Meet Our Board
 MARK |
 JEFF |
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 RICK |
 TRACY |
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 MARY |
 MELISSA |
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 GEOFF |
 MAIRIM |
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 SOPHIE |
 RACHEL |
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 VICTORIA |
 OFELIA |
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 MICHELLE |
 Phil |
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The Friends of Jupiter Beach Board of Directors is made up of a handful of residents and local business owners. Click on their names below to learn more about them.
Mary has lived in Palm Beach County for over 50 years and attended school locally from elementary to college, graduating from Northwood University with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She currently resides in West Palm Beach, but spends lots of time at Jupiter beaches.
Mary has been involved with FJB for over 3 years, 2 of those years serving as the Treasurer for the Board of Directors and the last year as FJB’s Executive Director.
Mary is also very involved in the community, as a Leadership Palm Beach County alumni, Class of 2013 she chaired the Annual Excellence Awards for 3 years and has served in many of their committees. She has is also volunteered with 211 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast where she has served in committees and Co-Chaired one of their annual events.
When she is not volunteering you can find Mary traveling and enjoying time with her husband, children, grandchildren, and her great-granddaughter. She has a blue pit named Buddy who loves the dog beach in Jupiter.
Tracy is a Florida native who has lived and worked in the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens area since 1978. She is currently an area Real Estate Manager at Florida Power and Light/NextEra Energy and has been with the company since 1999. Her passion for boating, the ocean, and volunteering within her community lead her to want to be involved with Friends of Jupiter Beach. She became a board member in August 2018 and has since taken on the role as a Beach Clean-up Captain and was instrumental in the success of the 2019 Food and Wine Festival.
Mark is a native Floridian and a life-long residence of Palm Beach County. Mark graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a degree in Computer Information Systems and was a four year starter on the school’s baseball team. Mark currently resides in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife Natasha and their two children.
After graduating from college, Mark joined Raymond James as an investment advisor. Through his work at Raymond James, Mark helps his clients plan for their future by using a variety of financial planning techniques. Mark obtained his Accredited Asset Management Specialist, AAMS® certification in 2013.
Mark is very active in the community and you might find him coaching youth sports with the Jupiter Tequesta Athletic Association (JTAA) or volunteering at other community events such as Artigras or the Loggerhead Triathlon. He sits on numerous boards and enjoys lending his talents to organizations such as the Friends of Jupiter Beach.
In his spare time, Mark enjoys participating in athletics and fitness related activities. Mark also is a licensed Private Pilot and enjoys flying around the state of Florida looking for the best cheeseburger.
Geoff joined The Friends of Jupiter Beach in 1998 when he recognized FJB played a role in allowing the Joneses’ dogs to spend time at the beach. Shortly thereafter, FJB’s founder, Anita Lankler, convinced Geoff to assume the role of assigning volunteers to team leaders at FJB’s monthly beach cleanups. In 2001, he accepted a position on FJB’s board and served as FJB’s president from 2012-2015.
Geoff’s law firm, Jeck, Harris, Raynor & Jones, and title company, All Florida Land Title Company, also support FJB in sponsoring monthly beach cleanups and the annual FJB Food and Wine Festival. Geoff, his wife Cheryl, and their dogs have called Jupiter home since 1987.
Ofelia grew up in Plantation, Florida and earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Miami. She moved to California to attend medical school at the University of California San Francisco. After graduating, she moved to Texas to specialize in Internal Medicine, with additional training in Pulmonary/Critical Care medicine.
Prior to moving back to Florida in 2009, she served on the Internal Medicine faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and as Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Training Program at St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas. Her professional experience includes over 20 years of private practice in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
In Jupiter, she retired from medical practice and enrolled in the Executive MBA program at Florida Atlantic University. She is is now President of Deluge Biotechnologies, a local biotech company involved in early drug development that she and her husband co-founded.
