RIVERFRONT PARKS CONSERVANCY
The Jax Riverfront Alliance is set to assume responsibility for operating, maintaining and activating the entire set of parks and public spaces along the downtown riverfront, across the Northbank and Southbank, including both existing and future spaces, all operated to a high standard of care that meets national benchmarks and local expectations.
- In support of the City’s efforts to create a world-class riverfront, the Jax Riverfront Alliance will prioritize the following principles as a foundation for lasting success:
- A Riverfront for All: Create and sustain a riverfront that serves as a vibrant, fun, iconic destination—open, accessible, and inviting to all residents and visitors —through both its design and a variety of ongoing programming and experiences.
- Raise the Bar: Provide riverfront parks that consistently exceed expectations for vibrancy, cleanliness, maintenance, landscape care and programming—setting a new standard for public spaces in Jacksonville.
- Connectivity: Shape a pedestrian and bike-friendly, accessible riverwalk that links the parks, public spaces and The Emerald Trail to the adjacent downtown districts and urban core neighborhoods while encouraging alternative transportation and healthy lifestyles.
- Community Engagement: Engage residents early and often to ensure riverfront spaces reflect shared community priorities—and continue seeking feedback after implementation to guide improvements, programming, and long-term success.
- Art, Culture, and Identity: Celebrate Jacksonville’s culture through thoughtfully integrated public art, performance spaces, and design elements that reflect the city’s history and community.
- Long-term Thinking: Design with the long view in mind—prioritizing flexibility, financial sustainability, shade, resilience, and quality materials.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SONDRA FETNER
Sondra Fetner is a land use lawyer and urbanist serving as the Director of Placemaking for the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. In her role, she oversees the implementation of the duPont Fund’s Power of Place strategy, which focuses on empowering residents and fostering partnerships between the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to co-create belonging and vibrancy in Jacksonville and Port St. Joe, FL.
She volunteers her knowledge and expertise to several neighborhood-focused initiatives related to public spaces, community revitalization, governance, and urban planning. Fetner forged the Jacksonville riverfront’s membership with the High Line Network and led the Jacksonville Riverfront Partnership Steering Committee, which became the Jax Riverfront Alliance. She also serves on the boards of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority and Riverside Avondale Preservation, and is a founding member of the Placemaking Funders Forum.
Previously, Fetner ran her own urban redevelopment consulting firm, was an Assistant General Counsel focused on land use and constitutional law in the Office of General Council for the City of Jacksonville, and practiced local government law at a law firm in Gainesville, FL. She holds a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in business administration and marketing as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Southern California.
DREW FRICK
Drew Frick was hired as the Jacksonville Jaguars Senior Vice President, Real Estate and Development in May 2022. In Frick’s role, he leads the organization’s plans to revitalize Downtown Jacksonville, including the Miller Electric Center, the Four Seasons Hotel, and the Jacksonville Shipyards. Frick oversees a team leading multiple projects through every phase of development from design to completion, including land acquisition, master planning, permitting, construction, and leasing.
Frick most recently served as president of Gate Lands—the real estate and development subsidiary of Gate Petroleum Company—and as vice president and general counsel for Gate Petroleum Company, a diversified, privately held company based in Jacksonville with several businesses including convenience stores, concrete manufacturing, real estate development, and hospitality.
Prior to his 18 years with Gate, Frick spent four years with Rogers Towers, a law firm headquartered in Jacksonville. Through his work with both companies, he has been involved in many of North Florida’s most distinctive office, residential, hospitality, and retail developments, several of which have been recognized with local and national awards for planning, architecture, landscape design, and marketing success.
Frick currently serves on the board of directors for the Seamark Ranch and has been appointed by the Jacksonville City Council to serve on the Joint Planning Committee, an advisory body to the Duval County School Board and Jacksonville City Council in matters relating to the selection and utilization of all sites for schools, libraries, parks, and community centers. He is a graduate of Clemson University and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. Frick is also a member of The Florida Bar and has been admitted to practice law in Florida since 2000.
