MARSHA LORENZ

PRESIDENT & CEO, SENIORS FIRST, orlando

Seniors First’s 106-member team provides services and resources that maintain seniors’ independence and dignity primarily throughout Orange, Seminole and Polk Counties. Programs offered include Meals on Wheels, Neighborhood Lunch, Community Food Pantry, In-Home Care and more that enhance the quality of life of seniors. Lorenz has led the organization for 17 years. Under her leadership, Seniors First has grown its services with the launch of Garden Patch Delivery, a program delivering farm-fresh produce to seniors, and Project Connect, which provides tablets to seniors to reduce isolation via virtual programs. She also advocates for seniors’ well-being by serving on local and state boards.

EDUCATION: The Ohio State University (BS), Rollins College (MS)

FIRST JOB: My first job out of college was in the child welfare system in a small town outside Columbus, Ohio. I was a protective services investigator, foster care trainer and guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children.

DREAM ALTERNATE CAREER: A career in the medical profession was always a strong possibility for me. I had no aspirations to be a doctor but rather, an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner with specialized training that would qualify me to be a member of a hospital Air Care Team.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: I was a certified water safety instructor and scuba diver prior to moving to Florida after college. I learned to dive in the rock quarries of Ohio which were not very scenic. By contrast, my graduation gift to the Virgin Islands was one of the most exciting diving experiences I ever encountered and one for which I was very fortunate.