United Way of West Florida President & CEO Lauren Gilliam told Inweekly yesterday afternoon that it was her decision to drop “equity” from the Achieve Escambia home page, and the decision, which had board approval, was made concerning United Way’s messaging before the organization took control of Achieve Escambia. Why? Concerns that references to “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” might impact state and federal funding.
Gilliam shared that Achieve Escambia began in 2016 under the United Way umbrella, but its Leadership Council formed its own corporation in 2019. Achieve Escambia was voluntarily dissolved by its board on July 24, 2025. See Dissolution.
Dig Deeper: The 2019 board of directors was a Who’s Who of Pensacola leaders: Keith Hoskins, Marlene Santos, Mark Faulkner, David Deliman, Doug Baldwin, Chip Simmons, Tim Kinsella, Robin Wright, Tyler Burns and Will Condon. The executive director was Kim Krupa. Read Achieve Initial Filing.
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- The following year, Krupa and others campaigned for the referendum to create the Escambia Children’s Trust. In 2020, the Pensacola Chamber gave her its Advocate Leader of the Year for tripling Achieve’s volunteer base, doubling the fundraising revenues, and elevating its profile “as a community-based organization that is unique to Florida.” She also received the 2020 Children’s Funding Champion Award from Funding The Next Generation and the Children’s Funding Project in “incredible acknowledgment of the history-making effort to pass the Escambia Children’s Trust.”
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Here is the official statement from Gilliam:
“As United Way of West Florida readopts Achieve Escambia under its leadership, we work to comply with expectations and regulations set by federal and state government to maintain our fiscal responsibility to those we serve while continuing to value and respect every individual.”
Why Bring This Up?
According to the draft minutes of the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees meeting in September, Trustee Zack Smith voiced concerns with PSC hiring Ruthie Noel, who followed Krupa as the executive director of Achieve Escambia, because “its materials previously included language referencing diversity, inclusion and equity.” Smith thanked Dr. Meadows (PSC president) for the removal of DEI from the Achieve website. Note: Sunbiz listed Meadows as the treasurer of Achieve Escambia. Read Minutes_Achieve
Earlier this year, the Achieve Escambia homepage prominently mentioned equity being at its center:
Equity & Collective Impact at the Center
We bring people together to advocate for significant improvements in key cradle-to-career outcomes. We support people in their efforts to close equity gaps by equipping them with the knowledge and mindsets to change systems and outcomes for their programs, services and organizations. Equity exists when race and income are no longer predictors of success, and when systems work to ensure individuals receive what they need when they need it, to develop to their fullest potential.
Today, “Equity” has been replaced with “Opportunity.” The third sentence has been deleted.
Opportunity & Collective Impact at the Center
We unite people across our community to drive meaningful improvements in cradle-to-career outcomes. Our work helps close opportunity gaps by equipping leaders with the knowledge and tools to shift systems and improve outcomes for children, families, and organizations.
Bringing Up the Past
According to Gilliam, the decision to delete equity had nothing to do with Smith. However, the trustee used it as a pretext to express his displeasure with hiring Noel as the executive director of corporate training and continuing education.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were a part of Achieve Escambia’s mission long before Noel took over as executive director.
Smith also serves as a trustee for the University of West Florida. At his first board meeting, he attacked President Martha Saunders over a drag show held six years earlier.
- “One of the ones I saw was a drag show that the university co-sponsored called ‘Drag Me to Hell.’ It was co-sponsored officially by the university,” Smith said. “I’m curious to know, was that mandated by anyone? Or why did the university think it was appropriate to sponsor a show, a drag show entitled ‘Drag Me to Hell’ that I think certainly religious students and others on campus might find offensive.”
When President Saunders indicated she was unfamiliar with the event and requested more information, Smith noted it was sponsored by the Office of Inclusion in October 2019 and was still promoted on the university’s social media with hashtags like #uwfrespect and #inclusion.
- “My concern is if the goal was to foster a community of respect and inclusion, it’s hard to see how that would be promoted by again, having a program called ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ because I certainly find that offensive. And I think many in our community likely would as well,” Smith stated.
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