Dr. Saralyn Grass currently serves the City of Jacksonville (COJ) as the Chief Executive Officer for the Kids Hope Alliance (KHA), a funding agent that annually invests millions in children and youth programming and services in Duval County, FL. She also serves as the Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee for the Women’s Giving Alliance of Northeast FL. Saralyn’s passion lies in supporting nonprofits so they can do the important work of serving our most vulnerable children. She has worked hard to create efficiencies within the governmental system so that service providers can spend more time serving those who are most in need – and making a lasting difference in Jacksonville’s future for generations to come.
Dr. Grass has been with the City since 2019 and has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and ten of those as an executive. In addition, her extensive experience includes Executive Director of the Association for Early Learning Coalitions, Vice President and Chief Programs Officer at the Children’s Forum, and an adjunct faculty member at both Florida State University and University of North Florida. Dr. Grass also launched and owned/operated a small business with her husband in Tallahassee from 2014-2019: GrassLands Brewing Company, a community-centric craft brewery that was awarded the Entrepreneurial Startup Business of the Year award by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband sold the business after five years and relocated to Jacksonville to be closer to family.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of North Florida, a Master of Science degree in Human Development from Virginia Tech with a concentration on special needs across child and adolescent development and community agencies, and her Doctorate in Educational Policy and Program Evaluation from the College of Education at Florida State University. While at FSU, she earned two graduate certificates – one in Global Pathways from the Center for Global Engagement and another in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program at FSU.
Dr. Grass has been happily married to Gabe Grass, Director for Corporate Relations and Major Gifts at UNF, for the past 18 years. They have one daughter (Cheyanne), three cats (CiCi, Delilah and Saké) and one dog (Pearl).