Ofelia is a graduate of Leadership PBC Class of 2013 and Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class 34. She was a founding member of Impact the Palm Beaches and has served on the Board of Girl Scouts of SE Florida, Families First of PBC, Leadership PBC, Forum Club, and Friends of Jupiter Beach. In her free time, she loves boating, growing orchids, traveling, and spending time with friends and family
Having volunteered for major charities for many years, upon moving to the Jupiter area in 2001, Victoria wanted to be involved in a local charity. Her love for the beach, all water activities and commitment to the environmental issues, led her to Friends of Jupiter Beach.
Victoria enjoys, participating as a Beach Cleanup Captain at monthly FJB beach cleanups. Picking up trash alongside volunteers, learning about them and telling them “Fun Facts”, they might not know about FJB and Jupiter Beach. As a board member she enjoys sharing ideas and contributing to the success of FJB Food and Wine Festival and FJB Annual Cornhole Tournament.
Victoria has been a financial advisor for 32 years, helping her clients become and remain financially independent. She is an affiliate of American Portfolios Financial Services, an independent full-service broker/dealer and Registered Investment Advisor; affording her the opportunity to offer a full array of financial plans and solutions. In addition to the business aspect, American Portfolios is committed to ethical, social, environmental, cultural and economic initiatives and community service activities; “The things that make us richest are the things we do for others”.
Rachel “Sam” Erbaugh has been a PBC resident and has been working with animals for years. Many moons ago she was to live in Paris for good after she fell in love with the city during time abroad with the University of Miami. Not every plan in life works out, but continued her education at Drexel University in her nearest city at the time, Philadelphia. (Go Eagles!)
Soon after, she found her true passion in pet care, and left the corporate world (licensed Interior Designer) without looking back.
Now the proud owner of a five star rated and popular by the locals and snowbirds, Sam is happy to give back in her own pet business , Paw Beach and to Friends of Jupiter Beach as a board member. Sam who never had children; feels all pets are her babies and loves every single pet client she gets the chance to care for. And, our beaches should be forever pet friendly!
Although always smiling and laughing along wth a very positive outlook on life, Sam takes her commitments very seriously. Taught by her grandmother, who founded a local Humane Society in NJ, each animal is different and all have a variety of needs. Sam’s grandmother also received the “Humanitarian of the Year” award in 1969. Everyone has told Sam, that she is a younger version of her beloved grandmother (big feet and all!)
She finds utter happiness in the animals and how they all impact her life daily. In any off time Rachel/Sam has; you will find her in a gym or by the beach! “Sam” is a childhood nickname that was kept, yet she also answers to Rachel. Her own dog, Drake, is her biggest fan.
Sophie is a Boston native who after years of living abroad as a Peace Corps Volunteer, English teacher, and crew member aboard cruise ships, chose to settle forever in Palm Beach County in 2016. She now lives in Jupiter Farms with her husband JP, staffy-mix Brutus, and two Frenchies Oliver and Addie.
Sophie loves to get involved- as a sitting board member in several nonprofits, undertaking leadership roles in the community, or promoting local businesses, Sophie searches for ways to lift those around her and make her presence useful for others. She found her calling in real-estate- working as a full-time Realtor gives her the opportunity to introduce others to the vibrant lifestyle and paradise she calls home.
Sophie’s favorite past-times are all things beach-related, with special emphasis on playing fetch with the dogs on the sand. Understanding the scarcity of such a privilege is what caused Sophie to join the Friends of Jupiter Beach in 2020.
When the beach is not an option, Sophie enjoys pruning her bougainvillea, hosting parties and eating her husband’s cooking.
Rick is an accomplished sales executive and business owner with a record of success at driving growth and profits of start-up companies in both the product and service sectors.
His love of health and fitness led him to purchasing a failing health club in Juno Beach in 2005. He has grown the club from 400 active members to over 1,600. Today Loggerhead Fitness has a stellar reputation in the community and in 2014 was awarded Small Business of the Year by the Northern Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Rick’s passion for sports and fitness remains high – he loves playing Ultimate Frisbee, cycles weekly and works out with a certified personal trainer when at all possible. Rick’s favorite quote: ” Being successful in business is not about making money; it’s about having passion for what you do. Life shouldn’t be a chore”.
