The Kids Hope Alliance is governed by a seven member board, who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by City Council. The Board also includes four Subject Matter Experts from Duval County Public Schools, the State Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, as well as a City Council Liaison.

Dr. Marvin Wells, Board Chair
Jacksonville native Dr. Marvin Wells is the founder, owner and surgeon at his practice, Wells Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Association. Dr. Wells has earned leadership positions with recognized health providers throughout the area including serving as Chief of Service at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Memorial Hospital and Methodist Medical Center. His community affiliations have included service on the Episcopal High School of Jacksonville and Jacksonville University board of trustees.
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Tyra Tutor, Board Vice Chair
Tyra Hillis Tutor is President and Chief Executive Officer of TAD PGS, Inc., the government solutions subsidiary of the Adecco Group. During 22 years at the Adecco Group North American headquarters, she held several executive roles. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President of Corporate Develop and Social Responsibility, in charge of mergers and acquisitions, communications, public affairs, thought leadership, and corporate social responsibility with an emphasis on work-based learnings, most notably Apprenticeships. The Adecco Group is the world’s leading HR solutions partner, providing 700,000 people in permanent and flexible employment every day. Prior to the Adecco Group acquiring MPS Group (NYSE:MPS) in January 2010, Tyra served as MPS Group’s spokesperson and head of investor relations, board relations, marketing, public relations, community affairs and other strategic matters. Immediately after college, Tyra spent five years at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is a Certified Public Accountant.
Tyra has also served on many community boards, including the Jacksonville Chamber, Dreams Come True, Year Up, and Beaches Episcopal School.

She is married to her husband of 23 years, Mark Tutor, and they have two daughters, Thea and Zoe.
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Kevin Gay
Kevin T. Gay is a native of Jacksonville, FL and a graduate of the University of Florida. As CEO/Founder of Operation New Hope, he successfully revitalized urban neighborhoods in Jacksonville while helping the underserved communities find a way out of the cycle of addiction, poverty and incarceration.

Kevin left corporate America in 1999 to create a new model for community development. His mission initially was to restore urban communities through restoration of the Historic Springfield community. Operation New Hope (ONH) brought new housing, news skills which lead to new jobs and a revitalized community. In June of 2002, Kevin was invited to meet with President George W. Bush and Secretary of labor Elain Chao. This meeting led to ONH being selected by the White House to develop the first national model for Prisoner Re- entry called Ready4Work. This employment-based re-entry model was then introduced in 16 other cities around the country. Ready4Work Jacksonville has gained national attention because of its impact in reducing recidivism.

Kevin has served on several boards to include HabiJax, one of the nation's largest Habitat for Humanity affiliates, Gateway Community Services and the Florida Alliance of Community Development Corporations (the "FLACDC).
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Jenny Vipperman
Jenny Vipperman has served as a leader in the credit union industry for 15 years and currently serves as the Chief Lending Officer of VyStar with oversight of Consumer, Real Estate, and Commercial Lending, Servicing, and Portfolio Management. Jenny’s commitment to her community is demonstrated through her engagement with philanthropic local and national organizations as Board Secretary of the National Credit Union Foundation, which focuses on financial wellness and disaster recovery, Board member of Kids Hope Alliance, an agent of the City of Jacksonville that provides programs, services, and activities to address critical needs of children and youth in Duval County, Board member of ZestAI, a lending fintech that works to make fair and transparent credit available to all, Board member of the Credit Union Development Program, Trustee with the JAX Chamber, member of the CMB Society of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and previous Board member and current volunteer with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Northeast Florida.
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