UF Health Jacksonville names new board members
Mike Santarone, president and chief operating officer of Stellar, and Kendall L. Spencer, regional bank president for Ameris Bank, have been appointed to the board of directors for UF Health Jacksonville.
Also new to the board is Ashley Norse, M.D., who is the new president of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville Faculty Council. The council president is automatically appointed to the board. Norse, an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine, began her term on July 1.
Santarone is a Jacksonville native and graduate of the University of Florida’s building construction program. In 1986, he joined Stellar, a Jacksonville-based global corporation focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services. He is also a member of Stellar’s board of directors.
“Jacksonville is fortunate to have the level of care UF Health provides to the citizens of our community across all walks of life,” said Santarone. “As a UF alumnus, I am especially proud of the partnership that has been created with this medical facility, and am excited about the expanded levels of service and research that continue to take place. I am honored to have been selected to serve on this board, and will strive to ensure the best interests of this facility and our community are met.”
Spencer has 30 years of executive and senior-level commercial bank leadership and management experience. He joined Ameris in 2016 and oversees the regions of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Lake City and Ocala. Before that, he was president and CEO of Jacksonville Bancorp Inc. Spencer has a degree in finance from the University of Florida and a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
“UF Health is such an important part of Jacksonville, and I’m looking forward to being part of a team that continues to move the organization in a positive direction,” said Spencer. “As a graduate of UF, I have a long and deep connection to the university, and living in this community gives me an appreciation of the things that UF Health does to help so many people.”
Santarone and Spencer were appointed to UF Health Jacksonville’s board on May 17.
“Mike and Kendall bring a wealth of experience to our board, and with their extensive backgrounds in business, we think they are a perfect fit for UF Health Jacksonville as it continues to grow in North Florida,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., president of UF Health, senior vice president for health affairs at the University of Florida and chair of UF Health Jacksonville’s board of directors.
Russ Armistead, CEO of UF Health Jacksonville, believes the decades of experience both men have in business, especially in the Jacksonville area, will serve them well on the board.
“They both know the area from not only a business perspective, but also a personal one, and that gives them great insight into this community,” Armistead said. “We think they are a perfect fit for our board, and I want to welcome them.”
Norse is an emergency medicine physician who is the medical director of UF Health Jacksonville’s Emergency Medicine Clinical Center.
“Ashley brings a wealth of medical and administrative experience to her new leadership role as the faculty council president, and her background makes her a great addition to our board of directors,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville.
Santarone and Spencer are replacing Lawrence Dubow, who served on the board from January 2011 to December 2016, and Troy Davis, who served on the board from December 2013 to March 2017.