Jeff is the Government Affairs Manager at Waste Management – based in Hobe Sound and has been with the company since 1979. He is responsible for Public Sector Services and for interfacing with government agencies in the surrounding six counties. Jeff’s role as Government Affairs Manager includes statewide strategic initiative coordination and oversight of outreach activities for Waste Management. Jeff is a charter member of the Keep America Beautiful affiliates of Florida and former chairperson of the Palm Beach Gardens Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Past President of the Business Development Board of Martin County. He also serves on the Big Heart Brigade of the Treasure Coast, Keep Martin Beautiful, Okeechobee Education Foundation, the Economic Council of Martin County, Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce, President’s Council member of the Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce and Habitat for Humanity.
Melissa is a senior project controls specialist in the nuclear division of NextEra Energy. Before entering the utility side of the energy sector, she spent time in oil & gas and also insurance. After achieving her BSBA in finance from the University of Florida, she served as vice president of athletics for the Gator Club of Miami. She is passionate about her community and the wellbeing of our oceans. She is an avid fisherman, diver and proud dog mom of her rescue, whom she aptly named after her first love, Ocean.
Mairim is a native Floridian. She attended high school in Palm Beach County where she graduated from Palm Beach Lakes High school in the top 10% of her class. She was enrolled in the Law Magnet Program at her high school and was involved in several organizations dedicating her time to giving back to her community. She made her way to Orlando and graduated from the University of Central Florida with a bachelors degree in Psychology and a certificate in Behavioral Forensics. Mairim worked as a leasing agent while in college and spent many hours volunteering her time to programs that aided children with disabilities in the surrounding Central Florida area. Mairim then moved to North Carolina to pursue law school and graduated from law school in 2016. After graduation, Mairim made her way back to Florida to begin her career. She worked for a solo-practioner for almost two years gaining experience in criminal defense and personal injury. From 2018-2022, she was the pre-litigation case manager at local law firm working in the field of personal injury law. She is able to dedicate her time to helping those who are injured. She currently works at a boutique personal injury firm in West Palm Beach and is the executive director of the Treasure Coast Justice Association. Mairim continues her efforts in giving back to the community through participating in local charity events, local church programs such as feeding the homeless and volunteering with other non-profit organizations. She is currently on the board of Friends of Jupiter Beach, a local non-profit.
Mairim currently resides in Jupiter with her family. She has a rescue dog named Luna who is her best pal. Luna and Mairim enjoy going to the dog beach every Sunday to wind down after a long week. In her free time, Mairim also enjoys traveling with friends, wine tastings, kayaking in the local state parks, and going to Disney.
Michelle moved to Jupiter in 2004. She earned a Bachelors and Masters Degree from Florida State University and PhD from Barry University. Michelle worked for the Miami VA Medical Center, was adjunct faculty at Barry University and University of Miami School of Medicine. She served as the Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management Mental Health Task Force Co-Chair.
Michelle’s passion for public service is expressed through her work with her husband, Michael Borenstein, MD, PhD, Co-Director at Gardens Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery Center, where she has worked diligently to help promote skin cancer prevention awareness through organizing many community events with Honda Classic Cares, the Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation Students Against Melanoma Clubs and other non-profits throughout Palm Beach County and promoting Sun-Safety initiatives in the community.
Michelle is a graduate of Leadership PBC Class of 2017. She served as the Business Partner on Jupiter High School, Independence Middle School and Jerry Thomas Elementary School Student Advisory Councils, Richard David Kann Melanoma Foundation Board, Women’s Chamber of Commerce Board, Jupiter High School Parent Volunteer Committee, Families First of PBC Annual Children’s Day Luncheon Silent Auction Committee, Leadership Palm Beach County Grow Committee, Forum Club and has been involved with many fundraising events. In her free time, Michelle enjoys cooking with her husband, visiting her heart and soul; her 3 children Danielle, Jordan and Joshua and her mom Jeanne, pilates, the beach, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Phil Werner is an attorney at Ward Damon in West Palm Beach specializing in commercial litigation, employment law, association representation, and commercial leasing. He is passionate about serving the local community and is heavily involved with the West Palm Beach Kiwanis Club. In his free time, Phil enjoys traveling and spending time at the beach with his wife.