years in Japan. During his time in Tokyo, Jay was in charge of the Investing Banking Department, ran the Morgan Stanley  branch of 1000 people and also the Equity Department in Asia .  In 1994, he founded Saga Investment Company in McLean, Virginia which functioned as a family office investing in public and private securities and leveraged buyouts. He was also a partner and investor in Columbia Naples Capital, a leveraged buyout firm and served on the board of two investments, James McGraw and Umpqua. He and a partner owned two skating rinks and several office buildings in Northern Virginia.

Jay is a former Director of Middleby Corporation from 1997-2004 and was Chairman of The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic from 1998 to 2005. He was also a member of the Trustee’s Council of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC from 1995-2005 and the Board of Covenant House Washington from 2000-2005. From 1993 to 2000, Jay and his wife Toshiko were on the Kennedy Center Advisory Council.

He is currently a member of Grey Oaks Country Club, the Hole-in-the-Wall Golf Club, Naples Grande Golf Club and has been a Trustee of Artis-Naples since 2013. He was a member of the Board of Trustees and treasurer of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida from 2010-2018, and treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees of The Port Royal Club from 2012-2016. . He was Treasurer of Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church and head of its Finance Commission from 2008-2015.

Jay and Toshiko have two children together and he also has three older children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Councilman Jesse Purdon was first elected in 2020 in a special election and then 9 months later he was reelected. Purdon represent District 2 and has led the fight to develop our downtown, advocated for law enforcement and fought for our water quality.

Councilman Purdon was both the youngest person elected and the first minority elected in Bonita’s 20 year history and has brought back major dollars to his district that has been historically overlooked, putting dollars into the community where it is needed on the ground level.

Prior to election Councilman Purdon lobbied for private property rights and real estate on a county, state and federal level. After lobbying he left and joined a national, app- based startup in the micro mobility and transportation space that operated on green technology and gave transportation solutions to municipalities and Universities around the country.

Today Jesse is the District Director for Congressman Byron Donalds FL 19 which encompasses both Lee and Collier Counties. In that capacity he is over both District offices managing the staff that handles the Congressional Inquiries for the over 750,000 people in the District. 
Jesse represents the Congressman in the community, keeps the Congressman up to date on all local issues and has a hyper focuse on water policy.

Councilman Purdon is currently a contributing writer on U.S World and Politics for NYC Daily Post, is on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties, The Florida Gulf Coast University Vester Marine Lab Community Advisory Board, he is the representative for City of Bonita Springs on Florida League of Cities, Is on the Economic Development Council for SWFL Inc., the City of Bonita Springs Outreach Committee liaison, CREW Land and Water Trust Executive Board and is the liaison to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. Jesse loves dogs, camping, Johnny Cash and Detroit Lions football. He often refers to Bonita Springs as “The Greatest City in America”.

After graduating from UNC  (honors economics) I received a law degree from Northwestern Univrsity where I was the editor of the Journal of Criminal law and Criminology. I then had the honor of serving as a law clerk to Judge George Edwards in the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals   I then formed the Benchmark real estate development group with two partners and have been Chairman of that Company for the last 50 years, semiretiring  a few years ago. During that time I have been in many charitable endevours  too numerous to list.

I am passionate about supporting everything that we are doing at Vester and the Water School. I am very proud of being associated with every aspect of our endeavors at the school.

From Toronto, Canada, Helen moved to Pittsburgh PA, where for 20 years she worked in the commercial contract design field, as Noble Bruce Associates. Helen and her husband Rick, raised their 2 daughters, Erica and Shawn in Pittsburgh and after graduating from Penn State and Ohio University, both girls established their careers in NYC.

 A resident of Naples since 2005, Helen entered the wellness field, created a natural skincare company, was an author, and speaker. League member at The Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts, now Artis Naples; she also served on the board of Classic Chamber Concerts and was a committee member from 2009 - 2015 at The Sugden Community Theater.  Our oceans are a deep mystery and she has always wanted to know more about the water. Her involvement with FGCU’s Vester Field Station has been an opportunity to serve the university and our community.

In 1978 Willie immigrated to the United States from South Africa where he gained experience at a young age as human resources manager for a world-wide industrial and construction conglomerate. He continued his work for that same company in the United States until 1981, when he joined a small business in Columbus, Ohio as president.

A securities industry veteran since 1984, Willie was the founder and senior member of Grové Wealth Management Partners and by 2007 he had risen to the position of Managing Director for UBS Financial Services, the world’s largest wealth management firm. This title is reserved for a handful of business leaders around the globe. As one of UBS’s exclusive Wealth Advisors, Willie completed comprehensive training in financial planning, asset management, and wealth transfer strategies. Willie was a UBS Chairman's Council member, and a member of the Global Circle of Excellence, a designation reserved for the firm’s most accomplished Financial Advisors.

Willie started his financial industry career in 1984, barely three years before the 1987 "black Monday meltdown." With fortitude and hard work he was able to guide his clients through that major financial crisis, and every subsequent stressful market and economic crisis.

In 2020 Willie’s team at UBS merged with Muirfield Wealth Partners in Columbus, Ohio, to form one of the largest and most recognized financial teams in the country.

In 2022 Forbes Magazine recognized Muirfield Wealth Partners as one of the top 100 teams in the country, placing the team at number 15 on that list. In February 2024 the team was again recognized, this time as the number 1 team in Ohio. Willie is pleased to have had the privilege of retiring at the time of such high recognition. More information about Muirfield Wealth Partners is available on their website. Here is a quote from that site: Originally established in 2007, Muirfield Wealth Partners merged with Grové Parks Hegarty Wealth Advisors in 2020 to create one synergistic wealth management team. The newly combined Muirfield Wealth Partners comes 33 years after Bill Cseplo and Willie Grové began working alongside each other in Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. “The combination of our teams brings together decades of experience to help us better serve you, our clients. You benefit from our enhanced analytical and investment management capabilities, our continued commitment to the Planning+4® process, and our exceptional client service. Together these create unique opportunities for you and your family in this increasingly challenging investment and financial planning world. As a full-service team, we provide advice beyond investing. Our expanded set of skills places us in a stronger position to help you pursue all of life’s goals. Our team’s advice, backed by the strength, stability and global resources of UBS, helps you to achieve everything that’s important to you.