Our Team

Barzella Papa, is the current President and CEO of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida where she has raised more than $100 million in support for a variety of causes. Under her direction, the Community Foundation has launched such successful initiatives as the Women’s Giving Circle, the Amazing Give, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, and the Philanthropy Hub. She is an alumnus of Leadership Florida Class XXVII and is the current chair for the Community Foundations of Florida. She earned the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy this year and the Certified Fund Raising Executive designation ten years ago. She is a certified BoardSource governance consultant and serves as a 21/64 advisor facilitating multigenerational philanthropy. She is a past president of the Junior League of Gainesville where she created the League’s signature fundraising event—The Tour of Kitchens. Her service to the League earned her the Most Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Legacy Award. Her many other awards include the Girl Scouts Women Who Make a Difference, the Fierce Award from Business in North Central Florida Magazine, and a Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Club of Gainesville. An excellent communicator with a proven track record of 20 years of published articles, public speaking sessions, and television appearances, she graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in Communications and worked in major publishing houses before transitioning to the nonprofit sector.