Staff - Updated December 2008

1000 Friends of Florida maintains an experienced, professional staff to monitor ongoing local, regional and state growth management activities and recommend actions to 1000 Friends' Board of Directors. The staff also coordinates with other public and private organizations involved in growth management issues.

Charles Pattison, FAICP, President (June 1998) - As president, Pattison is responsible to the Board for the day-to-day administration of the 1000 Friends' office which includes working with Florida's citizens and communities. He also works with the state's executive and legislative branches on land use and long range planning issues.

Prior to coming to 1000 Friends, he was the Director for the Division of Resource Planning and Management at the Department of Community Affairs from 1992 to 1998.  From 1989 to 1992, he worked as a Field Representative for The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve.  Between 1983 and 1989, he opened the DCA Florida Keys Field Office in Key West, served as the Monroe County Planning, Building and Zoning Director, and was the first executive director of the Monroe County Land Authority.  Charles also has also served as a planning director in coastal North Carolina and spent five years with the North Carolina Office of Coastal Management in beach access and coastal permitting work.  A North Carolina native and an Eagle Scout, he received an undergraduate degree from N.C. State in Raleigh and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina.  He spent six years working on coastal development issues in North Carolina before moving back to Florida. 

A Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (April 2008), he serves on the Florida Conflict Resolution Consortium Advisory Council, Betton Hills Neighborhood Association, External Advisory Council to the University of Florida’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and Apalachee Land Conservancy.  He is a graduate of Leadership Florida, Class 18.  In 2005, Charles was appointed by Senate President Tom Lee to a four year term on the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida.  He was also appointed (2007) to the Florida Energy Commission’s Climate Change Subcommittee and the Governor’s Climate Action Team which is developing a state climate action plan.

Uma Outka, Legal Director (July 2007) - Our Legal Director is responsible to our organization's President for representing 1000 Friends and individuals, at the direction of the Board of Directors, concerning comprehensive plans and plan amendments, land development regulations and development orders. Additionally, the Legal Director assists 1000 Friends on legal and/or policy planning and growth management issues.

Outka received her J.D. from the University of Maine, School of Law in 2005 along with her M.A. Public Policy and Management from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine. She received her B.A. in English and History from the University of Virginia in 1995. Before coming to 1000 Friends, she worked as a litigation attorney with the Portland, Maine-based law firm Verrill Dana, LLP. Outka served as a student clerk to the Honorable Judge Kermit Lipez of the First Circuit Court of Appeals and has worked with the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Toxics Action Center, and the Maine Department of Transportation's statewide planning unit.

Joanne Davis, Community Planner (October 1999) - As community planner for Palm Beach County's Green Initiative, Davis works with policymakers, agencies, community groups, other nonprofit organizations and citizens to provide assistance and information regarding projects occurring with the region. Issues such as land acquisition and preservation, smart growth, government relations, and transportation are addressed as part of the overall comprehensive plan strategy. Davis was instrumental in securing public funding for the purchase of environmentally sensitive and agricultural lands and chaired the advisory committee responsible for the implementation of the Palm Beach County program.

Before coming to 1000 Friends, Davis was an environmental consultant to a large land planning and landscape architecture firm. She continues to design and install native Florida landscapes for her own firm. Her education background is in botanical science, field studies and evaluation, and communication.

Kathleen Morris, Executive Assistant (May 1990) - Morris provides administrative support to the Executive Director and serves as the liaison to the Board of Directors. She also assist with the office management and works on development and fund-raising efforts.

Morris held a number of positions with the Department of Community Affairs from 1984 to 1990. In the Bureau of Local Planning, she organized and maintained a computer-based tracking system for monitoring the status of local government grants and contracts. She also worked in the department's Bureau of State Resource Planning as an administrative secretary. She was active in Big Brothers/Big Sisters for a number of years and is an avid gardener and is pursuing becoming a Master Gardener.

Dan Pennington, Community Planner (September 1997) - Dan is project manager for several projects including developing a Florida-based document on Wildlife Habitat Planning Strategies, Design Features and Best Management Practices for Florida Communities and also for the Florida Panhandle Initiative which works to improve local and regional land use decisions. Dan also works extensively on Springs and karst areas protection issues including development of the manual entitled, "Protecting Florida's Springs - Land Use Planning Strategies and Best Management Practices" and recently as the project coordinator and editor for the report entitled, "Degradation of Water Quality at Wakulla Springs, Florida, Assessment and Recommendations - Report of the Peer Review Committee on the Workshop - Solving Water Pollution Problems in the Wakulla Springshed of North Florida". Previously, Dan was project manager for the Waterfronts Florida Program at 1000 Friends. This effort focused on revitalizing smaller, economically depressed waterfront communities through educating local citizens on environmental and cultural resource protection, hazard mitigation, economy and public access.

Dan received his Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University with specializations in growth management and environmental planning. Prior to joining 1000 Friends, he worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from 1984 to 1997. Responsibilities included the review of local government comprehensive plans and amendments, groundwater protection, federal projects, developments of regional impact and regional policy plans. He also managed special projects such as local greenway development, military base closure planning and ecosystem management efforts within the Green Swamp and other environmentally sensitive areas. He also edited the Environmental Exchange Point, a newsletter addressing natural resource protection, infrastructure planning and other land and water quality and management issues.

Jaimie Ross, Affordable Housing Director (July 1991) - Ross is responsible for working with local governments and with the nonprofit and for-profit development communities in the provision of affordable housing through the state's growth management laws. She promotes affordable housing through policy and administrative advocacy with state, regional and local agencies and by developing other organizations involved in low-income housing issues; providing technical assistance and legal expertise. The affordable housing program receives its primary funding from the Florida Bar Foundation.

Before joining 1000 Friends of Florida in 1991, Ross practiced with the Orlando firm of Pleus, Adams & Spears, P.A. The emphasis of her practice was in the area of real estate, land use and local government law. Ross is the director of the Florida Community Land Trust Institute, a collaboration between 1000 Friends of Florida and the Florida Housing Coalition. She chairs the Affordable Housing Committee of the Florida Bar Real Property Probate & Trust Law Section. Ross is the President of the Florida Housing Coalition, and serves on the Board of the Innovative Housing Institute, and the Wachovia National Community Development Advisory Board. She served from 1992-2002 on the Florida Affordable Housing Study Commission and served on the Board of the National Low Income Housing Coalition from 1997- 2003. In 2004, Ross was named a James A. Johnson Community Fellow by the Fannie Mae Foundation for her accomplishments in affordable housing.

Vivian Young, AICP, Communications Director (April 1996) - Young is responsible for the communications activities of 1000 Friends. She coordinates publication of the quarterly newsletter, Foresight, and annual reports. She works with the media, preparing news releases and op eds on timely issues. She also manages and updates 1000 Friends' web site at www.1000friendsofflorida.org and administers the e-mail alerts. In cooperation with Executive Assistant Kathleen Morris, Young handles the Better Community Award Program and annual reception. Additionally, she coordinates special reports and publications, and undertakes other projects on behalf of the organization.

From 1987 until 1996, Young was the planner for the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board. In that capacity, she worked with the City and County on the development and implementation of the Historic Preservation Plan, ordinance, and economic incentive program, and staffed the Architectural Review Board. From 1984 until 1987 she served as Florida's first Main Street Coordinator. In 2005 she received an individual achievement award from the Florida Heritage Foundation and Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation for her two decades of contributions in historic preservation. She received her Master of Urban Planning degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.