Frick and his wife, Andrea, are Jacksonville natives and have two daughters, Ellie and Katie.
BARBARA GOODMAN
Secretary
Barbara Goodman is an international park consultant. She is successful in spearheading and completing comprehensive projects, dedicated to ensuring continued development of tourism and resource protection both locally and globally.
Goodman retired from the National Park Service in 2015 after 33 years of service, most recently as the Superintendent of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve for 18 years. During this time, she provided the leadership and vision for the development of an unprecedented tri-lateral agreement between the National Park Service, Florida Park Service, and the City of Jacksonville Preservation Parks to create a seamless system of parks and to cooperate in planning, promotion, and resource protection.
Goodman provides consultation assistance and guidance to directors of national park systems internationally in the areas of park planning and tourism in association with Global Parks and the International Conservation Caucus Foundation.
She served as the Deputy Secretary of Land and Recreation at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection overseeing the Florida State Park System—which includes 175 parks, 800,000 acres, 100 miles of beaches, 7,500 miles of trails, 4,000 miles of paddling trails—and the Florida State Lands program, providing oversight for 12 million acres of public lands, land sales acquisition, and the Florida Forever program.
Most recently, Goodman was a co-founder of the Riverfront Parks Conservancy and served as its board chair from 2021 to 2025. She continues her service with the Jax Riverfront Alliance as its board secretary.
DAVID MAROVICH
Treasurer
David Marovich serves as the SVP, Northeast Florida Community President/Commercial Lending for VyStar Credit Union. Prior to joining the credit union in 2024, he served as the Chief Executive Officer for 121 Financial Credit Union. There, he also held other positions as Small Business Lender, Vice President of Business Services, and Chief Operations Officer.
Marovich has served in the credit union and banking industry for more than 30 years. During this time, he also worked at Barnett Bank and Compass Bank. Marovich is a Certified Credit Union Executive through the Credit Union National Association.
In addition to his professional work, Marovich is deeply involved in the Jacksonville community. He currently serves as Board Chair of Jacksonville’s Ronald McDonald House and Vice Chair of Visit Jacksonville. He is on Bishop Kenny High School’s Advisory Board and a volunteer for the Diocese of St. Augustine. He previously volunteered within the Small Business Resource Network (SBRN) for many years.
Marovich is a recipient of the SBRN “Volunteer of the Year” award as well as the SBA “Small Business Advocate” for North Florida and the state of Florida.
Originally from Johnstown, PA, Marovich earned his B.A. from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH. He completed advanced executive education programs through the University of Wisconsin, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and the University of Virginia.
Marovich has called Jacksonville home for close to four decades. He and his wife, Sheila, have been married for more than 30 years and remain strong supporters of the Jacksonville community.
NATALIE ROSENBERG
A graduate of the University of Florida (1992) and the University of Florida Levin College of Law (1995), Natalie Rosenberg began her career practicing law in Jacksonville and continues to stay engaged in the legal field through her family’s firm, while devoting much of her time to community and volunteer work.
Rosenberg has been deeply engaged in civic and philanthropic organizations since relocating to Jacksonville. She has been actively involved with the Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital since 2000, co-chairing the Art & Antiques Show in 2013 and serving on the Executive Committee for many years thereafter. She also served on the Board of Directors of Riverside Presbyterian Day School and currently chairs the Late Bloomers Garden Club’s Civic Committee.
Rosenberg has been involved with Riverfront Parks Now since 2021 and currently serves as its Steering Committee chair. Riverfront Parks Now is a coalition of nonprofit organizations working to create a connected network of parks and green spaces throughout Downtown Jacksonville. Her passion for great public spaces grew through her travels in Europe, where she became inspired by the way cities integrate art, nature, and community life.
Originally from Tallahassee, Rosenberg has lived in Jacksonville with her husband, Mark, since 1995. They have two children: a daughter, Charlotte, who has graduated from college, and a college-aged son, William.
