Manatee names new community services director

Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker has named Brenda Rogers the new director of the Community Services Department.

Rogers replaces Fred Loveland, who retired earlier this year. She has served as director of Manatee County Extension/Agriculture and Resource Conservation department since 2000. The move is subject to confirmation by the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners, scheduled for Aug. 10.

Hunzeker said Rogers’ local success and familiarity with the community makes her an ideal candidate.

“Brenda’s credentials speak for themselves,” Hunzeker said. “She is a well-respected leader in the Manatee County, and her commitment to the community makes her a natural fit for Community Services. With her new role, Brenda will have a chance to apply an impressive skill set to an even broader segment of the community.”

A Manatee native, Rogers is recognized throughout the region as a foremost voice on agriculture-related sciences. She was hired as a Florida extension agent for home economics in 1983. She has earned tenure as a University of Florida faculty member, and has served on many advisory committees for UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. She was named the 2009 Agriculturist of the Year during Farm City week.

Rogers’s new role will bring her career full circle. As an extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences for the first 16 years of her tenure with the County, she taught parent education programs, trained daycare providers and worked closely with other social service providers.

“In the past, I worked with a lot of (social) service agencies, teaching money management and homemaking skills,” Rogers said. “I had an opportunity to be involved in a lot of startup social service activities. Now, I’m able to come back and see the fruits of their labors and to help facilitate the future of public service in our county.”

Community Services is among the County departments with most public visibility, comprised of Manatee County Area Transit and social service divisions including Human Services, Veterans Services and Aging Services. It also oversees the Children’s Services Tax, a voter-approved dedicated milage that pays for programs to benefit the health, welfare and safety of Manatee children up to age 18.

To learn more about Community Services and other Manatee County Government departments, visit

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