ROCKVILLE, MD – On Monday, January 31st, the Proffitt Brothers Foundation®, which is the charitable arm of Spartan Medical Inc., announced it has expanded its leadership team. The foundation added four individuals; two to the Board of Trustees and two to the executive team.
“Spartan Medical has experienced exponential growth over the past two years,” explained Vince Proffitt, President of Spartan Medical and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Proffitt Brothers Foundation®. “That has allowed us to expand our foundation and increase our charitable giving, making a bigger impact on the causes we support.”
The expansion includes:
Board of Trustees:
Dr. Jennifer M. Proffitt is a Professor of Communication in the School of Communication at Florida State University, where she has worked since 2005. She served as Director of the School from 2018-2020. She has won numerous awards for her teaching, research, and service, including a University Teaching Award for undergraduate instruction, a National Education Association Democracy in Higher Education Prize, a Higher Education Honoree by the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, and a College of Communication & Information Leadership Board Award. She is also the former statewide president of the United Faculty of Florida, the faculty union that represents more than 20,000 faculty and graduate assistants at universities and colleges in the state of Florida. She is currently working on a book about newspaper unions. Dr. Proffitt has a bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s degree in Communication from the University of Wyoming, and a PhD in Mass Communication from Pennsylvania State University. She is the sister of the Proffitt brothers, Gregory and Vincent.
Board of Trustees:
Kara A. Proffitt is currently employed at Spartan Medical, Inc. as a Clinical and Administrative Specialist. She attended The Western School of Health and Business Careers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has an Associate Degree in Health Sciences, specifically Diagnostic Medical Sonography. She worked clinically as a registered diagnostic medical sonographer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, St. Margaret from 1996-2010. Later, Mrs. Proffitt joined FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc. as a clinical application specialist for the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia area from 2010-2019, and received the 2015 Excellence Award for “Outstanding Clinical Specialist.” She is the wife of the late Gregory B. Proffitt.
Executive Director:
Nick Goebel has been named the Executive Director of the Proffitt Brothers Foundation®. In this role, he will implement the policies of the Board of Trustees, oversee the daily operations of the nonprofit, manage its staff, and act as its spokesperson. This is in addition to his position as the Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs for Spartan Medical. Nick is a communications professional who has worked with clients in a variety of fields, including political, liquor, and luxury markets. He has a master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from The George Washington University, a master’s degree in American Government and Politics from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship from Central Michigan University.
Development Director:
Madeleine H. Starr is the development director for the Proffitt Brothers Foundation®. She assists in community outreach and event planning/execution. She graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in sociology and anthropology in 2020. In 2015, she spent a semester in Chiang Mai, Thailand studying photography and Buddhism as well as expanding her knowledge of cultural differences and practices. She spent another semester in Rome, Italy, furthering her study of culture and languages. She grew up in Washington, DC and has always been involved in volunteering for non-profit work, including the children’s burn victims’ unit, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Relay for Life.
The expansion of the Proffitt Brothers Foundation® comes on the heels of a momentous year in 2021. The foundation launched a new website, organized a two-day gala and festival that was attended by more than 500 people, and it donated more than $225,000 to nonprofits across the country.
“As Spartan Medical continues to grow, we will direct more and more resources to our private foundation with the intention to support more amazing causes and help more people,” added Mr. Proffitt. “To do so, we need a team that can help us make a difference, and I could not have asked for a better team than the one we have assembled today.” Mr. Proffitt went on to emphasize, “More people, more resources, and more infrastructure will supercharge our efforts To Make What Should Matter, Matter!TM”
About Proffitt Brothers Foundation®: The 501 (c) (3) Foundation, which is the charitable arm of Spartan Medical Inc., was created in July 2018 to honor the vision and mission of Gregory Proffitt, who passed far too young on 21 May 2018. The Foundation was entirely funded by Spartan Medical through June 2021, with 100% of all donations going to the causes it supports. The goal is to help fund the hardworking charities that get the proceeds directly to real people, locally, on the front-line. The mission is to find people that have demonstrated the propensity to do good, and to incentivize that incredible behavior with funding, to make the biggest possible impact in the most expedient and efficient manner possible.
About Spartan Medical: Spartan Medical Inc. was founded in 2008 by a former Air Force Intelligence Officer to provide an extensive portfolio of advanced medical devices and technologies from premier partners, focused on the needs of the VA and DoD surgeon. Spartan Medical is considered a top priority vendor in the VA as a CVE certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and has been awarded 600+ Federal Government contracts including multi-year Blanket Purchase Agreements at over 30 major military treatment facilities with 13+ years of flawless performance. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Spartan Medical has assembled a Comprehensive COVID-19 Testing Solution providing best-in-class products and services for K-12 schools, universities and local, state and federal governments.