DAVE SWEENEY
Chair
With a distinguished career spanning four decades, serving both private- and public-sector clients, Dave Sweeney, PE, now serves as Chair of RS&H’s Board of Directors, following an impactful tenure as Chief Executive Officer.
Since joining RS&H in 1998, Sweeney has held a series of progressively senior leadership roles, including National Bridge Service Group Leader, National Transportation Practice Leader, and Chief Operating Officer, each contributing to his deep understanding of the firm, while ensuring RS&H’s vision and strategic direction remain aligned with its core values. During his 10 years as Chief Executive Officer, RS&H achieved strong growth and performance, expanded its employee ownership model, created the philanthropic RS&H Elevate Foundation, instituted strong safety initiatives, and embarked on a significant organizational transformation to position RS&H for the future.
Sweeney’s leadership is anchored in his profound commitment to RS&H’s associates and their shared goal of remaining 100% employee owned. He continues to champion growth and uphold the values that have shaped RS&H’s success, guiding the firm toward a future of continued innovation, excellence, and purpose.
Sweeney serves on the Boards of Directors for SSR as well as Woodard & Curran, privately held employee-owned companies within the architectural and engineering professional services sector. Sweeney is the Chair of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Chair of the Jax Riverfront Alliance, and a member of the Jacksonville Civic Council board of directors.
TRAVIS WILLIAMS
Travis L. Williams is a proud native of Jacksonville, FL, where he resides with his wife and children. He currently serves as President and CEO of LIFT JAX, a leading initiative driven by business, philanthropic, and community leaders dedicated to revitalizing Jacksonville’s urban core and breaking the cycle of generational poverty through place-based neighborhood transformation.
Since joining the organization in 2021, LIFT JAX has made strategic investments in redeveloping a neighborhood grocery store, advancing mixed-income infill housing, activating the historic Florida Avenue commercial corridor, and enhancing parks and green spaces. These efforts are centered in the Historic Eastside, one of the region’s largest and most intact historically Black neighborhoods—a community Williams’s family has called home for nearly a century. He brings a unique blend of experience from the private, public, and entrepreneurial sectors to his role, guiding the organization with vision, authenticity, and a deep personal commitment to equity and impact.
Williams earned his undergraduate degrees from the University of North Florida and holds an Executive MBA from Jacksonville University. He is currently a Cradle-to-Career Partnership Fellow at Harvard University, where he is studying cross-sector leadership.
A dedicated civic leader, Williams contributes his time and expertise to numerous boards and committees focused on economic development, equitable revitalization, and community wellbeing. His leadership has been recognized with honors such as the University of North Florida’s Young Alumni Achievement Award and inclusion in the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “40 Under 40.”
MIKE ZAFFARONI
Vice Chair
A graduate of Florida State University, Mike Zaffaroni has deep roots and extensive business experience in Northeast Florida. In 2007, he purchased Fernandina Mulch & Stone and transformed it into Liberty Landscape Supply. Under his leadership, the local full-service landscaping company has expanded from one full-time and one part-time employee to more than 170 employees across six locations.
Liberty’s success has earned recognition as GrowFL’s 2022 “Company to Watch” and consistently being ranked on Garden Center Magazine’s “Top 100 Garden Centers in North America” from 2017 to 2024, most recently at position #34.
Zaffaroni is committed to community service and civic engagement. He has held longstanding business mentorship roles with organizations such as the University of North Florida’s Small Business Development Center, the City of Jacksonville’s Small & Emerging Business Monitoring Committee, and the Amelia Island Chamber of Commerce. He is dedicated to the JAX Chamber’s mission, where he has supported the organization in various capacities over the years, currently, as Chair of the Government Affairs Committee, working to enact business-friendly policies that encourage sustainable economic growth for the Jacksonville community. Zaffaroni also serves as Vice Chair of the Jax Riverfront Alliance.