Bonnie Barnes joined the Deering Estate Foundation as Executive Director in July 2019. Bonnie has over 18 years in nonprofit management and a strong entrepreneurial background in marketing and advertising. After earning her MBA at Jacksonville University in 2006, Bonnie launched into the nonprofit world as executive director of North Florida Land Trust, a land conservation organization, purchasing and protecting sensitive lands, as well as establishing major partnership programs to protect endangered species and provide public access to special places. Bonnie served most recently as development manager at Reef Environmental Education Foundation, a worldwide marine conservation organization headquartered in the Florida Keys. One of her key achievements at both organizations was establishing programs that ensure long-term sustainability through planned giving.
Bonnie’s heart is in conservation, whether scuba diving, traipsing through a forest, or swooshing down a mountain, she loves and cares about our environment. Having started her first business at 17 in her hometown of Las Vegas, she eventually found her way to Florida where she owned a marketing company for another 14 years in Jacksonville, FL.