Kathy Rabon, CFRE

Kathy Rabon, CFRE, CFRM, has served the Tampa Bay, Florida community as a not-for-profit fundraising and executive leadership professional for nearly 30 years. She retired in June 2025 where she was Chief Philanthropy Officer and President of Suncoast Hospice Foundation, a member of Empath Health, the largest not-for-profit hospice provider in the state of Florida.  In this role, she oversaw the team of fundraising professionals who were responsible for all charitable aspects of Empath Partners in Care (EPIC), dedicated to serving all aspects of HIV and LGBTQ+ communities, including medical care, housing, social services, and support.  She has served in a variety of other community positions including Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center Foundation at Ruth Eckerd Hall; Deputy Director of Development for the Salvador Dali Museum; Vice President of Development and Communications for the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA; Chief Development Officer for the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida; and President/CEO of the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce. Kathy is a Certified Fundraising Executive from the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has been re-certified six times. She also holds her Certification in Fundraising Management from the Lily Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and Certification in Organizational Development from the University of Georgia.

Kathy currently serves as Vice Chair of Membership for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global Board of Directors and is one of 5 professional women selected by AFP to serve as mentors as part of the Women’s Impact Initiative (WII) originating cohort. She is the immediate past president of AFP Tampa Bay, serving as president in 2023 and 2024.  She served on the Association of Junior Leagues, International (AJLI) Board of Directors for nine years and has served in many local volunteer positions including president, Junior League of Clearwater- Dunedin; president Leadership Pinellas; board member, Leadership Tampa Bay; United Nations Association Board of Directors; St. Petersburg College Board of Advisors; Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation; Clearwater Marine Aquarium Board of Directors; Suncoast Family YMCA Governance Board and many others.

Community honors include: National Association of Community Leadership’s Distinguished Leader Award; Soroptimist International Women Honoring Women; JLCD Volunteer of the Year, Community Volunteer of the Year and Sustainer of the Year; Leadership Pinellas Outstanding Alumni Award; Who’s Who in American Business; International Who’s Who of Public Service; YWCA Tribute to Women in Tampa Bay; and was honored to carry the Olympic Torch in recognition of her community service on its journey to the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.

Kathy has been married to Bruce for 47 years and is the proud mother of Chad and Casey and grandmother of Corbyn, Cooper, Kennedy and Hudson.