Kathy Rabon, CFRE, CFRM
Kathy Rabon, CFRE, CFRM has served the Tampa Bay community as a not-for-profit fundraising professional for over 25 years. She is currently Chief Philanthropy Officer for Empath Health, where she serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and oversees a staff of 21. 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 five 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 is a past board member of the Association of Fundraising 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 chaired the WII Mentor Program for 2 years, is currently serving as the Women’s Impact Initiative chair, and is the 2023-25 president of AFP Tampa Bay. She served on the Association of Junior Leagues, International (AJLI) Board of Directors for nine years and held the positions of Secretary (two terms); Nominating Chair; Nominating ViceChair; Board Member At-Large; and member of the Executive Committee. In addition, she has served in many local volunteer positions including president, Junior League of ClearwaterDunedin; 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 44 years and is the proud mother of Chad and Casey and grandmother of Corbyn, Cooper, Kennedy and Hudson.