Sarasota-area Planned Parenthood announces new CEO

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida has selected Stephanie Kight as its new president and CEO, the organization announced Tuesday. She will assume her role Feb. 1.

Kight previously served as the senior vice president of brand and marketing for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She has also held senior positions with Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio and California.

In a statement, local Planned Parenthood Board Chair Laurie Cowan Phillips said Kight initiated and implemented many of Planned Parenthood’s national marketing and communications approaches. She has helped refine the federation’s brand nationwide and oversaw the launch of its first sex education text messaging program.

Prior to her position with the national federation, Kight worked five years as CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, where she led the merger of two Ohio affiliates. There she helped lead an organization with a similar footprint and size as PPSWCF, overseeing a 300-person staff that operated 17 health care centers and served an average of 65,000 patients a year.

Kight was selected from among more than 100 candidates from around the country. She replaces Barbara A. Zdravecky, who retired from PPSWCF in 2017 after 24 years as president and CEO.